Page 37 of Unburied

“Not just that,” Tyler replied. “The address listed on the paperwork doesn't even exist.”

Vivi's hand tensed where it still rested in Mason's. “How is that possible?”

Tyler gave a little shrug and picked up a paper on the desk, then passed it to Mason. “Remember that inheritance I told you about?” Neither of them bothered to answer the rhetorical question, and Tyler continued. “I used a little bit of it to hire a private investigator before I came here. This is everything he was able to dig up on the man.”

Mason scanned the list as Tyler spoke. “The phone number goes to an automated message that states the number is no longer in service, and the physical address is literally nonexistent. I went to Orlando myself to try to find it. It's a rundown old building.”

“Doesn’t mean he didn't live there at one point,” Mason countered.

Tyler shook his head. “For the past thirty-six years it was a delicatessen. The owner passed away last winter, and it's been empty ever since.”

Interesting. “What about family and friends?”

“I've talked to a few, but no one has seen or heard from him.”

He picked up another sheet of paper and passed it to Vivi. “According to state records, this is when the divorce was finalized. When did you move in with Ellen?”

“Summertime,” she said softly as she skimmed the paper. “It was right after school let out and Knox went into the Marines.”

Tyler nodded. “The records show the divorce paperwork was filed almost six months after that, in the middle of winter. It was finalized soon after.”

Her eyes lifted to him, filled with confusion. “I don't understand. Why would she not say anything about him?”

Tyler lifted one shoulder. “I don't know. But there has to be a reason.”

“Maybe they separated after Christine’s suicide,” Mason offered.

Vivi tipped her head to one side like she was considering every angle. She drifted toward the table and began to sift through some of the papers. “It just makes no sense. She never once mentioned him, and there was no trace of him—or any man—in the house that I could ever remember.”

“It's like he just vanished,” Tyler agreed.

“He could have wanted to just disappear,” Mason said, playing Devil’s advocate. Granted, it would be hard to not leave some kind of footprint these days, but nothing was impossible.

“Still,” Vivi insisted as she riffled through the papers. “Why wait that long to divorce him? And why⁠—?”

Mason watched intently as she cut off midsentence, her entire body going rigid. She held up a small picture and showed it to Tyler. “Who is this?”

“That's Russ.”

Her eyes flew to Mason’s. “That's him.”

Mason's brows drew together as he watched a thousand emotions flitted across her face. “It’s who, babe?”

“Russ,” Tyler reiterated at the same time Vivi spoke.

“The man from my dreams.”

Mason stiffened. “Do you think that's him?”

She nodded shakily. “That's definitely him. Maybe…” One hand flew to her throat. “Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it was…”

A memory. She didn’t have to say the words out loud, but Mason knew that was exactly what she was thinking. The heat of fury raced over his body. If Russ had abused and impregnated Christine, then come after Vivi… Red clouded his vision as the implication sank in. “That could very well explain why he's gone.”

Tyler's gaze bounced between the two of them. “What happened?”

Vivi still looked unsettled, so Mason spoke up for her. “Ever since Vivi moved back into the house, she's been having a dream about a strange man approaching her. Now that we know who he is…”

Tyler's eyes widened. “You think it was Russ.”