tried to look away, but couldn’t.
“Ever since you left my place the other day, I’ve been trying to think of the exact instant when things went so wrong for us. If there was a moment when it started, there had to be a moment when it ended. But I didn’t see it. It passed by and I didn’t even notice.”
“Because you weren’t looking,” Claire said softly. She hugged her arms around her middle. “It wasn’t just a moment, it was a lot of them. It was your job and the drinking. The dark moods. There was a part of your life, a part of yourself, that you couldn’t or wouldn’t share with me. I wanted to understand, but you shut me out, and sometimes you made me feel as if I were trespassing on something private. Something that wasn’t any of my business. There were times, especially toward the end, when I felt like an outsider in my own marriage.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you felt that way?”
“I did tell you. You just weren’t listening. And anyway, it really doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It does to me.”
Claire swallowed. “That’s because you’re still living in the past. But the rest of us have moved on.” She walked quickly into the house.
A moment later, she heard the door close behind him as he followed her inside. “You’ve moved on, huh. Is that why you want me to help you find a doll that looks like Ruby?”
“That’s different. The doll exists, whether you believe me or not. It’s not a smokescreen or my imagination or anything else. The doll is real and so is this.” She removed the photograph from her purse and handed it to him.
He glanced up with a puzzled frown.
“I found it tonight as I was leaving work. Someone put it in a box and left it outside the door.” Claire nodded toward the picture. “Turn it over and read the back.”
He flipped it over, and as he read the inscription aloud, Claire shuddered. “To Mama.”
“Ruby didn’t write that,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the same photograph that was stolen from here a few nights ago, and it didn’t have anything written on the back then.”
“Someone broke in here?”
“I think Mama left a window open. It was one night last week when we had one of those sudden thunderstorms. I was already in bed and I heard glass breaking. When I came downstairs, I saw that a vase had fallen in the sunroom and shattered on the floor. The window was open. I assumed the curtain had swept it off the table. Then I realized a picture of Ruby was missing from the same table.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
“You didn’t believe me about the doll….” She shrugged and trailed off.
“Did you tell anyone?”
“I didn’t know who to tell. I didn’t want to worry Mama, and besides, I wasn’t even sure that the picture was really missing then. I thought I might have forgotten that I’d put it away. And now it turns up outside the studio, on a night when I’m working alone.”
“Did you see or hear anything unusual tonight? Have you noticed anyone suspicious hanging around the studio or gallery in the past few days?”
“A woman came in last Saturday. I thought she was part of a group that toured the studio that afternoon, but she didn’t leave with everyone else. She stood in front of a display case for a long time, staring at one of my pieces. Maybe she was just trying to make up her mind, because she did eventually buy it. But there was something about her that made me uneasy. I don’t even know how to explain it. She had on thick makeup that made her look…I don’t know…unnatural somehow. Now that I think back about it, I can’t help wondering if she was deliberately trying to conceal her real identity. But I guess that sounds a little paranoid. Or maybe just plain crazy.”
“I was a cop in this town for nearly ten years. Nothing much sounds crazy to me anymore.”
“Not even a doll that looks exactly like our missing daughter?”
He glanced back down at the photograph in his hand. “Did you have the picture displayed like this when it was taken?”
“No, it was in a wooden frame. I saved almost all of Ruby’s school projects. They’re put away in boxes in the attic. I’ve never seen that before.” Claire rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “This is going to sound a little crazy, too, but I think someone is trying to send me a message.”
“Or maybe someone’s just trying to mess with your head,” he said slowly.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen this kind of thing before. Some sick creep latches on to a story and tries to make himself a part of it.”
“After seven years?”
Dave handed the picture back to her. “Can you think of anyone who might have a grudge against you? Anyone who might want to upset or hurt you?”
“No, not like this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course I’m sure.”
His tone made Claire nervous. He was getting at something, but before she could ask him what he meant, his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, glanced at the display and frowned. “I’m sorry. I have to take this. Do you mind?”
Claire watched as he opened the door and stepped out on the porch. She could hear him talking softly to the caller, and she told herself to tune out the conversation. Whatever was going on was none of her business.
Then she heard Ruby’s name, and followed him out to the porch. “Dave?”
His gaze met hers in the dark. “I’ll see you in a little while,” he said into the phone, then snapped it closed.
“What’s going on?” Claire asked nervously. “Who was that?”
“It’s a case I’m working on.”
“But I heard you say something about Ruby.”
“It’s not what you think. I’ve been making some inquiries about that doll maker you mentioned. I don’t have time to get into it now, but I’ll come back when I’m finished, if it’s not too late, and tell you everything I found out. Right now, though, I have to go.”
“Tell me now. You can’t make me wait!”
“She lives about thirty miles south of Houma. I swear, Claire, that’s all I know.”
Dave started down the steps, but she caught his arm. “Are you going to see her?”
“Right now? No. This doesn’t have anything to do with her.”
Claire’s grip tightened on his arm. “If you’re keeping something from me—”
“I already told you, I don’t know anything more about that doll than you do.”
“But you know
“Claire, for your own sake, don’t push this.”
She drew back in fear. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m in a hurry. I meant what I said a minute ago. I’ll come back later and we can talk more about Savannah Sweete. But now is not the time.”
“Dave?”
He half turned as he clambered down the stairs. “What is it?”
“Let me come with you.”
“That’s not a good idea. For a lot of reasons.”
“I’ll just follow you in my car if you don’t let me come.”
He turned. “I’ll lose you in five minutes.”
“Probably. But if this is about Ruby, I have a right to be there. You know I do.”
He searched the street for a moment, then scrubbed his hand down his face. “Maybe you do. Maybe you have more right to this truth than anyone else.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No more questions,” he said. “Let’s just get going.”
Claire stared out the window of Dave’s truck as they drove across the Huey Long and headed south on old
