Chapter 5
By noon, Rachel’s disappearance was everywhere.
Not on the news.
Not yet.
But within the police department, every detail suddenly became more urgent.
Rachel’s mother, Carol, claimed Rachel had left her house around eight that morning.
She said Rachel had been crying.
Terrified.
She supposedly told Carol she believed I might come after her.
Then she vanished.
Her phone went dead.
Her car was found three miles from my construction site.
Unlocked.
Purse inside.
A smear of blood on the steering wheel.
I sat in an interview room while Detective Harris explained it.
“This looks bad,” I said.
“Yes.”
At least he didn’t lie.
“I was with police.”
“For part of the morning.”
“I was at the hospital before that.”
“Yes.”
“And at Melissa’s apartment.”
“We’re verifying everything.”
I leaned forward.
“Rachel did this.”
“Maybe.”
“She staged it.”
“Maybe.”
“You keep saying maybe.”
“Because my job is not to decide what I want to be true.”
His calm irritated me.
Then I realized I needed exactly that kind of person investigating.
Somebody who wouldn’t believe Rachel automatically.
But who wouldn’t believe me automatically either.
“Have you checked cameras near where her car was found?”
“We’re doing that.”
“What about her phone?”
“Working on location data.”
“The gun?”
“Processing.”
I rubbed my hands together.
“Can I see my kids?”
“You’re not under arrest.”
That answer should have relieved me.
It didn’t.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you may leave.”
I stood.
Then Harris added, “But don’t leave the area.”
I looked back at him.
“I’m not running.”
“Good.”
Melissa was waiting outside with the children.
Ethan saw me and rushed forward.
I hugged him.
Lily reached up.
“Daddy.”
I picked her up.
CPS had already spoken with both children.
A caseworker named Julia explained temporary safety arrangements.
Rachel could have no contact with the kids while the allegations were investigated.
I felt relief.
Then Julia added, “There’s also an allegation against you.”
“From Rachel.”
“Likely.”
“I didn’t hurt them.”
“The children have not accused you of hurting them.”
“What did they say?”
“I can’t discuss everything from their interviews.”
I nodded.
She softened.
“But both children were very clear about wanting to stay with you.”
I looked toward Ethan.
He sat beside Melissa, holding Lily’s stuffed rabbit.
“Can we go home?”
Julia hesitated.
“Police are still working there.”
Melissa said, “They can stay with me.”
I hated needing help.
But pride had no place in this.
“Okay.”
We returned to Melissa’s apartment.
I tried to make the afternoon normal.
Cartoons.
Sandwiches.
Apple slices.
Lily ate everything.
Then she asked for more.
I gave it to her.
Ethan watched closely.
“You can have more too.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You sure?”
He nodded.
But ten minutes later, when he thought I wasn’t looking, he wrapped half a sandwich in a napkin and slipped it into his backpack.
My chest tightened.
“Ethan.”
He froze.
I crouched.
“You don’t need to hide food.”
His face flushed.
“I wasn’t.”
“It’s okay.”
He looked down.
“What if we don’t have any later?”
“We will.”
He said nothing.
I opened the pantry.
Melissa kept shelves full of groceries.
I pointed.
“This food is here whenever you need it.”
“Even at night?”
“Even at night.”
“Without asking?”
I swallowed.
“If you’re hungry, yes.”
His eyes filled.
That one question told me how deep the damage went.
I hugged him.
At five, Detective Harris called.
“We got something.”
I stepped onto the balcony.
“What?”
“The gun.”
My heart pounded.
“Rachel’s fingerprints?”
“One partial print consistent with hers.”
I grabbed the railing.
“And mine?”
“No identifiable prints from you.”
Hope surged.
“That proves she planted it.”
“It helps.”
“What about the bottle and medication?”
“Her prints are on the whiskey bottle.”
I closed my eyes.
“Thank God.”
“The prescription bottle is clean.”
“She wiped it.”
“Possibly.”
“What about her car?”
Harris paused.
“We found surveillance footage.”
I straightened.
“Where?”
“A business across from the parking lot where the vehicle was recovered.”
“And?”
“Rachel parked the car herself.”
I almost shouted.
“So she staged everything.”
“Not so fast.”
My relief stopped.
“Why?”
“She exited the vehicle alone. Around nine forty-seven.”
“That’s good.”
“Then she walked east.”
“Okay.”
“A second camera caught her getting into another vehicle six minutes later.”
“What vehicle?”
“Dark SUV. Plates obscured.”
“Who was driving?”
“We can’t see.”
I gripped the railing.
“Could it be her mother?”
“Carol’s vehicle is a sedan.”
“Friend?”
“Possibly.”
“So she planned this with somebody.”
“Looks increasingly possible.”
I breathed slowly.
“Does that mean I’m cleared?”
“No.”
Of course not.
“But it changes the direction.”
“Can I go home?”
“Not yet. We’re executing a warrant to access the lockbox and some digital accounts.”
I remembered the box.
“Call me when you open it.”
“I will.”
Around seven, Melissa made pasta.
Lily climbed onto my lap while eating.
Sauce covered her cheek.
For the first time all day, she laughed.
A tiny laugh.
I almost cried.
Then the doorbell rang.
Ethan dropped his fork.
His entire body stiffened.
“I’ve got it,” Melissa said.
I stood anyway.
Through the peephole, she saw an older woman.
Carol.
Rachel’s mother.
“Don’t open it,” I said.
Carol knocked harder.
“Daniel!”
I stepped toward the door.
Melissa grabbed my arm.
“Police.”
I called Harris.
He told me not to engage.
Carol began pounding.
“I know you’re in there!”
Lily started crying.
That made my decision easy.
I stayed silent.
Carol shouted through the door.
“You did something to my daughter!”
Ethan covered his ears.
“Go away!” Melissa yelled.
“You’re helping him!”
“Leave or I’m calling police!”
“They already know what he is!”
Then Carol said something unexpected.
“Rachel warned me!”
I stepped closer to the door.
“She warned me years ago!”
I looked at Melissa.
“What?”
Carol continued.
“She said Daniel would eventually hurt her!”
Years?
I had only known Rachel for four.
The police arrived minutes later.
Carol left before they reached the building.
But her words stayed with me.
Years ago.
Rachel had been preparing the story almost from the beginning.
My phone rang again.
Harris.
“We opened the lockbox.”
“What was inside?”
He was silent for a second.
“Cash.”
“How much?”
“Approximately eighteen thousand dollars.”
My jaw dropped.
“I didn’t know about that.”
“There were also three prepaid phones.”
“Why would she have prepaid phones?”
“We’re analyzing them.”
“What else?”
“Documents.”
“What documents?”
“Copies of your signature.”
My stomach turned.
“On what?”
“Practice sheets.”
I sat down slowly.
“She was practicing my signature?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Daniel, there’s something else.”
I closed my eyes.
“Just tell me.”
“One of the documents appears to be a life insurance application.”
“I already have life insurance through work.”
“This is separate.”
“How much?”
“Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
I stopped breathing.
“Who’s the beneficiary?”
“Rachel.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“I never signed that.”
“We’re checking.”
“She forged it.”
“Likely.”
“What date?”
“About eight months ago.”
Eight months.
Around the same time Rachel convinced me to start working overtime.
Around the same time she installed the cameras.
Around the same time Ethan became afraid.
Harris continued.
“There’s also a document concerning the house.”
“What about it?”
“A quitclaim deed transferring your interest.”
“What?”
“Again, your signature appears questionable.”
“To whom?”
“To Rachel.”
I stood.
“She was trying to take my house?”
“Possibly.”
I paced.
Then Harris said, “The prepaid phones may be more important.”
“Why?”
“We powered on one.”
“And?”
“There are messages.”
“Between Rachel and who?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“What do they say?”
Harris paused.
Then read one.
HE STILL TRUSTS ME.
Another.
KIDS ARE BECOMING A PROBLEM.
Another.
NEED TO MOVE BEFORE ETHAN TALKS.
I felt sick.
“Move what?”
“We don’t know.”
“Is there more?”
“Yes.”
“Read it.”
Harris hesitated.
Then he did.
ACCIDENT AT WORK WOULD BE CLEANEST.
I stared out Melissa’s window at the evening traffic.
The construction site.
Heavy equipment.
Heights.
Falling materials.
Accidents happened every year.
Somebody could loosen something.
Move something.
Make one mistake look natural.
“Harris.”
“I’m here.”
“The day before yesterday, a steel beam almost fell on me.”
Silence.
“What?”
“I thought one of the rigging guys screwed up.”
“Who was working the rig?”
I searched my memory.
Then my stomach dropped.
A temporary subcontractor.
A man I had never met before.
“What was his name?”
“Cal.”
“Last name?”
“I don’t know.”
Harris’s voice sharpened.
“Call your boss right now. Tell him nobody touches the site records or surveillance.”
I started moving.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“Do not go there alone.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
“Because if these messages mean what they appear to mean, Rachel may not have disappeared to escape you.”
He paused.
“She may have disappeared because her plan failed.”
At that exact moment, Ethan screamed from the bedroom.
I dropped the phone and ran.
He stood near the window.
Pointing toward the parking lot.
“Dad!”
“What?”
His face was white.
“That’s him.”
I looked outside.
A dark SUV sat across the street.
Engine running.
A man was behind the wheel.
“Who is that?”
May you like
Ethan backed away from the glass.
“The man who comes when you’re at work.”
