Jeff sighed. “This therapist. There’s something you don’t know about her.”

“What’s that?”

“Lisa Rayburn was the one seeing Jamie before she disappeared. I called her and pleaded with her to take me on as a client. She finally agreed.”

Eric nearly choked on the unlit cigar he held in his mouth. “That’s perfect. How could she say no?”

10             

Seven years earlier

The night with Nicole replayed in his mind like an old phonograph record. He’d stayed at her apartment until nearly four in the morning before he dared to take her body from the building. While he waited, he’d removed every trace of himself, anything that could possibly link him to her.

For months he’d watched the papers, never finding anything about a missing woman named Nicole. She must have been the kind of person everyone expected would just take off one day. He was home free.

Unsure whether he would feel compelled to such an extreme measure of retaliation again, he nonetheless found great pleasure in remembering every detail of their evening without dwelling on the conflicting emotions the memory aroused in him. That he’d go unpunished made it even sweeter.

He remembered her fondly. In a recurring daydream, she kissed him good-bye as he left her apartment, making him promise to call her the next day. The real ending to their encounter always popped up at the end, exciting him far more than the imagined good-bye scene.

11             

When Lisa entered the waiting area to invite Jeff Denison in for his next appointment, she couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing another man sitting next to him.

Jeff stood. “Lisa, I’d like you to meet Eric Schindler,”

Lisa ushered the men into her office. She remembered the name Eric Schindler and realized he must be TJ’s ‘Doc.’ Why would he be here with Jeff?

Schindler, about an inch shorter than Jeff, was broader, built as solidly as a wrestler. His face revealed nothing as he took a chair next to Jeff in front of Lisa’s desk. She thought she detected an odor of cigar smoke on him, a smell she hated only slightly less than the skunk spray Phanny brought in the house with her after meeting up with one of the little critters.

Jeff said, “I apologize for springing this on you. Eric’s told me about TJ and what you two are planning. I’d like to use my session today for the three of us to talk.”

She did feel like she’d had something sprung on her. “We can do that, Jeff, but first I’d like to talk to you alone.”

Eric left the room.

She asked, “Why didn’t you call me about this before just showing up with Eric Schindler?”

“You’re right. I should have. But Eric told me about you and TJ—what you’re doing. If there’s anything I can possibly do to find Jamie, I need to do it. I was afraid you’d say no.”

Irritated, but more at Schindler, who she was certain had orchestrated the ambush, she said, “Jeff, I understand why you feel that way, but it’s not my decision to make. You should have asked TJ, not me. And I’m sorry, but finding your wife is not what this is about.”

“But it could lead to that,” he argued.

Under other circumstances, Lisa might have seen his assertiveness as positive.

Jeff said, “Eric did talk to TJ. She’ll be here in about half an hour, but Eric wanted to talk to you first.”

At least TJ would be on hand to deal with the situation. “All right,” she said, “bring him in.”

Eric came back in with his hands in his pockets, wearing a subtle smile. Schindler, in his fifties, had a compelling rather than handsome face and his black, coarse hair had only a few streaks of gray. He looked uncomfortable. He took a seat next to Jeff. “I wanted to meet you as soon as TJ told me about you, but I was afraid you might refuse to talk to me. The rise in missing women is horrifying, but it’s given Jeff and myself hope. We want to find answers.”

Aware of the sincerity in his plea, she said, “I’m not surprised that either of you would want to take part. But I have reservations about getting anyone else involved.”

Eric sat back. “If I can’t be actively involved, maybe there are other ways I can help. TJ won’t go back on my payroll; she said this is something she wants to do. If nothing else I’d like to pay any necessary expenses.”

The man could be persuasive; she’d give him that. He appeared confident and in control. A little too slick? He’d been a doctor after all; maybe it was just his built-in professional smoothness coming through. Or arrogance.

When she didn’t speak, he continued, “Jeff and I want to help in any way we can.”

Jeff nodded, looking relieved to have someone else plead his case.

Eric met her gaze. “I’m perceived by many people as just another wife-murderer who got off on a legal loophole. I’d like to get out from under that stigma. I want whoever is responsible for abducting my wife to pay for it.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow. “I’m curious why you had to see me without TJ.”

He leaned toward her. “Two reasons. First, I wanted to plead my case with you. Beg, if necessary.” His smile eased his rugged features. “The second is my concern about the two of you meeting with men who are known abusers and maybe even murderers. I’d be more comfortable if we could go with you, but I know TJ is going to object. She perceives herself as perfectly capable of taking care of both of you. I’m afraid if I were to voice my concern, she’d be insulted.”

“How do you know I’m not insulted?”

His eyes narrowed, as if contemplating her comment.

She said quickly, “We both know how TJ would react to that. As for me, I guess I hadn’t thought about the safety issue yet. Considering TJ’s background, I’m not sure your fears are necessary.”

“You’re right. And I apologize if I’ve offended you. Or TJ. Maybe I’m being old-fashioned. Or chauvinistic?” He looked at Lisa from under heavy, dark brows.

Her mind raced, trying to decide what it would mean for these two men to be part of their search. It would certainly be a positive for Jeff, desperate to play a role in finding his wife. He’d have to be willing to continue his therapy with someone else, of course. But there was something about Eric. Something that put her off.

The door opened and TJ entered the room. “Hey guys, what’s happenin’?”

TJ sat at her desk, gazing out the windows. Her ninth floor apartment east of downtown Milwaukee didn’t have a lake view, but she loved the glitter of the city’s lights after dark. She’d take this over the endless steel blue of Lake Michigan anytime.

She’d been ticked-off earlier by Eric’s rush to talk to Jeff and Lisa without her, but the end result satisfied her. He’d made a more convincing argument to Lisa than she could have, forcing her to admit that she and Lisa would need all the help they could get. Eric’s safety concerns were a different matter. Well-intended but unnecessary. Demeaning even. Eric knew she could take care of herself, but she’d let it go. Only results mattered.

Lisa’s point made sense. She and TJ had professional interviewing skills, so going out separately, each accompanied by one of the men, would get a lot more accomplished.

They agreed to keep the investigation to themselves as much as possible. From TJ’s point of view, they had to keep it from the MPD for now. The last thing she wanted was for Richard Conlin to find out—at least until the search bore fruit. She had no doubt it would.

The next morning Lisa met Amanda Hawkins at the Women’s Center in Oconomowoc. They shared small talk over a cup of coffee before Amanda handed Lisa a folder containing the list of names Lisa had asked for.