A Day in a Life

Chapter Seven

Elijah

M R. OLIVER FLANDERS rushes into the restaurant where we decided to meet, his tie flying to one side, his breathing labored. He needs to lose about sixty pounds before his heart protests, his blood sugar skyrockets, and neuropathy steals the feeling from his feet.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. It’s been one of those days.”

“No problem. Elijah Garrett. Nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand only to receive a clammy handshake.

“Oliver Flanders.”

The one man who refused to accept that Sydni took her own life. He reported her as a missing person, thereby granting law enforcement time to find her. I wonder if he knows the police handled it like an open-and-shut case anyway. Labeled it suicide and closed the file. Sure, they conducted a search for the body. They devoted a whopping one day to the endeavor. Most of us put more effort into a wrongful charge on a credit card—pursue it for days if that’s what it takes. It’s a shame.

After studying the menu for a few minutes in silence, we place our orders.

“Thank you for meeting with me today,” I begin. I’d already clarified the reason for the meeting on the phone. No need for more explanations. “What do you do, Oliver?” Yes, we’re already on a first-name basis, another thing established on our earlier phone call.

“Investment banking. I own my own company. It’s kept me busy for longer than a job should. Hence, my divorce from Clara. Said she was married to a ghost.”

Flanders Investments. I checked. They’re barely staying afloat. “I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as I am. I didn’t put my family first. Now I’m paying the price.” Oliver runs his hands over his face, a testament to fatigue.

“Sounds to me like you’ve been working hard for your family.” I take a long pull of ice-cold soda. It hits the spot.

“I thought so too. I’ve since learned my family needs me more than they need a fancy house or fancy cars. My realization came a bit too late, I’m afraid.”

I think about his ex-wife’s ongoing renovations and question her motivations.

“I see what you’re saying. I’ll keep that in mind. It’ll be a life lesson I won’t have to learn firsthand.” When it comes to marriage, I could use a few pointers.

“Are you married, Elijah?”

“No, not anymore.”

“Aw, perhaps you could teach me a few life lessons.” Oliver wipes beads of sweat from his forehead and bald, shiny head. He removes his suit jacket, only to reveal pit stains. Then he glances at his watch.

This is a man who is stressed to the point of collapse. Saying he works too hard is an understatement.

“Don’t get shot during the line of duty.” That’s it. That’s my tidbit of wisdom learned from my marriage. Because some women—as callous as it sounds—can’t love a broken man.

“Not much chance of that in my line of work. So, retired fuzz, huh? Now you’re investigating insurance fraud? Working for Risk Policy Collective? They’re a good company.”

“They are.”

“How can I help? I’ll do anything.” Oliver glances at his watch one more time. It’s literally thirty seconds since the last time he looked.

“I’m trying to understand Sydni’s frame of mind on the day of the accident. Anything you can share with me will help, even if you find it insignificant.”

“You don’t think it was suicide?” Oliver asks after downing his soda in three huge gulps.

“Do you think it was suicide?” I’m more interested in knowing what he thinks.

“No way, no how. Not my Sydni. She loved life. I’m the one who objected, who reported her as a missing person. As for Cole, he insisted it was suicide, that Sydni was out of her mind with grief. Gotta admit, I’ve loved every minute of watching Cole wait to cash in on my baby’s death.”

I like this man. He tells it like it is. “So you do think she’s gone?”

“I do. Reporting Sydni as a missing person allowed the police to take their time to investigate, to really look into what happened without feeling pressure from Ashcole to make a decision. For a long time, I thought they might find her alive. Wishful thinking, I know. I refused to believe she was gone. Just couldn’t do it.” Oliver wipes away a stray tear.

So many things are going through my mind, I don’t know what to ask first. “Ashcole?”

“Ah, sorry. That was my nickname for the arrogant jerk she married. I’m so used to it, it slips out of my mouth without me even thinking about it. I apologize.”

“No apology needed.” On the contrary. I love it.

“So you’ve met?”

“Just this morning.” He’s memorable, like taking a sip of curdled milk.

“And?”

“And I find Ashcole a highly appropriate name.”

Oliver laughs a huge belly laugh. “I like you, Elijah. My daughter should’ve married someone like you.”

He has no idea where my thoughts have turned concerning his daughter, that she sounds like the perfect woman for me.

My thoughts spin. I have an obsession with a woman who could be a partner in insurance fraud. We don’t match. We never will. I’m being ridiculous.

My face remains blank. Proud of myself for it too. But I can’t help the flash of heat that spreads from my toes to my head, and I’m hoping he won’t notice.

He doesn’t. “I don’t think Ashcole made her happy.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He made her lose her passion for life, like she was a shadow of her former self. Sydni always seemed a little too…composed around him. She was eight years younger than him. Did he really expect her to behave the way he did? The answer is yes. He did. If she laughed loudly, he gave her a look of disdain. Sydni doesn’t enjoy being told what to do. Just her nature.”

Huh. Cole’s expression when he’s around Suzette must be constant disdain. Somehow, karma’s involved in that situation. I still don’t get those two as a couple. It makes no sense.

“Your ex-wife said Sydni was on the quiet side.”

“She was. But she had so much zest for living, even though Ashcole did his best to knock it out of her. No one knew Sydni unless they took the time to really know her.” Oliver pulls out his wallet, unfolding a row of pictures like a character in a comedy. “That’s Sydni and Cole on their honeymoon in the Florida Keys. They went to Key Largo. I love this one. She looks so happy.”

Sydni does have a huge smile on her face. Wow. That smile transforms her. She’s…stunning. Cole’s smile, however, looks more like a grimace. Still, it’s proof they were happy at one time. They’re both dressed in swimwear, towels hanging over their shoulders.

“This one’s of Sydni and Cole on a backpacking trip in the Grand Tetons. It’s one of Sydni’s favorite places, besides the beach.”

Even though I don’t love seeing pictures of them together, it’s good to see that Sydni and Cole did have some good times. I love knowing she experienced happiness in her life. It wasn’t all bad.

“Ah, this one is the last Christmas we spent together.”

I find this particular picture disturbing. I don’t see how Oliver can’t see it. Hannah and Liam are on one side of the couch with a huge stack of wrapped gifts next to them.

Sydni and Cole are on the other side of the couch, with only a small stack of presents next to them. Cole’s sitting back on the couch, his legs crossed, his expression bored. Sydni is proudly holding her tiny baby bump.

Hannah already had children at this time, so her family was bigger. Presents come in different sizes and prices. The tiny pile of presents could’ve cost the same as the huge pile of presents. But I can’t convince myself it’s true.

This picture bothers me because it displays a clear pattern of favoritism. Proof in full color.

Hannah, boasting a large baby bump, and Cole are sitting next to each other in the middle of the couch, looking as though they can barely tolerate each other. Yay for happy family time.

“Oliver, can you tell me about Sydni’s last day? Did you see her?”

Oliver is quiet as our plates are served.

“Oliver?”

“No. I didn’t see her.” His tone is subdued.

“Did she call you?”

“Yes, she did. My baby girl could hardly speak through her tears. I felt so bad. I was too busy to visit her in the hospital. I didn’t even send flowers. She asked if I had time to meet her for lunch, said she needed to speak with me. I objected because she was supposed to be on bedrest. But she pleaded with me. How could I say no to my baby girl? My schedule that day was tight. I’d planned on working through lunch. I agreed to meet her at our favorite restaurant, an Italian place with a gorgeous courtyard.” Oliver stares down at his plate, not taking a bite. “I don’t know how it happened. I guess I just got absorbed in paperwork.”

“How what happened?” I ask, taking a forkful of chicken.

“How I missed our lunch date. I looked up at the clock only to find I was an hour late. I rushed out of the office and made it to the restaurant as fast as I could, driving like a crazy man. By the time I made it, I was an hour and twenty minutes late. When I questioned the ma?tre d’, he said the young lady had been waiting for over an hour. She finally left without eating. Then he paused and asked if she was well, said she looked rather pale.”

“What did you do?”

“I checked my phone. I had eleven missed calls, all from Sydni. I had forgotten that I had turned off my phone to get some work done without being interrupted. When I tried to call her back, it went to voicemail. I never saw her or spoke to her again.” Oliver hangs his head, his shoulders shaking as he begins to cry. “My baby girl needed me and I wasn’t there for her.”

I don’t know what to say. He’s right. Sydni reached out to both her mother and her father. Neither one of them was there for her when she needed someone the most.

Oliver wipes wetness from his cheeks. “The thing is, Sydni’s always been mine—I mean, a daddy’s girl. Hannah and Clara have always been like an exclusive club neither Sydni nor I was invited to. Those two are tight, so tight I’m afraid they made Sydni feel like an outsider. Sydni never expressed anxiety over the issue. She didn’t need to. I could see it. The thought that it might’ve contributed to her possible suicide tears me up inside.”

If I determine this was a suicide, the saddest part will be in the details. Sydni was begging for help.

No one was there for her.