Page 40 of Night Moves
Drake believed her, but thought she was holding something back. “Has he ever hit you or threatened you?”
“At times, I thought he might, but no.”
“How long have you worked for him?” Natalie asked.
“A year or so. Tracey hired me.”
Ah, she knew Tracey. Great. That expanded his line of questioning. “What do you think happened to her?”
Ulani looked away.
“Ulani,” Natalie said. “Please just tell us what you think.”
She swung her focus back to them. “Mr. Gentry said she left, but I think she might’ve gotten involved in something bad and was killed.”
“Bad like what?”
“I don’t know.” Her eyelashes fluttered. “She hired me because she said she needed time away from the children each day. So I came in at noon, and she left. She always came home at three like she planned, but sometimes she was wearing heavy makeup that she hadn’t had on when she left. And different clothes. She would run up to her bedroom to change and wash it off then get Willow from school and retreat to her room.”
“She had cosmetic surgeries,” Drake stated.
“Yes, and the last one was botched.” Ulani shook her head. “Poor woman. Her lips looked oversized. She was so embarrassed. I felt bad for her. She wanted to have it fixed. But apparently it costs more to fix bad plastic surgery than to do it in the first place, and Mr. Gentry wouldn’t pay for it. Not that he didn’t have the money. But he refused for some reason that they never mentioned.”
“Did she continue to go away every afternoon even after the botched surgery?”
“Yes, but she was very depressed and also started taking mini-vacations away from the family. Just a few days here or there.”
“Where did she go?” Drake asked.
Ulani shrugged. “I don’t know, and it seemed like he didn’t either. He would come home from work, and I’d tell him she’d gone on a trip. He seemed surprised every time. And a bit angry.”
“Angry enough to do something about it?” he asked. “That’s the reason she’s missing?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But really, I thought she’d taken one of her trips and ran into some trouble.”
Something seemed fishy about all of this, but it was becoming clear that the Gentrys were an odd couple, and it might be normal for her. “Did you tell the police about this?”
She shook her head, quickly. “Mr. Gentry asked me not to. And when he asks you not to do something, you don’t do it.”
“I don’t get it, Ulani,” Natalie said. “He sounds like a hard man to be around. Why do you still work for him?”
“Money. Insurance.” She blurted out the words then took a long breath. “He pays for it and pays me way above the going rate for a nanny, and there’s nowhere else I could go to make that kind of money.”
Drake wouldn’t stick around for those reasons, but some people didn’t have a choice. And if the pictures of a boy at various ages on her bookshelf and the baseball cap on the couch meant she had a child to consider, her choices would be more limited.
Time to change direction. “What can you tell us about nail polish and the Gentry family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did anyone use it?” he asked, making sure to keep a neutral tone and expression to keep from leading her.
A confused look lingered on her face. “Tracey always had perfectly manicured nails.”
“Did she do her own or go to a salon?” Natalie asked.
“Her own, I think. She never mentioned it.” Ulani tipped her head. “Why? Is that important?”
Drake ignored her question. “How about Willow? Did she polish her nails?”
