Though something tells me it’s going to take a long time to plow through these chapters now that I have so much on my mind.

CHAPTER 37

James Alistair wife

I hit enter, and immediately the Google screen populates with search engine results. Unfortunately, all I find are little bits from the wedding announcement my mother made a point of sending out to the local papers. Everything I’m finding has to do with her, but she’s not the one I’m interested in.

I can’t forget about that picture. I can’t forget the way Nix and Colt reacted to it the day I found it in James’s desk. I need to find something I can use against this man, and she’s what I keep coming back to. There’s something very wrong, but I can’t figure out what it is. I hoped a little digging around on the internet would help, but I keep hitting dead end after dead end.

I stare at the ceiling, pursing my lips. I wish I could remember her first name, but there were so many coaches over the years. It’s all a blur. I only remember her face and how kind she seemed. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around that part. How somebody so kind, so warm and maternal, birthed two monsters like her sons.

Even thinking that to myself makes me frown and shake my head. I doubt they were born that way. James must have somehow found a way to twist them up.

Instead of putting James’s name in there, I type Alistair gymnastics death. I mean, there’s got to be something about her team mourning her, her accomplishments with them, something. The woman could not have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Still, I don’t get anything worthwhile. Nothing that mentions her. Was her name even Alistair, or did she keep her maiden name? This time, I type in gymnastics coach dead.

Nothing. I mean, there are lots of articles and blog posts about various gymnastics coaches who died, but when I pull up images related to the links, none of them are her.

“Hey. Class let out early. You wanna go get some dinner?” Piper hasn’t fully entered the room, only poking her head in from the hallway.

I turn to her, tapping my nails against the desk with one hand. “Question. Did Colt or Nix ever tell you anything about their mom?”

She comes in and closes the door, then leans against it. “It’s funny, but now that you mention it, no. I really don’t think so.” I can tell she’s thinking about it, too, frowning, staring toward the windows. After a few moments, she shakes her head with a shrug.

“That’s really weird, isn’t it? She was supposed to have died, right?”