The Night She Disappeared by Kevin O'Brien

Author:Kevin O'Brien [O'Brien, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2021-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Wednesday, July 15—6:33 P.M.

The man in the hotel security video was unmistakably Russ. Wearing a dark sweater with the hood down, he blended in with a group of about a dozen people leaving the hotel lobby at the same time. They all seemed to know each other—except for Russ. Looking about rather suspiciously, he slipped though the double doors with the others.

In the video from the garage a few minutes later, he had on the same sweater, only with the hood up. There was little doubt it was the same person.

Anna had already watched both videos on the news twice. This time, Sally Justice was showing and analyzing them on her show.

“Talk about shifty-eyed, just look at him!” Sally said in voice-over as she showed the video a second time. “Well, Dr. Russell Knoll has been missing for twenty-four hours now.”

Anna stood in front of the TV in her darkened living room. All the blinds were down. She had the remote control in her hand.

The video ended, and Sally came up on the screen. Perched behind her judge’s desk, she had a photo of Russ on display in a box over her shoulder. “Dr. Knoll has left his girlfriend, former TV reporter Anna Malone, in the lurch,” Sally said—with a sneer. “If she knows anything about where he is, she’s not talking. No surprise there! What surprises me—no, enrages me—is that this low-life quack has taken it on the lam, and he’s so obviously guilty. Yet he still hasn’t been charged with his wife’s murder.” Sally threw up her hands. “What do the police want—a signed confession? A map to where he’s hidden her body?”

Anna muted it. She couldn’t take any more.

Turning away, she went over to the window that looked out on her back deck. She peeked through the blinds. It was still light out. Three medium-size boats bobbed in the water near her dock. On each vessel, there was someone on deck with a camera ready—just waiting for her to emerge from her house or open the blinds. She felt like the groundhog on Groundhog Day.

An hour ago, she’d been up in her bedroom loft. From the east-facing window, Anna had a view of the other floating homes on her dock—along with the gate. Through the trees on the shoreline, she’d noticed the crowd of reporters and onlookers—along with a cluster of news vans parked on the street.

Anna hadn’t talked to any of the reporters. She’d made a brief statement over the phone for her friends on the KIXI News team. “I have no idea where Dr. Knoll is,” she’d told them. “I’m as surprised as anyone else about his disappearance. I know he’s under a great deal of stress right now. I also know he’s an innocent man. He’s also been very transparent and cooperative with the police investigation. I’m hoping for his safe return.”

As far as she knew, all those reporters and news vans were still there, waiting for her to step outside or for Russ to show up.

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