Thank you all! Enjoy!

Chapter 8

April 10, 2019

Anna nervously rubbed her hands together, as she waited for Alex to meet her at the fountain. She kept glancing around, afraid that she had fallen into one of his traps. What if he wasn't going to show? What if he was trying to get Zachary and steal him away from her?

Her worries faded slightly when she saw Alex across the way. He had a bright grin on his face and waved to her, before making his way to her. She made sure that there were plenty of people around and then stepped toward him.

"Alex," she simply greeted.

"I think it's time we dropped all of this nonsense, Anna," Alex began, still grinning. "You've proven your point. I know I went too far. Let's just start again. You and Zachary come home."

Anna's eyes narrowed. "You said we were going to discuss the divorce and that you were going to give me full custody. Why am I not surprised that you lied to me?" Anna crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "This was all just a ploy."

"I want you home, Anna," Alex said, moving closer to her. He tried to grab at her upper arm, but Anna stepped back.

"Don't," she warned. "And I'm not coming back. We're getting a divorce. I don't want to be married to you anymore."

"But you are my wife," Alex strongly stated, his grin fading and the darkness covering his eyes again. "You belong to me."

"No, I don't, Alex. You don't own me," Anna replied. She jutted out her jaw. "We're getting a divorce."

"You won't get Zachary," Alex angrily said to her. "I'm his father. I have the money. I have the police on my side. I'll be rewarded full custody. Come back home, so you don't lose him."

"Don't threaten Zachary," Anna warned. "Don't threaten me. I'm not afraid of you," Anna stated, not wavering, though she was still terrified of what he could do. Alex made an evil laugh and then brought his lips up to her ear.

"Well, you should be." He stepped back, his eyes lingering on hers. "I'm not letting you go that easily, Anna. I'll do whatever it takes."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

April 18, 2019

"Is he home?" Matthew's voice asked, as he entered the house through the garage. He had to run into work and had been upset he couldn't stay with Mary and wait for Zachary's arrival.

Matthew found Mary sitting by the window in their recliner with Zachary asleep on her chest. Her eyes were puffy and cheeks damp. He sat down on the chair beside her and rested his hand on Zachary's back.

"How is he?"

"Fine," Mary shuddered. "But he..he asked for Anna." A fresh tear slipped down her cheek. Matthew bent down to her side and caressed her cheek with his hand, wiping away the tear with his thumb.

"Do you want me to take him upstairs to his room?" Matthew offered. Soon after Anna had come to their house in January, they had turned one of the rooms into a nursery with a cot and dresser for the little boy. They knew it would take a while for Anna to get on her feet and neither of them wanted her to live alone with Alex out there. So they had set up the room to show Anna that she was welcome to stay as long as she needed.

"No," Mary murmured, kissing the top of Zachary's head. "I just want to hold him. I'm still scared that Alex will get him back. But I spoke to the detective. He said Zachary is to stay in our custody until this case is settled. So even if Alex does get to go home, he won't get Zachary right away. I don't know if the detective is allowed to make that decision, or if he suggests it, or how any of that works…."

"We'll do whatever it takes to keep him here, Mary," Matthew promised. "Now, how are you holding up?"

"I'm not," Mary honestly said. "I think it's finally hit me that I probably will never see my friend again, that Zachary will not have his mother in his life. He's going to forget her, Matthew. He's so little. He won't have any memories." A low sob left Mary's lips and she turned away. Matthew's lips drew down into a frown.

"We'll tell him all about her," Matthew tried to comfort. "I know it's not perfect, but we'll do what we can to honor her memory. We'll let him know how wonderful she was."

"She really was," Mary cried.

"I know, darling. I know." He stood up and kissed the top of her head. "Are you sure you don't want me to take him to his bed?"

"No, I need to hold him, Matthew. I can't let him go."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John wasn't allowed to go into the interrogation room, not at first, anyway. He was, however, allowed to watch at the see through mirror. He sat, waiting, until they brought Alex Green into the room. He looked smug. Not concerned at all that he had been arrested for the disappearance of his wife. John scooted closer to the window, so he could see Green's face better. It made him sick, how calm the man was.

They sat him down and Alex just laughed.

"This is a waste of time," Alex told them. "She's run off. She gave up on our kid and ran off."

"I don't believe you, Mr. Green," Carson's harsh voice broke through. He stepped into the room, telling the other officers to leave. "Tell us what you did with her."

"Did with her? I didn't do anything to Anna. I love Anna, sir. She's never loved being a mother, though, you see. She got pregnant before she finished school. Then it was a difficult pregnancy and delivery. She begged for a nanny, even though she was staying home. I think she just got overwhelmed, you see. Left for a while. I'm sure she'll return."

"Mr. Green, I have seven reports here of you either being abusive towards your wife or threatening her life." Carson threw them onto the table. "She left you in January. She took your son with her. That doesn't sound like a woman who didn't want her child. It sounds like a woman who tried to run away from an abusive relationship."

Green pushed the folders out of the way and rolled his eyes.

"No, these are all lies. I never hurt her."

"Detective Willis saw the scars on her in January. Are you saying he's lying?"

"No, she probably just made herself look that way. Why would I hurt my wife? I love her. I just want her home," Green kept his composure. John wished he could have a couple minutes alone with him.

"You can stop with the lies now, Mr. Green. Tell us where Anna is. What did you do with her?"

Green just sat back, crossing his arms across his chest.

"There's nothing to tell."

Carson inhaled sharply and turned, knocking on the door. Two guards appeared.

"Take him to a cell. I'll try again in a little bit."

John watched as Alex was taken away and he stood, unhappily. When Carson came into the viewing room, John quickly pounced on him with questions.

"What was that? Why did you stop the interview already? He's given us nothing!"

But Carson wasn't fazed.

"We're going to interview the nanny, see what she knows. Then we'll bring him back in. We have to give him time to stew. Make him think. You have to catch these sorts off guard."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John was allowed in the room when they interviewed the nanny. She came in with an ashen face, her eyes darting between him and Carson. John felt sorry for the girl; she looked terrified. He assessed that she was likely younger than twenty. She had dark hair, cut into a short bob and large brown eyes that looked like a frightened animal's as she sat down.

"Is…has….has Mr. Green really been arrested?" She asked them first. Her hands came in front of her and she began to pull at her fingers anxiously.

"Yes, Ms. Calloway. He has."

"I'm so glad," she admitted. That perked up John's ears.

"Do you know anything about Mrs. Green's disappearance," Carson asked her. The girl shook her head.

"No. I don't. I…so you haven't found her then?" The girl's eyes grew watery. "I liked her a lot. She loved her little boy."

"We haven't found her," John informed the girl. "She's still missing."

"I think he did it, but I don't have any proof," Jenny said to them. "I….I never liked Mr. Green very much. He always frightened me. I was planning on quitting and then Anna…I mean Mrs. Green left him. And Mr. Green said he would still need a nanny for when Zachary came over. So I kept the job, but only came over on the days Zachary was there. I didn't want to leave him. I've been helping care for him since he was a little baby, around five months old."

"Can you tell us what makes you think he's guilty? How he frightened you?" John asked.

"He…" Jenny paused. "I used to hear him screaming bloody awful at her. She'd come out of the room with tears on her face, but try to cover it up so I didn't see it."

"Were there ever any bruises after these fights?"

"No," Jenny answered. "Never. I did catch her with some marks from time to time, but she always had stories about where they had come from. He never hurt her in front of me or when I was around."

John bobbed his head up and down, just as he thought. Green was smart.

"I was so happy when she left him. She was never really happy, well, except when she was with Zachary," Jenny gave a solemn smile. "She loved that boy. She was very nice and sweet. I never understood what she saw in Mr. Green, to tell you the truth. She didn't seem the type to go after someone because they had money. It just didn't make sense."

"Can you tell me what he did that scared you?" John then pressed. Jenny swallowed hard.

"He was always looking at me strangely, eying me up and down. Once, he took me on a tour of the large property. I didn't want to go. Anna and Zachary were away for the day. I can't remember where they were off too. He cornered me and said he had to show me something. He took me around in his golf cart. I grew really scared that he was taking me out there to…." She reddened and glanced down at the table. "But he didn't. He just showed me some of his favorite spots. There was a tree where he told me he lost his virginity, which I didn't know why he was telling me. Then he showed off an old tree house he had as a child. The strangest was a cave, but it wasn't on his property. It was over on the neighbors' property. He said it was his favorite place to go that he had found as a child. Said he had taken lots of girls there to do things with them. And I grew scared then, but as I said, nothing happened."

"Thank you, Jenny," Carson sincerely told her. "Do you know anything else?" Her head shook.

"But…is…is Zachary alright?"

"Yes," John told her with a smile. "He's with the Crawleys."

Jenny let out a tearful smile then. "Oh thank god. They love him so much. He'll be alright."

"I bet they'd let you visit him, if you'd like," John added.

"I would love that," Jenny nodded. "But I'll wait until things have settled. If you have any more questions, I'll be at my mum's house."

"Thank you, Jenny."

Jenny left the room, leaving John and Carson alone.

"You should have those searching the property to look at those three places," John stated. "They are significant to him. That matters."

"Yes," Carson agreed, rubbing his hands together. "I wouldn't know which tree it was. Perhaps, we can get Jenny to go out there tomorrow and show us where these places were."

"If she remembers," John added. "It's a massive property."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Hours later, Alex Green was brought back into the interrogation room. John was sent back out to watch in the other room. He hated that he couldn't be in there to force answers out of him. But he sat back and listened intently to the questions.

Alex continued to suggest that Anna was a bad mother and just wanted to escape. He swore he never laid a finger on her and had been the perfect husband. All of those things were laughable to John.

"Enough with the lies," Carson finally said, placing his hands on the table and bringing his face close to Alex's. "Tell me where Anna is, what you did to her."

Alex only scoffed. "I didn't touch her."

Carson pulled back out his seat and sat down. But he scooted it close to Alex and John could tell that he was losing his patience. However, he took in a deep breath, and tried a different route.

"What about your boy, Mr. Green? Don't you care about him? Do you really want him to wonder his entire life where his mother has gone?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "She left him. Not sure what you want me to do about that."

"She didn't!" Carson now yelled, his temper flaring. "Tell me where you put her! Tell me where her body is!"

A laugh left Alex's lips. "She's a stubborn one, Detective Carson. I doubt she's dead, yet."

John sat up. His jaw opened. Had Alex just said what he thought he said? Was there a possibility that Anna was still alive?

To be continued...