Chapter 6: Inside the Stuffed Dog
Daniel didn't return to the house.
Not yet.
Every instinct told him to drive straight back, tear through Lily's bedroom, and find the old stuffed dog.
But his children came first.
He drove to Ben's house.
His brother opened the door before Daniel reached the porch.
Ben was forty-two, broad-shouldered, and usually impossible to rattle.
One look at Daniel's face changed him.
"What happened?""
"Get the kids inside.""
Ben didn't ask another question.
Twenty minutes later, Noah was asleep in a portable crib.
Lily sat on Ben's couch wrapped in a blanket, eating crackers and watching an animated movie with the volume low.
Daniel stood in the kitchen.
Ben listened as he explained everything.
The dishes.
The videos.
The trust.
Martin.
Rachel.
When Daniel finished, Ben stared at him.
"Call the police.""
"I will.""
"Now.""
"I need Lily safe first.""
"She's safe here.""
Daniel nodded.
Then he placed Carol's memory card on the counter.
"And I need to know what's on this.""
Ben had a laptop with a card reader.
They inserted it.
Forty-three files appeared.
Daniel felt sick.
Most were videos.
Some were audio recordings.
Several showed Melissa ordering Lily through chores or mocking her when she cried.
Daniel stopped watching after the fourth.
"I can't.""
Ben closed the video.
"You don't have to watch all of this tonight.""
"Someone does.""
"Police can.""
Daniel rubbed his face.
Then Ben pointed at the screen.
"What's that?""
One file had a different name.
Not a date.
Just two letters.
RC.
Rachel Carter.
Daniel clicked it.
The video opened.
Carol's kitchen appeared.
Empty.
Then Melissa entered.
The recording was nearly two years old.
She placed something on the table.
A stuffed dog.
Old.
Brown.
One ear torn.
Daniel recognized it instantly.
Rachel had bought it before Lily was born.
Lily slept with it as a baby.
Daniel hadn't seen it in years.
On the recording, Carol entered.
"Where did you find that?""
"Lily's closet.""
"So?""
"It belonged to Rachel.""
Carol rolled her eyes.
"Half that child's stuff belonged to Rachel.""
Melissa squeezed the stuffed dog.
"There's something inside.""
Daniel leaned closer to the laptop.
On screen, Melissa examined the seams.
Carol asked, "How do you know?""
"Because Rachel told Martin she hid evidence in something Lily would never throw away.""
Daniel's pulse quickened.
Melissa found a small zipper beneath the dog's collar.
She opened it.
Her fingers searched inside.
Nothing.
"Damn it.""
Carol laughed.
"Maybe you're paranoid.""
Melissa threw the toy across the room.
"It has to be somewhere.""
The recording ended.
Daniel sat back.
Ben stared at him.
"She knew.""
"Yes.""
"And Lily said it's in her wall?""
Daniel nodded.
"Apparently she hid it after Melissa started searching.""
Ben reached for his truck keys.
"I'm coming with you.""
"No.""
"Daniel.""
"The kids need someone here.""
Ben looked toward the living room.
Lily was half asleep beneath the blanket.
"Call the police before you enter that house.""
Daniel nodded.
He did.
He explained enough for officers to meet him there.
Forty minutes later, Daniel stood outside his own home with two officers.
Melissa was gone.
So was Carol.
The house was dark.
Daniel unlocked the door.
An officer named Harris accompanied him upstairs.
Lily's bedroom looked ordinary.
Pink curtains.
Stars on the ceiling.
Books beside the bed.
Daniel stood in the center.
"In the wall.""
Officer Harris looked around.
"Did she say where?""
"No.""
Daniel examined the closet.
Nothing.
Then he remembered something Lily used to do.
Whenever she hid during games, she chose places near her mother's belongings.
He looked toward the small bookshelf.
Behind it was a loose baseboard Daniel had meant to repair months earlier.
He pulled the shelf away.
The baseboard shifted.
Daniel crouched.
There was a narrow opening.
His fingers reached inside.
Fabric.
He pulled.
A dusty brown stuffed dog emerged.
One torn ear.
Daniel's throat tightened.
"That's it.""
Officer Harris photographed it before Daniel touched anything else.
Then they placed it on Lily's desk.
Daniel opened the small zipper beneath the collar.
Nothing.
His heart sank.
"Maybe Melissa already found whatever was inside.""
Then Daniel noticed the dog's torn ear.
The stitching was uneven.
Not factory stitching.
Hand stitching.
Rachel used to sew.
Daniel carefully pressed the ear.
Something hard was inside.
Officer Harris put on gloves and examined it.
"There's an object in here.""
They documented everything.
Then Harris carefully opened the old stitching.
A tiny USB drive slid onto the desk.
Daniel stared at it.
Rachel had hidden it inside Lily's favorite toy.
Not the body.
The ear.
That was why Melissa hadn't found it.
At the police station, an investigator connected the drive to an isolated computer.
Folders appeared.
Bank records.
Emails.
Audio files.
Scanned letters.
And one video.
Daniel's hands began shaking when he saw the date.
Three days before Rachel became ill.
The investigator clicked play.
Rachel appeared on screen.
Alive.
Her hair tied back.
Her face pale but determined.
Daniel covered his mouth.
For the first time in three years, he heard his wife's voice.
"My name is Rachel Carter.""
She looked directly into the camera.
"If Daniel is watching this, then something happened before I could tell him the truth.""
Daniel's eyes filled.
Rachel continued.
"Daniel, I'm sorry. I wanted proof before I frightened you.""
She lifted several papers toward the camera.
"Someone has been trying to access Lily's trust.""
Daniel leaned closer.
"I know who.""
Rachel swallowed.
"Her name is Melissa Grant.""
Daniel felt Ben's earlier warning echo in his mind.
But Rachel wasn't finished.
"Melissa thinks this is only about money.""
Rachel looked off-camera, as if checking whether someone was nearby.
"It isn't.""
She lowered her voice.
"I found out why she chose our family.""
Daniel stopped breathing.
Rachel's next words came slowly.
"Melissa wasn't a stranger to us.""
A pause.
"Daniel, you've met her before.""
He stared at the screen.
Rachel reached for something outside the frame.
Then the video suddenly cut to black.
The investigator frowned.
"That's strange.""
"What?""
"The file continues.""
Daniel looked at the timeline.
There were seventeen minutes remaining.
But the screen stayed dark.
Then a second voice came through the speakers.
A woman's voice.
Melissa's.
May you like
And what she said made Daniel's blood turn cold.
"Rachel? I know you're in there.""
