“And you mentioned the luggage?” Moore prompted, her pen hovering.
“Yes,” I said, a shiver racing down my spine. “I saw the bags in the trunk when he opened it to get his jacket before we left home. I thought it was strange then, but I was tired. I didn’t see any of my suitcases. Just his large duffel and Caleb’s dinosaur backpack. I asked him where my blue bag was, and he told me he’d tucked it under the seat for more room. I believed him.”
Moore sat back, the springs of her chair groaning. “Elena, men who snap on the side of the road don’t usually curate the luggage before they leave the driveway.”
“I know,” I breathed. “It’s like he knew. He planned to abandon me there.”
“He didn’t just abandon you,” Moore corrected, her voice dropping an octave. “He attempted to erase you. Abandonment is leaving someone behind. This? This looks like an extraction.”
“But he took Caleb,” I argued, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. “Why take Caleb if he was just done with me? He could have left us both at a gas station.”
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