She's Not Coming Home (5 page)

Chapter Nine

‘
You want to
tell me all about it?’ asked Gail, after Matt had pulled himself together.

‘Sorry.’ Matt wiped his eyes and blew his nose on a Kleenex.

‘Don’t worry about it.’ Gail sat down and smoothed down her skirt. As long as Matt had known either of them, Gail had been Ruth’s best friend. By coincidence, their birthdays fell on the same day. Gail was born one year before Ruth, thirty-one years ago. Physically, they were similar: both around five feet six tall, both with shoulder length dark hair, although Ruth’s was wavy in contrast to Gail’s, which was dead straight. Gail was slimmer than Ruth, who always used to joke about her ‘child rearing hips’.  Gail had no children, a fact which never seemed to bother her; she was more accustomed to exotic holidays. Since Matt first met her, Gail had had two partners, the latest of which, Ryan, held a high position with Nantucket Airlines; hence the frequent travel abroad. They had obviously just returned from one of these trips: as she sat down in Matt’s kitchen she crossed her legs and ran a hand down a thin, tanned leg. ‘Your messages,’ she asked. ‘What were they all about?’

‘Do you know where Ruth is?’ Matt asked.

Gail gave him an inquisitive look and held her palms out. Meaning no.

Matt sat down and rubbed his face with one hand.

‘She’s gone missing.’

‘Missing?’

‘Tuesday, she left for work as normal. Walked to work as normal. I was here all day; I had some vacation days to take. She sent me the usual text we send to each other when we’re on our way home. I expected her sometime between five thirty and six, but she never arrived.

‘I tried calling her and texting her, but she has never texted me back and her phone went to voicemail every time I call.’

‘What about at work?’

‘That’s a really strange one. That night I tried to call her office using the number she had given me, but it wasn’t a right number. So I called 411, got a totally different number. I called that number the next day, only to be told Ruth didn’t work there.’

‘I don’t get it,’ Gail said, frowning. ‘This was Cambridge Pharmaceuticals down on Washington, wasn’t it?’

‘U-huh. I even went down there, and they told me the same thing. I even thought she might be still using her maiden name, but no.’

‘Matt, I don’t know what to say.  I don’t understand it.’

‘When was the last time you spoke to her, Gail?’

‘It was – about a week or so. We talked about the four of us getting together some time, When Ryan got back from Europe.’

‘And you’ve not seen or heard from her since then. Not since Tuesday?’

‘No. Honestly, Matt.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to… It’s just…’

‘I know, Matt. I know.’

‘Did she say anything to you about us? Anything to suggest she wasn’t happy?’

Gail shook her head.

‘No. Nothing. Nothing at all like that.’

‘Gail, you’ve known her longer than I have. How long is it?’

‘Since I’ve known her?  Ten, twelve years, I guess. Around ten as friends.’

‘Can you think of what she might be doing? Where she might go?’

‘Sorry, I can’t imagine. It’s not like her.’

They both sat in silence for a moment, and then Gail said, ‘What about Nathan? How’s he?’

Matt looked up at the ceiling, in the general direction of Nathan’s bedroom upstairs.

‘He keeps asking where she is. The last couple of nights I’ve told him it’s very busy at her work, so she’s having to work late and leave very early in the morning. He seems to have accepted that.’

‘For now. You can’t tell him that for ever.’

‘That’s what the police said.’

‘The police? You’ve called the police?’ Gail seemed surprised.

‘Well, yes. I had to. Did it about nine that night.’

‘What did they say?’

‘A Lieutenant – er, Weber, called round that night. Took a load of information about Ruth. Oh, and a photo of her. Said he’d pass it to the Missing Persons Unit.’

‘I see. Right.’

‘I had a call from them this morning, saying they had received the report and they were on the case, as it were.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Is that you, Mommy?’

Matt and Gail turned round to see Nathan standing in his pyjamas in the kitchen doorway.

‘I thought you were asleep, sport,’ Matt said, going over to him.

‘I thought I heard Mommy,’ Nathan yawned.

‘No, it’s only Auntie Gail,’ Gail smiled. She stood up and knelt down in front of him.

‘Is Mommy home?’ Nathan asked, looking around the kitchen sleepily.

‘No, not yet,’ Matt said quietly. ‘She’s still at work. Time you were in bed.’

‘Okay, Daddy,’ Nathan yawned. He turned round and started to walk to the stairs.

‘I’ll take him upstairs,’ Gail said, standing up.

‘No, it’s okay. I’ll only be a minute.’ Matt walked past Gail and put his arm round Nathan’s shoulders. They both slowly went upstairs.

‘Do you want to pee first?’ Matt asked as they walked past the bathroom. Nathan nodded. After he had peed and returned to bed, Matt tucked him in and kissed him on the top of his head.

‘Sleep tight, sport,’ Matt whispered. ‘Love you.’

‘Love you too, Daddy,’ Nathan murmured in his sleep.

Swallowing, Matt crept out of his son’s room and went downstairs to Gail.

‘That’s another thing,’ he said as he rejoined her in the kitchen. ‘Walking out on me is one thing, but she would never walk out on Nathan.’

‘Unless she had reason to.’

‘What reason could there be? Why would a mother walk out on her child?’

Gail shrugged.

‘I’m sorry Matt; I don’t know. I just…’

‘I think something’s happened to her,’ said Matt. ‘There’s no other explanation.’

‘Like what?’

‘Anything. She would have gone to you if she was just leaving me. But neither of us have heard anything. So something
must
have happened.’

‘So what are you going to do?’

‘Well, just before you rang the doorbell, I was about to start calling round the local hospitals. I’m guessing that’s something the cops do, but I can’t just sit here doing nothing.’

‘Are you still going to work?’

‘Went in today. Had to tell my boss.  She’s said to take tomorrow off to do what I have to do, in her words. I go back in Friday.’

‘Well, look: if there’s anything Ryan and I can do…’

‘There is something, yes.’

‘Shoot.’

‘I have to work Saturday. Till two. I wasn’t due to be in, so I don’t know what do about Nathan. Are you able to look after him for a few hours?’

‘Shit, Matt. Any other time I’d say yes. You know that. But this Saturday I’m due to go down to -’

‘Don’t worry. I know it’s short notice. I’ll take him in with me. Sit him in the staff room with a couple of DVDs.’

‘No, it’s all right. We’ll rearrange. We’d love to have Nathan.’

‘Great. Thanks. I’ll give you a call Friday to arrange. Is that okay?’

‘Absolutely. No problem.’

Again a few moments’ silence, then Gail spoke.

‘I’ll be off now, Matt. Speak Friday, yes?’ she said as she stood up.

‘Sure. Thanks for calling in.’

‘No problem. Let me know if you hear anything, won’t you?’

‘Of course.’ Matt walked Gail over to the front door. She paused just as he was about to open it.

‘Do you mind if I use your bathroom first?’ she asked. ‘Cold night.’

‘Sure, no problem,’ Matt smiled. ‘You know the way.’

He wandered back into the kitchen while Gail went upstairs. Tidied a few things up until he heard the toilet flush and Gail come downstairs.

‘I hope everything… Well, you know what I mean,’ she said quietly, kissing him on the cheek.

‘Thanks.’

Matt stood in the doorway and watched Gail walk down the street to her car. He stayed there until he saw her tail lights turn right at the intersection. Closed the door and returned to the kitchen. He picked up the phone and sat back down.

‘Right,’ he quietly said to himself. ‘Hospitals.’

He began to dial the first number.

Chapter Ten

Thursday morning and
again Matt woke to find his arm stretched over the empty space that was Ruth’s side of the bed. He shot up, sat bolt upright in bed as his brain again processed the fact that Ruth was not there.

He looked over at the clock: just after seven. At least he had slept last night. Time to wake up Nathan and get him off to kindergarten. Then spend the day doing whatever he had to do, to quote Debra Grant Barber. Whatever that meant, he thought. Well, at least the calls to the hospitals produced nothing. Assuming she was not in a hospital outside Massachusetts. If she had gone out of State…  He rubbed his stubbly chin as he sat on the edge of the bed. Maybe he should also try places in Connecticut, or Vermont, or Rhode Island. Something to think about.

He decided he would try to hurry Nathan through the getting up, eating breakfast, and setting off routine: maybe if he was in a rush he would not think about where his mother was.  Foolish.

‘Has Mommy left for work?’ Nathan asked as Matt poured him a bowl of cereal.

‘Yes, sport, she has. Still very busy at work,’ Matt lied as he sat down to eat his own breakfast. He waited for a follow up question. To his relief, none came.

As he dropped Nathan off at Bambinos, Nathan asked one more time, ‘Daddy, are you picking me up tonight, or is Mommy?’

Matt ruffled his son’s hair. ‘Not sure yet, pal. Depends on how much Mommy has on at work. Probably be me.’

‘Will she be at home soon?’

‘Soon.  You’ll be able to see her at the weekend. Only two more sleeps.’

‘Okay. Bye, Daddy.’

‘Bye, sport. Love you.’ Matt leaned over to kiss Nathan goodbye. He watched his son get safely inside, then turned and walked back home. Picked up a copy of that morning’s
Globe
on the way. As he walked home, he decided if Ruth had not returned by Friday night, he would tell Nathan the truth then. Or maybe he would give it until Saturday evening, after he picked him up from Gail and Ryan.

Back indoors, he scanned the
Globe
for any reports of traffic accidents, or anything at all that mentioned Ruth. He found nothing.

After clearing up the breakfast things, he decided to take a walk down to Boston Common. Maybe retrace Ruth’s steps; take the route she would have taken. He felt he needed to think things through: something he could not do indoors. He needed some open space.

He strolled down to Beacon Street, crossed over the road, and entered the Common. He headed over to the Frog Pond. In its original state, it was the home of tadpoles, a mini nature reserve and somewhere he would like to have taken Nathan; a few years back it had been converted into a concrete wading pool. In the winter months it would be transformed into a skating rink. He sat down on a bench nearby and watched two teenagers skate around the rink. One kept falling over, to the great amusement of the other, a girl wearing a pink scarf.  Matt wondered why they weren’t in school.

As he sat watching the skaters, Matt began to think through the events of the last couple of days. He felt that basically there were two reasons for Ruth’s disappearance. One, she had gone involuntarily; something had happened to her. He had reported her disappearance to the police; that was obviously the right thing to do. He had called the local hospitals. None of them had had an emergency admission answering Ruth’s description. Then he had a thought: supposing hospitals had some kind of confidentiality rule; supposing they always said no when somebody called to ask that question. To protect the person, who might be admitted with injuries caused by a violent partner.  In any case, surely they would have to give the police correct information, and he was sure the Missing Persons Unit would think of contacting hospitals. Or the morgue. He started to hyperventilate as this thought crossed his mind: this was one thing he had not previously considered.

He managed to slow his breathing down to normal as he dismissed the possibility that Ruth was dead.  Or even injured; surely to God if she had been admitted to hospital somebody would have been in contact by now. No, he decided, her disappearance must be intentional. But why? They were both happy together; well, so he thought. She had certainly never given any indication otherwise. Gail said the same thing last night. In any case, she would never leave Nathan. So what was going on?

And then there was the situation with Cambridge Pharmaceuticals. He
knew
that was where she worked: sure, he had never been to any Christmas parties there, but he was certain he had been to the offices in the past, and had met some of her colleagues. Though not for some time. She always kept work and home life separate. So what was that jerk talking about yesterday? Maybe she
was
having an affair; and it was with him. That was why he was denying all knowledge of her. But then it all came back to Nathan again: she would
never
desert him.

He got up, and continued his walk through the Common. He decided he would walk down to Ruth’s office again. No point trying to gain entry, but by the time he got there it would be lunchtime. If he waited outside, maybe he would catch Ruth taking her lunch break. Or perhaps he would recognise a workmate.

He took the path away from Frog Pond, and walked across the common, past the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, veering slightly to the right as he passed the sports field. Even on this cold morning, four hardy souls were playing tennis on the courts adjacent to the Central Burying Ground. He paused momentarily as he passed a plaque stating that portrait painter Gilbert Stuart was buried nearby.

He reached Tremont Street and crossed over outside the Boylston Green Line stop. Two more blocks and he was on Washington. Turned right and headed down to Cambridge Pharmaceuticals. He paused as he passed an HSBC branch and headed for the ATM. Inserted his card, keyed his PIN and requested fifty dollars. With all the events of the last two days, he had forgotten to get any cash. Something he and Ruth always joked about: he worked in a bank, but always forgot to make use of his branch’s ATM.

Suddenly a thought hit him. If Ruth had left voluntarily, she would have needed money. They had a joint account, so he could see if and where she had made any withdrawals from their account. That might at least give him an idea of where she was. That was why that policewoman had asked about their accounts. He could leave it for the police to handle, but he felt he had to do something. Slight hitch here though: their account was with the Bank of New England and this was an HSBC machine. He wouldn’t be able to get a list of transactions here. He took his cash, then pressed a couple of other buttons to get the balance.  He frowned as he read the account balance on the screen: it was inconclusive, as he wasn’t sure how much should be in the account. He needed a Bank of New England branch, and he knew there wasn’t one in this part of the city. Or he would have to wait until he got home, and then go online. He looked around as he pondered: he needed to know about the account urgently, yet didn’t have time to go home.

He stepped into a doorway where he found shelter from passers-by and from the wind, and speed dialled Larry Mason. It went to voicemail. He left Larry a message asking him to call him back ASAP, and continued his walk down to Ruth’s offices.

He had just covered one block when Larry returned his call.

‘Hey, Matt; how you doing?’ Larry asked.

‘I’m good. Well, as good as yesterday,’ Matt replied, stepping into another doorway. ‘I just need a favour.’

‘Sure thing. Shoot.’

‘If I give you my checking account number, could you check the recent transactions on it?’

‘Sure, pal. Whatever you need.’

Matt read out the account number and held on while Larry retrieved the list of transactions.

‘There’s been a fifty dollar ATM withdrawal on the...  Today. It was today.’

‘Yes. That was me. Go back the last couple of weeks.’

‘A hundred out on the tenth. At one of our machines here.’

‘Yes, that was me again.

‘I have two hundred on the eleventh. That was at the Safeway on Tremont.’

‘Okay. That would have been Ruth. She goes there after work sometimes.’

‘And a three hundred on the thirteenth. Again, Safeway on Tremont. Man, that’s a lot of shopping.’

‘Yeah. Okay, Larry. Thanks. See you tomorrow.’

‘Sure thing, buddy. You take care, now.’

Matt put the phone back in his pocket and looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue, but there were some heavy clouds building up to the west. He looked up and down the street, as he tried to figure out these withdrawals. Five hundred dollars in the space of two or three days. Ever since they had moved in together, he and Ruth had divided up the household expenditure into two areas of responsibility. Matt dealt with household bills: the mortgage, insurances, electricity, that sort of thing. Ruth took care of the groceries. Sometimes on a Saturday or Sunday they would all make a trip to an out-of-town mall, but normally she would call in somewhere on the way home. She would quite frequently use that particular Safeway store during her lunch break. Or so Matt thought. Because that was what Ruth told him. He knew she would normally pay in cash: she owned a credit card, but she preferred to withdraw cash at an ATM before she went shopping. Said she found it easier to keep track of the account that way. Hence the transactions at that ATM.  But the amounts: two hundred did seem a large amount for groceries, considering she would have had to walk home with them. Perhaps that was to take care of several days’ visits. Her knew she liked to shop little and often, preferring fresh produce.  But why three hundred two days later? Sure, it was a holiday weekend then, but even so…

He stepped out from the doorway and over to a bench by a bus stop. An elderly lady with two large plastic bags was sitting in the centre of the bench, and moved to the other end when Matt sat down.

He slumped onto the bench and rubbed his face. What the hell was happening? Where the hell was Ruth?

And why the hell would she need five hundred dollars just days before she disappeared?