She’s telling me the truth about a lot of things … but she’s also lying.
I can sense it; I can feel it.
I wet my lips as she squeezes my hand in desperation, unintentionally digging her nails into my skin.
“I can’t stop you from going with him. He has a court order. He … appears to have remade a lot of the powerful friends he used to have back in the day. But if you tell him no, if we go to court and you tell the judge that you want to stay with me, we might be able to mitigate some of the damage.”
Fuck.
This is … this is awful. I feel like I might vomit, to be honest.
“Tell me more,” I say instead, trying to change tactics. “Tell me … where you had your first date.”
Tess gives me a strange look, but she’s so desperate to convince me that she finally gives in.
“Our first date … well, he started pursuing me at school and at the diner. But as for an actual date? I believe it was the winery.”
“The winery?!” I choke out, sitting up straight, heart thundering. “Which winery?”
Again, I get a very confused look in response to my outburst. I have absolutely zero chill apparently. With a concerted effort, I make myself relax. Tess just admitted that Justin hurt her, that he hurt me, that he … raped her. Here I am inquiring about the place they had their first date?
I’m a fucking monster.
Just like he is.
“Um. Secret Cache is the name of it, I believe,” she offers gently, as if she’s struggling to understand my motivations but wants to believe the best of me. She and I clearly have our issues. We do not like each other on a basic level, but there really is a spark here, something that I could build on.
If only I didn’t have to douse it with cold water right now.
The winery is a huge clue. But still, I feel it’s too obvious. I need more. But how far can I push right now?
Tess releases my hand and turns away again; I sense that this conversation is coming to an end. After all, she has a missing child to look for.
“If you want to go with him, I truly can’t stop you, but Dakota.” She looks back at me and once again uses the correct name. Why does she always do this, use my name when it matters most? Why can’t she call me Mia right now, so that this hurts a little less? “I’d hate for you to find out yourself what a horrible man he can be.”
“I’ll … I’ll think on it,” I say, but even that’s a lie. I won’t think on it. I’ll go. For Parrish.
The sheer look of disappointment on Tess’ face staggers me. God, Parrish was so right about this. So damn right.
“Well, if you have anymore questions …” she starts, heaving a tired sigh and standing up.
“I’d love to know all the places that were special to you back then. It might … it’ll help me to understand your relationship better.”
Tess blinks down at me, frowning heavily.
“This entire town is peppered with our memories,” she admits reluctantly. “The cemetery where my grandmother is buried, the hotel we spent our wedding night in, the house he bought for me.”
Vague locations, but all possible clues. A cemetery … what if it isn’t a wine cellar we’re looking for, but a tomb? I shiver at the thought. Wouldn’t that be tragic, if Justin staged that stone room to look like a wine cellar when, in fact, it isn’t at all? A fancy hotel could have a wine cellar, as could a house.
These are all options.
I just need to know which cemetery, which hotel, and which freaking house.
I have pretty good social graces though, and I can tell that asking those questions right now won’t win me anything but more disturbing looks from Tess. She isn’t going to answer if I push anymore today.
Might have to do some internet sleuthing. How many cemeteries can there be in or around Medina? Hotels? It’s a pretty small area. As far as houses go, that’s a matter of public record, right? Justin’s name might be scrubbed from the internet, but surely there are records on the house purchase somewhere out there. The county tax assessor’s office, the county recorder, or city hall maybe?
“Thank you,” I tell her honestly, and that, at least, seems to soften her a tad. She touches her hand to my head gently.
“Please, Dakota. I know we’ve had trouble getting along thus far, but with Parrish missing, I need some help. I can only be so strong on my own.” She drops her hand to her side before leaving and closing my bedroom door softly behind her.
I almost start crying.
