Will You Be Sorry When I'm Gone?

Chapter 13

Present

“Investigators with the Fire Marshall’s office have been given the all clear to begin their investigation into the brush fire that closed down the 410 highway earlier this week between Almeda and Renfrew. After two days of battling the blaze, the fire department stated that the fire is considered to be completely contained and has been completely put out. No more hot spots have been seen for the past 24 hours, leading the department to believe they have it completely out.”

Matthew and the kids were watching the news. Two more days had passed and still no word from me.

On Thursday, more at the insistence of my brother and sister than out of any real concern, Matthew finally called the police and reported me missing.

He was at a loss when the police asked him what I was wearing the day I went missing. I looked down at myself. A white blouse and a pair of jeans. With Converse sneakers and ankle socks. But he didn’t remember that.

“Why did you wait almost a full week before reporting your wife missing?” the officer asked.

“We had a little spat on Sunday night, and I thought she was taking some time to cool off,” Matthew explained.

“What was the reason for your fight? Or, rather, spat?” the officer asked.

“It was stupid, really. The kids wanted a specific drink for the fireworks on Founder’s Day, and it’s only sold in one store. My wife forgot to pick it up, and went out to get it before we left for the display, but she didn’t make it back in time and we left without her. I thought she was upset about that, and I thought I would give her some space, let her cool down and then we could talk about it.”

“Seems like a pretty minor issue to spend two days not speaking to one’s family,” the officer said.

“In retrospect, I should have called earlier. Look, officer, no marriage is perfect and we’ve had our issues. She found out about something a couple of years ago and I thought maybe the incident on Sunday might have been the proverbial straw, and that she just needed some cooling down time. But she hasn’t phoned anyone, she hasn’t responded to any texts, her phone goes straight to voicemail and she would never go this long without at least checking in on the kids.”

“By issues, he means he had an affair and my sister found out about it,” Kieran interjected.

Matthew’s face showed a fleeting mask of guilt before he returned to his stoic facade.

“Has your wife ever left home for an extended period of time after any other altercations or incidents?” the officer asked.

“No,” Matthew said. “She’s never gone more than a couple of hours without speaking to us.”

“Have you checked with your bank, your credit cards, any other properties you own or have access to?”

“We have an apartment downtown. She hasn’t been there. She hasn’t used a credit card since Sunday morning, and she hasn’t used her bank card. Her passport is here, so I know she hasn’t gone anywhere. My company has a suite at the Farino and she hasn’t been there, either.”

“What about friends, other family? Has anyone else heard from or seen your wife in the last four days?” the officer asked.

“No. No one. Her sister swears she hasn’t spoken to her or seen her. Her old roommate just moved to town, and she says she hasn’t seen her or spoken to her, either. None of our friends have heard from her or spoken to her, either. I even checked her cell phone record. She hasn’t made any calls from her phone since Sunday night. And I checked the phone’s location, but it died somewhere along the highway.”

“I see,” the officer said.

“I know it looks bad that we waited so long, but I really did think that maybe she was just really angry for some reason. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, give her her space and I figured she’d be home in a day or so. But it’s Thursday, and no one can reach her.”

“No, I understand. No one wants to believe bad things might happen to people. I’ll be honest, and off the record, I’d probably have done the same thing if it were my wife and she was mad at me for one reason or another. I have the photo you gave me, and I’ll put that out there. We’ll canvass the area, check out the places you think she could have gone and see if anyone has seen her there. I’ll file a missing person’s report as well. I have your contact information, your parents’ information, I have your information, Kieran, and your sister’s. As soon as we have any information, we’ll contact you,” the officer said, closing his notebook.

“Is there anywhere else you can think of that your wife might be, that maybe you haven’t tried for one reason or the other?” the officer asked.

“No. I’ve asked around everywhere that I could think she might go. I even asked my parents if they’d spoken to her. My wife and my mother don’t get along, but I would hope that in an emergency, she would know she could count on them to help her. But they haven’t heard from her either,” Matthew said.

The officer left to go file his report and Kieran turned on Matthew.

“How could you wait nearly a week to get the police involved? Would you have even bothered to call them if I hadn’t insisted?” he raged.

“Kieran, I swear, I thought your sister was just having a tantrum,” Matthew said.

“In the twenty odd years you’ve been married to my sister, has she ever, I mean ever gone two days without speaking to anyone? I may not speak to her every day, but I don’t think we’ve gone more than two days lately, with Emily being pregnant and all,” Kieran said.

“I know. I just, I wanted to believe she just needed some cooling off time. I shouldn’t have let it go this long,” Matthew acquiesced.

Kieran frowned at him.

“When she hadn’t spoken to either of the kids, you should have been calling the police. I’m beginning to wonder if you ever really cared about Amelia. Or was she just a convenience?”

“Kieran,” Matthew said. “I love your sister. We’ve had a bit of a rough patch lately, I know, but I really do love her.”

Oh, Matthew. Why didn’t you say this to me while you could? Why have I waited years to hear you say that you love me? Why have you let me spend the last five years thinking you’d fallen out of love and that we were just staying married because neither of us wanted the hassle of a divorce? Why did you let me believe I was unloved and unappreciated?

“Dad!” Alex called out from the den.

It was Friday night and they had been keeping the news on constantly since they called the police. Kieran was home with Emily, and Alecia was staying with them for the time being, while they waited to hear from either the police or Matthew.

Matthew and the kids hadn’t left the house since Thursday. David and Rachel had come over, and of course, Seline was a constant presence. At least she was keeping my family fed.

“What?” Matthew said, running into the den.

“They found a car at the bottom of the embankment near the Almeda exit,” Alex said. “It’s all burned up, though, so they don’t know what kind it was or anything yet. But the news just said they found it and it might have been the cause of the fire.”

“Okay, and?” Matthew asked.

“Mom would have been driving in that area to get to the store. There was an accident on the highway, before she left. What if it’s her?”

“I doubt that. Besides, if someone had hit her car, wouldn’t they have called the police? Wouldn’t someone have found her and brought her to a hospital? Wouldn’t she have her ID on her or something?”

“I guess, but…” Alex said.

“Did they find anything else?” my father in law asked, coming into the den. “A body or anything?”

“No,” Alex said. “Not that they’ve said. They said the car was completely destroyed, but it didn’t look like it had exploded. From what they’ve been able to see, so far, the car rolled down the embankment and was up against a tree. They think the car started the fire, but they’re not sure.”

“They’ll run the VIN,” David said. They should be able to find the VIN undamaged.”

“It won’t be Amelia’s car,” Matthew said. “She’s a good driver, and besides, she would have been past that accident by the time she left here, wouldn’t she?”

No, Matthew. It happened just as I was getting on the highway. The police hadn’t even arrived yet.

My children, my husband, my in-laws and my nemesis stayed glued to the television for the rest of the evening.

“Police and Fire are taking the car that was found at the bottom of the embankment to their lab for forensic examination,” the reporter was saying. She was standing at the top of the embankment, where the barrier had been. “Initial belief is that the car went through the barrier here, and rolled down the hill before coming to a stop against the tree. What isn’t clear is whether the car was the cause of the fire that closed the 410 between Almeda and Renfrew earlier this week, or if the fire caused the damage to the car. Hopefully, forensics will be able to find the owner of the car. No body was found in the wreckage, leading investigators to hope that the driver escaped before the fire started. This is a developing story and we will update you as more information comes to light.”

Matthew frowned at the television and sighed.

“Did you even call any of the hospitals?” Alex asked.

“I called the ones near us. Your mom isn’t in any of them and there are no ‘Jane Does’ that match her description,” Matthew sighed.

He sat heavily on the couch. I sat beside him.

“Amelia, where are you?” He wondered aloud.