Chapter 11

"You Can't Win"

"Shit," I was saying without even thinking. We had nothing to hide so there was no reason to be nervous.

"Why is there a cop here?" she whispered.

I shrugged and hoped for the best as I opened the door slightly, leaving Belly out of view.

"Hello. Can I help you Officer?" I said calmly.

"Good evening. I'm Officer Reed." He presented his badge. "Are you Conrad Fisher?"

"Yes."

"And are you here alone?"

For a second I considered answering that with a yes but decided against it. "No. I'm here with my..." Should I say it? "Girlfriend."

"May I come in?"

"Sure," I said.

Somehow Belly had snuck away into the kitchen by the time I moved back to allow Officer Reed entry. Immediately he began observing the summer house. If he was expecting to find alcohol of some sort he was out of luck because Belly and I made sure to empty every last bottle into the sink to rid temptation.

I led him into the kitchen where Belly was pretending to clean the counter tops. She stopped when we entered.

"This is Isabel Conklin," I gestured at Belly.

She smiled, probably because I called her by her actual name rather than to greet Reed. He introduced himself and asked if he could take a seat at the kitchen table when he was already pulling out a chair. "Sure, make yourself at home," I muttered under my breath. Belly glared at me. Reed seemed to not notice. He placed a rectangular piece of paper on the table.

"Do you recognize this girl Mr. Fisher?"

I froze for a moment. Mr. Fisher. That was new. And then it registered. That's not a piece of paper, it's a photograph of a girl. I took a closer look and my eyes widened. "Agnus."

Reed nodded. "May I ask how you know this girl?"

Keeping my eyes trained on the picture I mumbled, "Ex-girlfriend."

"When did you two date?"

I racked my brains. I didn't know the specific time because we dated off and on throughout the past school year. Should I say that?

"Months ago," I said instead.

I gave Belly a sideways glance. Her face was expressionless. I thought back to the time before the wedding when she asked me if I had a girlfriend in California. I'd said no which had been a white lie. She didn't even know I'd been with Agnus when I went back there in July.

"You were in California this past July. Correct?"

"Correct," I said.

"How long were you in California, Mr. Fisher?"

"About two weeks."

He jotted something down on a notebook I hadn't noticed before.

"What was your business there?"

Um. "I needed to get away from here. Personal reasons."

"While there, did you stay with Agnus?"

"Just for a couple of days until I was able to buy an apartment," I answered earnestly. I wondered what Belly was making out of this.

"In the time you spent with Agnus, did you notice anything different in her behavior?"

"No," I answered truthfully. What was all this about? "May I ask what all these questions are for."

Officer Reed put down his pen and nodded at the chair across from him. "You may want to take a seat for this."

My back tensed but I obeyed. Belly stayed in the same spot. Quiet and unblinking.

"Mr. Fisher, it was reported by the tenant of the apartment you purchased that Agnus was seen storming out of there hours before you vacated the place."

Reed was eyeing me suspiciously.

"We had a small disagreement. A while later she drove me to the airport and she was fine."

"Yes well, it's also been reported that you were the last person to be seen with her."

My heart beat sped up, I could feel it in my throat.

"What does that mean?" I knew what it meant but I couldn't resist asking.

"Agnus has gone missing."

xxx

After almost an hour of scrutiny, Officer Reed excused himself. I walked him to his car. Belly stayed inside.

"Was her apartment searched?" I asked.

He stopped walking. "Every inch. There was no evidence of her being there since the day she went missing. Mr. Fisher, you are aware that you're a prime suspect at the moment, right?"

I kept perfect eye contact with him. "I haven't heard from her since we said our goodbye at the airport. I have no idea where she is."

"I believe you," he said slowly. "Hopefully she'll appear soon before this gets out of hand. Her parents are worried."

"And so am I. If I hear anything..."

Reed handed me his card. "In case you need to reach me."

I waited for his car to disappear around the corner. What am I going to do? I went back inside. Belly was sitting on the foot of the stairs. I squatted down in front of her.

"Bells—"

"Why didn't you tell me about Agnus?"

"There isn't much to tell."

"What was all that stuff about you staying with her?"

"We didn't do anything if that's what you're thinking," I said. The look on her face showed she'd been thinking exactly that. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not!" She started picking at her already short nails.

I sighed. "We dated this past school year. It didn't mean anything. She knew about you. Before spring term ended we decided to stay friends. When I was there recently I stayed at her place because I had nowhere else to go. Remember how I told you a friend helped me while I was out there? That was her."

Belly thought it over. "I guess I have no right to question you about her. I was still with Jere then..."

"And it meant nothing. Remember that."

She gave me a slight smile. I kissed her softly in hopes that she'd let the issue drop. "So you're not mad?"

"I have no reason to be. But I am worried. Why do you think she went missing?"

I knew she was going to ask that. "I honestly have no idea. Could be anything really."

"Could it be because you left?"

She was giving me a knowing look. As if I somehow did something to provoke Agnus' disappearance.

"Could we not talk about this now?" I rose and headed for the rec room. Belly didn't follow me like I thought she would.

"Conrad, how did Officer Reed know to find you here?" That was a good question. I'd been wondering the same thing. No one expect Belly knew I was in Cousins; not even Laurel. "Does Agnus know about this place?"

"I might have mentioned it in passing. Why?"

She was now standing in front of me. Her eyes were shifty. As if she thought Agnus could be hiding somewhere in the house. "Oh nothing. It's all just really weird..."

"I know what you're thinking but it can't be. Agnus wouldn't fake her own disappearance. That doesn't even make sense."

Belly was opening her mouth to argue when the lights went out. We were left in total darkness.