My pulse throbbed in my neck as my throat ran dry. “Did you find anything?”

“No, I’d have told you. Are you sure you came up from Maryland?”

“Yes, that’s where I got in the trailer. Why?”

“Because I ran searches from there to Delaware and New Jersey. Then I added Virginia and the Carolinas, and still nothing. No missing persons, no reports mentioning you and no phone listings, either. It’s as if you’re a ghost.”

“Are you sure? Let me—”

“A hundred percent certain. There’s nothing about you anywhere. Trust me, I’ve been searching for two years. If there was anything, I’d know.”

“How is that possible?” I said, fists clenched. “Somebody must be wondering where I am. A partner—”

“You’re not wearing a ring—”

“Maybe not a wife then, but a girlfriend? A friend? My boss? Don’t I have a job?”

Maya sat down, put her hands flat on the table. “I have a theory. It might sound a bit out-there, but what if you were in Maryland somewhere on vacation?”

“On my own?” I shot back. “What do you think I was doing, taking a spiritual trip to find myself or something?” I almost laughed at the irony, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t remotely funny.

“Maybe you were traveling solo,” Maya said, her voice calm, making me wonder how hard she had to try to stop herself from telling me I was acting like a jerk. “It’s possible, plenty of people do. Perhaps you were meeting someone there. What if you lived, I don’t know, in South Dakota or Wyoming or somewhere? For all we know you were staying in Alaska. To your point of having a boss and friends, they might not even realize you’re missing yet.”

“But why would I—”

“Hear me out. If you were on a beach on the first day of a week’s solo vacation, nobody would know you’re gone yet, especially if you were renting a place and not staying in a hotel, and—” Maya let out a yelp and rushed to the stove, where she pulled the pan off the burner. “Balls, the eggs are ruined.” She turned to me, heaving a sigh. “God, I feel so useless, and now I’m coming up with all these ridiculous theories, confusing you even more.” She took a few breaths, pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “After we’ve seen the doctor I’ll go and pick up a few things at the grocery store. Give you some space.”

“I’ll come with you. It’ll be good to get into town and have a look around. Maybe you could show me my old haunts, see if anything comes rushing back.” I forced a grin that didn’t fit my face all too well, but I made it stay there all the same. “You know, fingers crossed and all that.”