Free Forgotten Girls, The by Alexa Steele Page B

exactly where it had been, and looked Bella
directly in the eye. Her lips were curved in a smile but her eyes were deadly
serious.
    “I was not her keeper.”
    “You were one of her close
friends. Isn’t that kind of the same thing?”
    The look of disapproval on Bella’s
face was clear enough that even Jenna couldn’t ignore it. In one quick pivot
Jenna turned her back to the room and peered out the window at something awry
on the lawn. She remarked that Mario better make sure all the rain didn’t drown
her hydrangeas and confronted Doug about the garden then and there.
    “He never does what I ask, Doug. He
didn’t cut the sea grass as he promised and now it’s not going to grow in
straight. And the sprinklers in the front went on this morning even after all the
rain. The flowers are going to drown!”
    Doug sat stoically. He clearly
couldn’t care less that his wife was upset about the garden and didn’t even
bother to answer.
    Jenna pouted then came back to the
conversation, as though her little digression had not happened.
    “Last night was horrible. I am so
scared,” she said, resting a hand gently on Mack’s knee.
    Mack looked at her husband to see
if he noticed, but Doug’s eyes were still affixed to the floor, where they had
remained most of the time. Mack leaned back and took her hand gently off his
leg. She curled her legs up on the sofa like a child.
    Bella wondered if Doug was
embarrassed by his wife. If he wasn’t he ought to be, she thought. What the
hell was going on in this guy’s head? Either he was concerned for his wife or
he was concerned about the murder or he was just wrapped tight. Too tight for
her liking. One thing was certain—he seemed to dislike his wife immensely.
Luckily for Jenna, she didn’t seem to notice.   
    “How did you hear the news of her
murder?” Bella continued steadily, looking at Doug.
    Doug lifted his head, but Jenna
answered before he could speak.
    “Stephanie called me. Jamie had called
Jack.”
    Jenna said this as though reading
from a script.
    “Jack is Stephanie’s husband?”
Bella clarified.
    Jenna nodded.
    “How did Mrs. Freed seem to you
last night? I would like both of your impressions if you don’t mind,” said Bella,
looking at Jenna and Doug.
    “I didn’t really see her or talk
to her at all,” answered Doug quietly.
    “She seemed fine. Completely like
herself.” Jenna shrugged.
    “We heard Jos worked at the paper
in town? The Gazette ?” Bella pressed on.
    “Ummm…yes, that’s right. I heard that
too.”
    “You heard or she told you herself?”
Bella asked.
    “Umm, she told me,” Jenna said
offhandedly.
    “Do you know what kinds of stories
she was working on?”
    “No, I have no idea. Do you, Doug?”
    All heads turned to Doug. He
didn’t look up, only shrugged and said he didn’t know. Jenna smiled again.
    “Were you and Mrs. Freed close?” Bella
asked, genuinely curious to see what this woman’s perception was.
    “Of course! But Joslyn was—she
kind of did her own thing,” she observed.
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “She just—I don’t know, we
wouldn’t know where she was for sometimes like two whole days. Like, she’d have
things to do and two days could go by and we wouldn’t even hear from her.”
    Two whole days, Bella thought to
herself sarcastically. How the hell could a woman with Joslyn’s academic
credentials ever have related to this woman—been actual friends with her! What
in god’s name had they spoken about?
    Mack spoke up suddenly and shot
some questions in Doug’s direction. He asked point-blank if Doug thought the
Freeds were happily married.
    “Jamie never told me otherwise,”
Doug answered, slightly dumbfounded.
    “Did you ever see or hear anything
that might make you draw that conclusion on your own?” Mack asked.
    Doug looked like he was thinking
of something that made him uneasy but, if he was, he didn’t share it.
    “No, not that I recall,” he said
simply.
    “Do you