“Maybe. We were friendly, but not that close. We were really close when we were teenagers, but her father threatened me when I was about fifteen.”
“Yes,” Ruby said. “Gina told me about that.”
“We connected again as adults, but we were never as close as we once had been. She probably would have told me if she was in love with a woman. But believe me, that wasn’t Gina. Gina liked men.”
“Is it possible that she could have fallen in love with a woman?” I asked. “Her therapist, maybe?”
“She was in therapy?”
“That was just hypothetical.” Sometimes people didn’t even tell their closest friends they were in therapy. Nothing strange about that.
“Oh. I can’t say for sure about anything. Like I said, we had kind of lost touch. But Gina was straight, and she did say she had been out with this person a few times.”
Good enough proof for me. Gina and I had certainly never “gone out,” so Marie was talking about someone else. Whether the person was male or female didn’t matter at this point.
“Thank you so much. I don’t think we need anything else.” I looked to Ruby.
“Yes, thank you, ma’am. We’ll be in touch if we need you further.” She handed a business card to Marie.
In the elevator going down, I turned to Ruby. “I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds. She just seemed so uncomfortable.”
“I know I take being ‘businesslike’ to new heights,” Ruby said. “That’s why I let you do the talking. It was clear she wasn’t responding to me.”
“Don’t be afraid to be…”
“Be what?”
I laughed. “Well, I was going to say ‘human,’ but I didn’t want you to think I was insulting you.”
She joined in my laughter. “When you grow up like I did, you don’t really learn the finer points of etiquette.”
“I understand.”
“I’ve just never let myself get close to anyone. At first it was a defense mechanism. If anyone got close, I’d get caught when I was underage and shipped back to my father. Later, I just got used to it. I like being alone.”
“Don’t be afraid of people, though. They can help.”
She let out a chuckle. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to call you today and ask you to come along.”
“But you did it.”
“Only because the thought of facing my aunt and uncle alone scares the shit out of me. I mean, these people let their daughter get abused by my father. I haven’t seen them in years.”
“Are you armed?” I asked.
She pointed to her ankle. “Always.”
“Good. Not that I think they’ll be violent, but we don’t have the muscle Jonah has. He had to get pretty tough with Rodney the last time.”
Jonah. He was never far from my mind, even when I’d been talking to Marie. I’d turned on the therapist to make her comfortable and get the information I needed, but still, Jonah niggled at my mind. I couldn’t turn off the worry that consumed me.
I couldn’t lose him.
I just couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
Ruby and I drove to the townhome where the Cateses were staying. A new door hung from the hinges. Jonah had cracked the old one, trying to break it down because Rodney wouldn’t come to the door.