“Yes,” Maggie confirmed, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Gone without a trace.”
“That seems bizarre,” Vivien said. “But I guess the case is thirty years old. Surely a law firm doesn’t keep everything forever.”
“John Waverly did,” Maggie said. “Anyway, we don’t know what to do next to crack this case.”
“Crack the case, Nancy Drew?” Jo Ellen teased. “We can call itThe Secret of Gulf Shore Drive.”
Maggie had to laugh at that, too, since they’d both been raised on the books and always connected over them. “Sadly, it’sThe Case of the Brick Wallwe’re facing,” she said. “And no idea what clue to follow next.”
Vivien pulled out a chair. “I have a thought.”
They turned to her, both interested.
“What about the Cavallaris?”
“Frank and Betty?” Maggie blinked at her. “Surely they’re dead by now.”
“Oh, no.” Jo Ellen finally put her tablet on the table. “Kate and Eli went to see them a while back.”
Maggie launched a brow north. Good heavens, she hated to be in the dark. “And was anyone ever going to tell me this?”
“There was no reason, Mom,” Vivien said softly. “They just found out that they lived not far from here and went to see how they were.”
“And how are they?”
“Confused and might have dementia,” Jo Ellen replied.
“Really?” Maggie blinked, her heart squeezing. “I liked Betty so much. I never really cared much for Frank. He had some very seedy acquaintances in town, but Betty taught us to cook so many things, Jo. Remember?”
“Like Bolognese,” Vivien said.
“Yes!” Maggie and Jo Ellen exclaimed in unison.
“It was so good I wrote about it in my diary.” Vivien laughed. “I even kept the recipe you gave me, Aunt Jo Ellen. It’s funny, because I read that entry last night.”
“Why do you think they have dementia?” Maggie asked, not interested in recipes right then.
“Eli and Kate said they were very muddled about the past,” Jo Ellen said. “But they’re living in Santa Rosa Beach, which is close. Do you want to go see them, Mags? I could get the address from Kate.”
Did she? Not particularly, but maybe they remembered something. She and Roger had gone out with them one last time after the Wylies left in a hurry that last summer. But Roger wasn’t himself that night, and she didn’t learn why until he was arrested a month or so later.
If she saw Betty and Frank, she’d have to tell them all about Roger, and she hated that subject.
“I don’t want to visit them, not if they were confused,” Maggie said, searching for an out. “I mean, they could lead us down some completely wrong path.”
“They very well might,” Vivien agreed, getting their attention again. “They both remember things differently.”
“How so?” Maggie asked.
Vivien sighed and made a face. “I’m not sure I should tell you.”
Maggie leaned in and gave Vivien her most commanding expression. “You will tell me and you will tell me now.”
The slightest smile crossed her daughter’s face, as if her words had no impact, but then she tipped her head in concession. “Okay, but it’s…kind of out there. Betty thought that maybe, um…” She flushed a little and laughed. “That you, Mom, and Uncle Artie might have been…you know.”
“No, I do not.”
“Having an affair.”
