“Just say the word.”
“Thank you.”
She blew her nose, and Regina shot me a nod. Tag, you’re it.
“When you’re ready,” I said, “I’d like to talk about Adam’s disappearance.”
Olivia crumpled the tissue loosely in her hand. “I’m ready.”
“You last saw Adam on Saturday night, June 20. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Take me through the week leading up to that.”
“I didn’t see him that much. Usually we have dinner together a couple times a week, but he was super busy with this project he needed to finish.”
“What was he working on?”
“A corporate thing. I’m not really sure. We were looking forward to seeing each other, because it had been a few days.”
“He came here, to your place.”
She nodded.
“What time was that?”
“Around five, I think.”
“How would you describe his mood?”
“I mean... Normal Adam.”
“Did he seem agitated, or nervous? Like he had something on his mind?”
“No. Or. I didn’t notice anything.”
“What did you do?”
“Ordered sushi and watched a movie.”
“Anything good?” Regina asked.
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Some art film. He liked that stuff. Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention, I was on my phone.”
“Did he discuss his plans for the following days?” I asked.
“He just said he had a ton of work. Maybe he seemed a little stressed about that.”
“Did you drink?”
“Wine, with the sushi.”
“Use any drugs?”
Olivia hesitated.
“No judgment,” Regina said. “But it’s important to have a complete picture.”
“We split an edible. But nothing else.”
“Okay. Thank you for your honesty.”
I said, “Anything else you can remember about that night that might be relevant?”
“I mean.” Olivia squirmed, glanced at Regina. “We had sex. I don’t know if that matters.”
“You’re doing great,” Regina said. “You’re also allowed to say I don’t know. Don’t feel that you have to give an answer just for the sake of saying something.”
Olivia nodded and looked at her lap.
“What time did Adam leave?” I asked.
She glanced up. Relieved at a neutral question. “Ten or ten-thirty.”
“In the morning.”
“No, at night. He didn’t stay over, he went home to sleep.”
“Was that typical?”
“Not always but sometimes. He wanted to get up early and work out before he had to start editing again. His gym is right around the corner from his condo. So it made more sense for him to go home. He’s a morning person anyway.”
“And you’re not,” Regina said.
Olivia laughed. “Nooooo.”
Regina chuckled conspiratorially.
I said, “What time did you go to bed?”
“Right after he left. I was wiped.”
“Okay, now it’s Sunday,” I said. “What happens?”
“I slept in. I woke up around... eleven? After that... I went for a run, I think. Cleaned, did laundry, I always do that on Sunday. There was leftover sushi, I think I had that for dinner.” Shrug. “Nothing too exciting.”
“Did you hear from Adam?”
“I texted him to see how it was going, but he didn’t answer. He’ll put his phone on Do Not Disturb when he wants to concentrate.”
“Okay. Now it’s Monday morning. Had he answered you, overnight?”
“No.”
“Were you concerned?” Regina asked.
“Not really. Like I said, he was working. I figured he was up late.”
“What did you do that day?” I asked.
“Got up, fed Owen, took a shower, and went to work. I texted Adam to ask if he needed me to bring him anything, or if he wanted to come over later. He didn’t answer. I was pretty sure he was just busy. But he also gets migraines. When it happens he has to shut off his screens and lie in the dark. So I was starting to worry about that. After work I decided to swing by his place to check on him. I let myself in but nobody was home.”
“What time was that?” I asked.
“The office is in Alviso and he lives downtown, so... Sixish.”
“Okay. And what was your initial reaction, when he wasn’t home?”
“I feel awful saying it. But the first thing I thought was he must be with someone.”
“With someone, as in?” Regina asked.
Olivia bit her lip. “Another woman.”
“Had he cheated on you before?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so. He never gave me a reason to be suspicious. That’s just where my mind went. I guess it was better than thinking something bad had happened to him.”
I nodded. “What did you do next?”
“Called his gym. I thought maybe he got a late start. The guy told me Adam hadn’t been in since Saturday morning. Now I was starting to worry for real. Like, what if he got into an accident? I tried calling him. As it’s ringing, I hear buzzing. I go into the bathroom and...” She swallowed. “His phone’s sitting on top of the toilet. That’s when I started freaking out. ’Cause he wouldn’t leave his phone. That’s — it’s not normal.”
“Was there any sign of a struggle? Was anything taken?”
“Not that I could see. It just felt... I don’t know. Wrong. I can’t explain it. I started texting our friends. I called his mom, she didn’t pick up. I didn’t have his dad’s number. I do now, but... So,” she said, frowning, “I tried his sister. Kirsten.”
I said, “Do you remember what time that was?”
“It must’ve been around seven or eight.”
“What did Kirsten say?”
“She made it out like I was exaggerating. She asked if his car was there. I went down to the garage. It wasn’t in its spot. She goes, ‘See? He probably had to run an errand.’ What she was saying made sense, but... the phone? I told her: Something’s wrong, I can feel it. She goes, ‘Everyone has feelings. Your feelings aren’t reality.’ ”
“You haven’t mentioned her till now,” Regina said. “When you were talking about Adam’s family, for example.”
“Yeah. I... It’s complicated.”
“Between you and her.”
“Sort of, but more her and Adam.”
“How so?”
“They’re just very different people. She’s this big lawyer. Her husband, too. Adam didn’t like to be around her ’cause she criticized him constantly.”
“About?”
“His life choices, his job, everything. She thought he was lazy.”
“Does ‘everything’ include you?”
Olivia laughed grimly. “What do you think.”
“After you spoke to Kirsten,” I said, “what did you do?”
“I drove home, hoping I’d missed him somehow, but he wasn’t here, either, so I got in the car and started driving around, for hours, looking for him. At like three in the morning I went back to his apartment to wait for him.”
“You must’ve been so scared,” Regina said.
“I was losing it. I didn’t sleep at all. My brain was going a hundred miles an hour. What if he’s hurt, or — I don’t know. His parents are rich, maybe someone kidnapped him. The next day I went to his gym as soon as it opened. I called in sick, I checked all the places we liked to go, I was calling everyone and texting them.”
“Did you call the police?” I asked.
“I thought you can’t report someone missing for twenty-four hours. I know now that’s not right, but that’s what I thought.”
“It had been a couple of days by then, correct?”
“Yeah, but I thought you had to like start counting from... I mean, we weren’t married, so I didn’t know if I was even allowed to report it. And,” Olivia said, growing agitated, “and — Kirsten made me feel dumb for worrying. This isn’t, like, something I had any experience with.”