Page 21 of You Can Trust Me
“Whatguy?” His upper lip curls in disgust.Better disgust than anger, I suppose.
“I don’t know. I never got his name. He seemed innocent enough. I really didn’t think it was anything to worry about. She’s been so stressed since she found out her mom’s sick again. And with the anniversary of Danny’s death, I thought she could just use a minute to let off steam. Nothing happened.”
“Did hetryto dance with her, or did he dance with her?” he asks.
“They danced together, I guess. Er, well,hedanced withhermore than anything. He was flirting with her, you know, but I didn’t leave them alone. She wasn’t reciprocating. You know Mae. She was just being polite.”
“What did he look like?”
I pause. “I… Well, he had tan skin. Dark hair. I…think it was the man you saw at dinner that first night. The one who was watching her.”
“Youthink?”
“I can’t be sure. I didn’t get a good look at him in the dining room. I just remember how you described him.”
“Did you ask her about him? Who he was?”
“Not really, no. I mean, I made a joke about what you would think and she laughed and said I was being ridiculous. Which I was. Like I said, it was harmless. I made sure she felt safe, and she said it was fine.”
A muscle in his jaw twitches as he looks away. “And you didn’t think maybe you should’ve mentioned this sooner?”
“I did, but I really thought we’d find her! I thought surely she’d turn up and this would be a story we’d all laugh about when we got home.That time we thought we had lost Mae.I swear to you, I never thought it could have anything to do with him.”
“You didn’t?”
“I didn’t want to,” I admit. “And I guess I was trying to protect her.”
“Protect her from what? Me?” He pats a hand on his chest. “How about you protect her from some slimeball who tries to dance with married women?”
“I was right there, Blake! I never left her! I thought it was nothing. I knew if I told you, it would just upset you, and I didn’t want that. Not for you or for her. I just wanted us to focus on finding her.”
“So, why are you telling me now?”
I inhale deeply, searching for the answer. “Because… Because the more time that passes, the more guilty I feel over not telling you. I still don’t want to believe anything bad could’ve happened to her. I still want to think she’ll turn up. And I’m not saying he had anything to do with this, but if he did and I kept it to myself, it would kill me.”
He squares his jaw, his gaze darting around. “If you saw him again, would you recognize him?”
I nod without hesitation. “Yes.”
He takes hold of my arm and drags me back toward the ship. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTERTEN
BLAKE
It takes over an hour to board the ship, the line crowded with sweat-soaked people who reek of alcohol and body odor. Babies cry, three men vomit, and two others nearly get in a fistfight before it’s broken up. All the while, all I can think of is the fact that somewhere in this crowd, somewhere on this ship, someone knows what happened to my wife.
Once we’re safely back on board, Florence and I make our way to the staircase in the center of the ship. I take two and three stairs at a time, darting between people as we move on our way to the fourth floor.
When we reach our destination, she stops me, grabbing my arm. “Holy crap. We left Patton,” she says, her eyes wide.
I have to think for a second to even remember who Patton is; I’ve been so focused.
“Send him a text and let him know we’re back on the ship. He can board when he’s ready.”
She nods, taking out her phone. I can tell she feels guilty, but honestly, who cares? The guy is a total asshole who can’t bother to be here for the woman he’s with. I say leave him in Mexico if he doesn’t care to stay with us.
I look around the room, back on task. I point straight ahead. “Okay. So, when you guys saw the man, it was near the bar in the lounge? That one over there?”