Chapter 2
Vanessa closed the page and opened a folder with no name.
Inside were all the files she'd collected over the past six years about Naomi's disappearance. There were chat logs, call records, and bank statements, but none of them led anywhere.
Naomi had vanished without a trace, as if she'd never existed.
There was only one thing that didn't add up.
A month before Naomi disappeared, she suddenly had a lot more cash than usual. She was a regular office clerk making about 1.5 thousand a month, but she bought a 6-thousand-dollar handbag during that time.
Vanessa had asked her about it, and Naomi said her boyfriend bought it for her.
"What boyfriend? When are you going to introduce him to us?" Vanessa pressed.
Naomi smiled. "Maybe later. We're not there yet."
And that was the end of it.
Vanessa minimized the folder and opened another document. It contained all the serial murder news she'd collected over six years.
She wasn't sure why she collected all these articles. Maybe it was because of Naomi's disappearance, or maybe she felt those girls disappeared too cleanly and strangely, as Naomi did.
She scrolled through the articles, then suddenly paused.
Three years ago, there was a report from a neighboring city.
Four women had gone missing, and police suspected the same perpetrator. The victims were all women aged 20 to 30, each of whom had been in a relationship lasting no more than six months before disappearing.
One of the missing woman's friends said she'd heard her mention her boyfriend was a doctor.
The story was never followed up on.
Vanessa stared at the word "doctor", and a chill crept up her back again.
She thought of the seven phones hidden in the attic, Molly, and six other girls.
Their final message was always, [Sleep. Everything will be okay tomorrow.] And their last photo was always on that same bed.
'Where was that bed?' Vanessa wondered.
Vanessa lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Justin wouldn't be home until morning.
She rolled over, pressed her face into his pillow, and breathed in deep.
The pillow smelled like him. Disinfectant mixed with shampoo, and something else she couldn't quite place. It was something faintly musty, old, almost like something decaying.
She suddenly thought about that basement that was always locked.
Justin said it was where he kept medical equipment. The hospital had old gear, so he brought some home to fix up.
Vanessa had never gone in, nor had she ever asked. For a year of marriage, she believed trust was the foundation of a relationship. Now, she no longer thought so.
*****
When Justin came home the next morning, Vanessa was already up and had breakfast ready.
"How was your sleep last night?" Justin asked as he sat down, taking the milk she handed him.
"It was good," Vanessa said, putting a fried egg on his plate. "How about you? Were there a lot of surgeries?"
"Two emergencies. I was up until three in the morning," Justin said, rubbing his eyes. "I'm wiped out."
Vanessa looked at him and suddenly asked, "Justin, how many girls have you dated before?"
Justin paused mid-bite, glancing up at her. "Why?"
"Just curious," Vanessa said, resting her chin in her hand with an innocent smile. "You're such a catch. You must have dated a lot of girls, right?"
"Nope," Justin said, looking down at his food. "Two, and neither of them worked out."
"Really?" Vanessa nodded and didn't say more.
She thought, 'Only two? Why are there seven phones in the attic?'
She took a sip of milk, forcing down the emotions that threatened to surface.
*****
Over the next few days, Vanessa started keeping a close eye on Justin. She tracked when he left, when he got home, listened to how he talked on the phone, and paid attention to how long he showered.
He claimed he was on "night shift" at the hospital every Wednesday, but last week, Vanessa called the hospital behind his back and found out there hadn't been a single emergency surgery that night.
Molly got that one last text on Wednesday night.
Vanessa opened her phone calendar and marked every Wednesday from the past few months.
She recalled that Justin had been out for at least three of those Wednesdays.
She checked those girls' photos and looked through them one by one.
Molly's last photo showed dark blue curtains. Another girl's final photo featured those same curtains.
Vanessa zoomed in, studying the pattern on the curtains. They were identical, and the folds matched perfectly.
Vanessa's heart started racing.
She stood up and walked over to the bedroom window. The curtains were a pale gray. She thought, 'Where have I seen dark blue curtains before?'
Right, the basement.
A month ago, she'd gone downstairs to look for something, and as she passed the basement, the door was ajar. She peeked inside and caught a glimpse of a dark blue curtain.
She hadn't thought much of it then, but now, thinking back, she found it weird. She thought, 'Why would there be a curtain on a window deep in the basement?'
Vanessa's palms started to sweat.
*****
Justin said he had a meeting at the hospital on Thursday afternoon and wouldn't be home for dinner.
"Okay. Take care," Vanessa replied.
As soon as he drove away, she rushed downstairs to the basement.
The door was locked.
She'd expected that, so she'd brought something else with her.
Justin always carried a bunch of keys in his pocket. She'd noticed one was old and worn, different from the others.
The night before last, while he was in the shower, she had pressed a mold of that key using clay.
Right now, Vanessa was gripping the replica key in her palm.