Page 36 of Drowning in Lies
Once I got back to Sherry's house, I sent a quick text to them both, inviting them out for a "goodbye" dinner for our last night together before I moved out of their guest room. After getting their enthusiastic agreement to meet at their favorite seafood place at 7, I put in a call to the travel agent that I had worked with to book the St. Bart's trip for our upcoming anniversary. I didn't bother explaining about David and she didn't ask, so presumably she hadn't made the connection if she'd seen it on the news. I made arrangements for an all-expenses paid trip to Greece, as a thank you to Chris and Sherry. That had been on Sherry's bucket list for years. I had the agent email the details to me, so I could present it to them at dinner.
I packed up my things, other than my toiletries and a change of clothes for the morning, then changed to head over to the restaurant.
We had a wonderful meal, and Sherry cried when I told them about the trip.
"I rented a villa in Santorini for you for ten days. I'll send you the email, with vouchers for first-class airfare and a rental car while you're there. You'll need to get with Cassie in the next few days to let her know what dates you want, and she will book it all and finalize everything for you."
Sherry squealed as she looked through the photos Cassie had included in her email, leaning across the table to excitedly show them to Chris. He shook his head and smiled at me, as she continued to swipe through the photos.
"You didn't have to do this, you know," he said.
"I know, but I wanted to. I couldn't have made it through the last seven months without you guys, especially this last week. I truly don't know what I would have done without you," I responded truthfully.
Later that night after I got ready for bed, I reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out the burner phone Sherry had bought for me last week. I powered it on, pleased to see that it was still charged. Dialing the number, I waited as it rang, hoping he would answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Uncle Pat, it's Lila"
"Well, hello, sweetheart. I thought it might be you when I saw the Indianapolis area code. Is everything OK? I read about their arraignment. The accompanying photo of them being led out of the courtroom wasn't flattering at all, I must say," he told me with a low chuckle.
I snickered. "No, it certainly wasn't. I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading to Mom's place on Wednesday to get the last of her things packed up before I put it on the market. There are some photo albums and a few things of Grandma's that I thought you might like to have."
"That's very thoughtful of you, I appreciate it. I would definitely like to have them. I miss them both very much. I'm going to be tied up later in the week, so if I'm not able to make it over to see you, I'll send someone to pick them up."
"That's fine. I'm planning to stay overnight at least and drive back here Thursday evening."
"That sounds good, I'll try to make it over there myself before you go then. Love you, sweetheart, talk to you soon."
Chapter 20: Hello, Princess
Tuesday morning began with a hurried goodbye to Chris and Sherry, who both had to get an early start at work that day. Sherry and I made tentative plans for lunch and shopping on Saturday, and I had a momentary flashback to our last Saturday out, which had ended with my husband dead.
I left around 8:00, carefully setting their alarm and locking their front door behind me. I made a quick stop to pick up some laundry and cleaning supplies, plus a broom and a vacuum, then drove to my new temporary condo. I planned to spend the morning getting things in order, until the furniture and grocery deliveries arrived in the afternoon. I wanted to launder the new sheets and towels I'd purchased and run all of the new dishes through a cycle on the dishwasher, plus give things a quick wipe down. I knew it had all been professionally cleaned already, but I wanted to go over the kitchen and bathroom again myself.
I had just started the washer when Melissa called. She had gotten a call from Vanessa's defense attorney, regarding her possessions in the condo. Vanessa's relatives had declined to travel to Indiana to pack up and remove her things. He had informed Melissa that the family was already somewhat estranged, and Vanessa's arrest was the last straw for them.
"Well, that sucks for her then, doesn't it?" I said snidely, and Melissa just chuckled.
"You are free to enter the condo and inspect the premises after 4:00 pm today. The condo management office on the first floor has a key for you and have been told to expect you. I've scheduled the moving and storage company to come tomorrow morning to remove everything. The management office has a cleaning and handyman service that they use, so I've scheduled them to come in on Thursday and Friday to get it ready for Rachel to list. She's going to get photographs taken for the listing over the weekend, and it will go on the market Monday morning."
I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the process was going. In less than a week, Vanessa's presence would be erased from my property, although I knew she would be imprinted in my mind and soul for the rest of my life.
The rest of the morning went by quickly, and when my stomach growled a little before noon, I placed an order for lunch to be delivered from the Chinese restaurant a couple of miles away. I ate on the floor, since I had no furniture yet, and finished just in time for my grocery delivery to arrive. By the time everything had been brought to my door, grocery bags covered every inch of the kitchen countertop and island. I had just finished putting the perishable items in the refrigerator and freezer when the furniture delivery crew showed up. I was amazed at how quickly they worked, and within an hour, things were liveable, at least for the time being.
Once everyone was gone and the last of the groceries had been put away, I sank down onto the couch with a sigh, grateful that I didn't have to sit on the floor anymore. I checked my emails, finding one from the prosecutor's office asking me to come in the following Monday to go over my testimony. Rachel had sent over more house listings for me to look over, but nothing looked quite right for me.
Shortly before 4:00, I drove to the Meridian Street building, and got the key from the agent in the management office. When I unlocked the door and stepped inside, I wrinkled my nose at the faint, lingering scent of the perfume Vanessa had always doused herself with.
I walked into the kitchen first, to find counters cluttered with mail and assorted crap, a sink half full of dirty dishes, and a trash can overflowing with carryout food containers and empty liquor bottles. The living room wasn't much better, with magazines and more dirty dishes stacked on the coffee table and end tables. The master bedroom was a pigsty. Clothing was strewn everywhere. The woman obviously didn't own a clothes hamper or at least didn't know what it was for, as dirty clothes covered almost every inch of the floor.
Half a dozen black and dark blue dresses lay on the bed. It appeared Vanessa had trouble deciding what to wear to the funeral and had tried on several outfits that morning. The bathroom was a mess of damp, musty smelling towels wadded up on the floor, with every inch of the counter covered by expensive make-up, lotions, and hair products.
There were photos of David, and of her and David, scattered throughout the condo. There was one of the two of them snuggled up together in a bed, sitting on the bedside table. It was clearly a selfie, and they were both clearly naked under the sheet. More framed photos were displayed on the mantel, and I had to roll my eyes. In every single photo, David was smiling at the camera, while a simpering Vanessa was smiling up at him in complete adoration. I found an empty box next to the trash can and put the photos in there to take with me. I wasn't sure what I would do with them. Dousing them with gasoline and setting them on fire might be cathartic. Tearing them into tiny pieces and dropping them into the watery depths of our lake would be nice symbolism, too.
A glance at her jewelry box yielded an unpleasant surprise - a ruby cocktail ring that had belonged to my Grandma Flanagan. It had been a gift to her from my grandfather on their tenth wedding anniversary, and the vintage filigree setting had been designed specifically for her by the jeweler. I hadn't noticed it missing from my own jewelry box with everything going on. I debated calling James and Mike to report the theft but decided I didn't want to have the ring held as evidence, in case something happened to it. I picked it up and slid it on my left ring finger, giving a silent "fuck you" to David and Vanessa. I had no idea if she stole it on her own, or if David took it and gave it to her, and it didn't even really matter at this point.
A look through the shelves in the closet revealed a Prada handbag identical to one I had in the back of my closet, as well as a pair of Louboutin pumps that looked suspiciously familiar. I had spent days looking for both items a few months back, only to have David lecture me about how forgetful I had gotten. I didn't bother taking those back. I didn't want them after she had used them.
