Officer Standish is the one to finally speak.
“No, Ms. McIntyre, she doesn’t know where he is. She did give us the name of a hotel down in Birchwood and we have a team down there right now, but he’s gone.”
“This is crazy, you know that right? I mean, he’s a drug addict and a dealer. Are you checking with all your...I don’t know, drug people around here for him?”
I can tell she is pissed as she flings her arms out to emphasize her words. I am just going to stand back and watch as she fires her fury at these cops.
“It’s been several days and I hear nothing, absolutely nothing from you, and now I come in here and you can’t tell me shit. You and you better pray to God that you find him before he does do something to someone, because anyone who would do this,” she says, pointing to her face, “is one sick man.”
Everyone stands in silence for several long minutes before Officer Monroe speaks up.
“Do you feel better now, Ms. McIntyre?” I can tell she is doing her best to hide her aggravation.
“No. I don’t. I can’t even leave my own house alone or take my daughter to school for fear that he is out there. Now look, I’m sorry I snapped at you and I am sure you are doing everything you possibly can to find him, but please find him soon.”
Not wanting her to get upset any more than she already is, I cradle her in my arms and try and soothe her before we go in and talk to Tonya.
As we make our way down the hall, Luke stops us.
“Listen. Tonya is really shaken up about all of this and I personally believe she knew nothing about this, so both of you stay calm. I mean it.” His eyes drift back and forth between Erin and me. We nod mutely and when we walk into the room and come face to face with Tonya I am shocked at the sight in front of me.
She does not look anything like the Tonya I know. Her hair is all kinds of fucked up, like she’s been tugging the shit out of it, and her makeup is smeared all over her face like she has been crying for days.
When she lifts her head and notices us, she stands up and tries to straighten out her wrinkled up shirt. She looks into my eyes and her lips start to tremble. Slowly she sits back down, placing her hands over her face.
“I…I am so sorry. I had no idea who he was, I swear I didn’t.”
What the hell do I do? I don’t have time to think because Erin steps in front of me and gracefully walks up to Tonya.
“I believe you, Tonya. I just need to know what happened and how you found out he’s...”
“Your ex-husband?” Tonya finishes for her.
“Yes. Did he tell you anything?”
“No, it wasn’t like that at all.” She shakes her head. Luke and I take a seat opposite Tonya at the table and Erin sits down next to her.
“We met at McAllister’s- you know; the one on Tenth Street in Denton. Anyway, the first night he came back to my place and well, he seemed fine. Like a normal guy, you know? He spent the night and the next morning he said he wanted to spend more time with me before he left town. He said he was here for business and was staying through the weekend. He told me where he was staying and asked me if I wanted to get away with him for a few days. I thought sure, why not? I didn’t have to be back to work until Monday myself, and a nice long getaway sounded like fun, so I packed a bag and followed him to Braxton. The three days I was with him, he was... well, I don’t need to get into those details with you.”
She reaches in front of her, pulls a tissue from the box, and dabs her eyes with it.
“Oh, man. This is so hard.” She turns her body so she is completely facing Erin. “Last night he was acting very weird. He started to get a little loud and irate. Like, slamming drawers around. One time he threw the remote to the television across the room.”
Tonya looks down at the floor and when she looks back up again and stares at the bruises on Erin’s face, I can see she is telling us the truth.
“I asked him if everything was okay and he said he had a lot on his mind with work and all. He had stepped out a few times saying he had a few meetings and I didn’t think anything of it because he said he was here for work. So I just relaxed at the spa and went shopping and you know, girl stuff like that. But last night when he said he needed to leave for a meeting and it was after midnight I thought, who in the hell meets someone this late at night? It was then that I realized something shady was going on, so the minute he left I started to pack up all of my things. I started for the door but I turned around just to make sure I hadn’t left anything and that’s when I noticed a suitcase sticking out from under the bed.”
Tonya stands up and starts pacing the floor and wringing her hands nervously. The room is eerily quiet as we all sit in silence waiting for her to continue.