the cuckoo side.”
I looked at him, hoping that he knew what he was doing. But, at the same time, I knew that I was in good hands. Ryan read people better than anybody I knew, and, if he thought that this was the right path, then it was the right path.
Elle smiled weakly and looked at her glass of wine pensively. “Yes, I know what you mean. My ex, well, he’s not exactly playing with a full deck, either.”
“Oh?” Ryan said. “What was the issue there?”
“He was a narcissist. Truly. He was also a master manipulator. He was better than anybody that I have ever seen at manipulating people and situations.” She drew a deep breath. “I’m really lucky to be out of that situation, to be honest.”
“I know what you mean,” Ryan said. “Oh, but we did have some good times, though. I mean, we have this amazing beach house in St. Croix. Or we had one, anyhow.”
At that, Elle’s ears seemed to perk up. “St. Croix? What a coincidence. My ex-husband and I had a house on the beach on that island as well. What part of St. Croix was your home?”
“Cane Bay,” he said. “What about you?”
“The same,” she said. “What a small world!” She shook her head. “We used to go there every year about this time for a long vacation. That was really the only time that we were happy. I guess because we were able to get away from the big city and all the attendant stresses.”
Ryan continued to have a poker face. I, however, felt an enormous smile spread across my face. We’re getting somewhere!
But Ryan wasn’t as convinced as me that this was the absolute key to knowing where to start looking for Scotty. He knew, as did I, that the couple also had homes in Italy and Greece. “Yeah, our times on St. Croix were magical, but, like you, when we got back, real life got in the way. So, we liked to have multiple vacation homes around the world. We had such a difficult time when we had to face our daily stress that we always needed a place to decompress.”
Elle’s eyes got wide. “Us, too. That was how we were!” She shook her head. “My husband made a lot of money in the past five years or so, after he switched from being a trader to being a hedge fund manager. So, one of the first things he did was buy vacation homes. At first, I was against it. It just seemed so frivolous and not a good way to spend our money. I know that this is going to sound holier-than-thou, but I really wanted to use our newfound wealth to do some good in the world. But, after we actually started to use these vacation homes, I started to see the wisdom in having them,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh, yes. I think that our vacation homes were what kept us together. Let’s see, we spent our winter vacations in Gstaad, Switzerland. We both loved to ski. And we really loved to spend our autumns in New Zealand, to enjoy their springtime. What about you? Where else did you and your ex spend your time?”
“Summers in Greece, for sure. That was the best. We had a beach home on Crete, and the beauty of that place can’t be underestimated. And we also spent some of our winter times in Italy. We had a ski palace in Piedmont, in the Biella Province.”
My heart sunk. Greece could probably be ruled out, if they headed there in the summertime. But it sounded like Italy would be a prospect, too, for where he might have taken her.
The haystack was getting smaller, but it was still a haystack.
But Ryan was unruffled. “ Oh? Which months did you like to go to Italy? I mean, were there months where the skiing is better than other months?”
“Yes, yes, of course. We usually headed out there for Christmas. We met some locals out there, who became friends of ours, and we enjoyed spending the holidays with them.”
My heart soared again. Italy was looking unlikely. It looked like St. Croix might be our best bet. I felt like ending the dinner, right then and there, and running to Ryan’s plane so that we could get the hell out of there.
But
I looked at him, hoping that he knew what he was doing. But, at the same time, I knew that I was in good hands. Ryan read people better than anybody I knew, and, if he thought that this was the right path, then it was the right path.
Elle smiled weakly and looked at her glass of wine pensively. “Yes, I know what you mean. My ex, well, he’s not exactly playing with a full deck, either.”
“Oh?” Ryan said. “What was the issue there?”
“He was a narcissist. Truly. He was also a master manipulator. He was better than anybody that I have ever seen at manipulating people and situations.” She drew a deep breath. “I’m really lucky to be out of that situation, to be honest.”
“I know what you mean,” Ryan said. “Oh, but we did have some good times, though. I mean, we have this amazing beach house in St. Croix. Or we had one, anyhow.”
At that, Elle’s ears seemed to perk up. “St. Croix? What a coincidence. My ex-husband and I had a house on the beach on that island as well. What part of St. Croix was your home?”
“Cane Bay,” he said. “What about you?”
“The same,” she said. “What a small world!” She shook her head. “We used to go there every year about this time for a long vacation. That was really the only time that we were happy. I guess because we were able to get away from the big city and all the attendant stresses.”
Ryan continued to have a poker face. I, however, felt an enormous smile spread across my face. We’re getting somewhere!
But Ryan wasn’t as convinced as me that this was the absolute key to knowing where to start looking for Scotty. He knew, as did I, that the couple also had homes in Italy and Greece. “Yeah, our times on St. Croix were magical, but, like you, when we got back, real life got in the way. So, we liked to have multiple vacation homes around the world. We had such a difficult time when we had to face our daily stress that we always needed a place to decompress.”
Elle’s eyes got wide. “Us, too. That was how we were!” She shook her head. “My husband made a lot of money in the past five years or so, after he switched from being a trader to being a hedge fund manager. So, one of the first things he did was buy vacation homes. At first, I was against it. It just seemed so frivolous and not a good way to spend our money. I know that this is going to sound holier-than-thou, but I really wanted to use our newfound wealth to do some good in the world. But, after we actually started to use these vacation homes, I started to see the wisdom in having them,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh, yes. I think that our vacation homes were what kept us together. Let’s see, we spent our winter vacations in Gstaad, Switzerland. We both loved to ski. And we really loved to spend our autumns in New Zealand, to enjoy their springtime. What about you? Where else did you and your ex spend your time?”
“Summers in Greece, for sure. That was the best. We had a beach home on Crete, and the beauty of that place can’t be underestimated. And we also spent some of our winter times in Italy. We had a ski palace in Piedmont, in the Biella Province.”
My heart sunk. Greece could probably be ruled out, if they headed there in the summertime. But it sounded like Italy would be a prospect, too, for where he might have taken her.
The haystack was getting smaller, but it was still a haystack.
But Ryan was unruffled. “ Oh? Which months did you like to go to Italy? I mean, were there months where the skiing is better than other months?”
“Yes, yes, of course. We usually headed out there for Christmas. We met some locals out there, who became friends of ours, and we enjoyed spending the holidays with them.”
My heart soared again. Italy was looking unlikely. It looked like St. Croix might be our best bet. I felt like ending the dinner, right then and there, and running to Ryan’s plane so that we could get the hell out of there.
But
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