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.Colleen used to watch that show with her mom.This rest stop had definitely been here in the ’80s.It was entirely possible Ava Gardner had peed here.Wow.She was getting punchy.She glanced back at the paper, now half expecting to see an article on Ava Gardner, but what caught her eye instead was a small picture in the top right over the caption WINNINGTON WOMAN MISSING.Was that—? Could it be?No way.Was that Bitty?She picked up the newspaper, vaguely aware that she had no idea who had left it there or what was all over their potentially grungy hands, here outside the toilets.But she had to see.The paper was dated yesterday.WINNINGTON WOMAN MISSINGThe mysterious disappearance of former Winnington socialite Wilhelmina Camalier deepened today when her car was found on a remote road near Henley.Her purse and keys were in the Jaguar, and there did not appear to have been a struggle.It is uncertain exactly when Mrs.Camalier went missing; no sources recall seeing her for several days before her car was found.Having separated nearly a year ago from her husband, Lew Camalier, she had been operating under extreme distress ever since the split, according to many sources.Police haven’t entirely ruled out foul play, but Winnington deputy Marc Penskey thinks the case is cut-and-dried.“This is a woman in great duress.In layman’s terms, you might say she’s come unglued and is wildly unpredictable.”Apparently, Mrs.Camalier left all her personal belongings in her home, including her license and most credit cards, so it is thought that she cannot get very far.Mr.Camalier says no money is missing from their bank account.“I just want Wilhelmina to come back,” Lewis “Lew” Camalier says.“To get the help she—“Reading the comics?”Bitty’s voice started Colleen so much, she gasped.When she looked up at Bitty, she could tell the color had drained from her cheeks.What on earth was she going to do? Why hadn’t Bitty told her all this was going on? What was the significance of that huge omission, and what on earth should Colleen do with it? She couldn’t ask Kevin for advice, because she already knew he’d tell her to drop Bitty off at the next ER.“Colleen?” Bitty prompted, frowning.“Oh.Sorry,” she said, apologizing for the thoughts Bitty didn’t even know she’d just had.“I’m getting that nervous, spacy feeling I always get when I’ve had too much caffeine.”Bitty nodded.“I remember.” She held out a cookie.“It always helps to get something into your stomach.”“No thanks,” she said.She didn’t even have the appetite for a cookie.“I’ve got to watch it.”“That’s all you guys ever say,” Bitty noted, picking up her Pepsi and the other cookies.“You’re making me feel like a total pig.”“Welcome to my world,” Colleen said automatically.“About time the tables were turned.”As soon as she’d said the words, she hoped there was no room for misinterpretation or insult.Nothing to potentially set Bitty off.“What does that mean?” Bitty asked.“I have no idea.Honestly.I’m punchy.”“You’re acting weird.You know that, right?”“I’m fine,” Colleen said, then made a show of sighing.“I just talked to Kevin, and he and Jay are having such a good time without me, it kind of made me feel sad.Like they don’t need me.”“Oh, Colleen, that’s terrible.God, men can be such jerks sometimes.We’d probably all be better off without them.”Colleen looked at her sharply, but she went on.“But then life would be pretty boring.Still, I wish Kevin hadn’t made you feel that way.”“He didn’t mean to.” How far was she going to have to take this lie? “I could just tell they were having a really good time.”“So are we!” Bitty put an arm around her shoulders and gave a squeeze.“Right?”“Right.” Colleen rolled up the newspaper and stuffed it awkwardly into her bag.“Let’s go.Time to hit the road again.”* * *IT WAS CRAZY.Once upon a time, Colleen had known Bitty well, and now she was suddenly a missing person and had totally neglected to mention it.If Bitty was found with her, did that mean she would be considered somehow an accessory to … something?No.This was crazy.Bitty was fine.She’d just left a jerky husband.A jerky husband who wielded a lot of social power and probably had that article planted to save face for himself.The stupid thing was written by a man.He probably came this close to mentioning PMS.And it was badly written, to boot.Just a little bit of gossip in an otherwise-bored newspaper.Reporters this far out of the major cities didn’t have anything worthwhile to say about Jennifer Lawrence or Halle Berry, so they just had to make drama in their own midst.Surely that was all it was.And even if it wasn’t, there was no mention of Bitty having done anything illegal or being in any way dangerous—she’d just, basically, taken off.Big deal.Who didn’t want to do that now and then?Colleen accelerated down I-95 as the sun went down.Her playlist had reached its old-time music section at just the right moment, and Frank Sinatra was singing “Witchcraft” as the sun sank into the horizon under a scribble of lipstick pink sky
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