Chapter 12: Unit 214
Peter stopped answering.
We called six times.
Nothing.
Detective Morris sent an officer to his office.
By then it was nearly midnight.
I sat beside Lily on the couch while she slept.
A purple bruise was beginning to show near her hairline.
Every time I looked at it, I remembered Diane’s hand in her hair.
That kept me focused.
Whatever secrets David had kept, whatever Diane had done, whatever Peter was hiding—
this had begun with someone hurting my child.
And I would not lose sight of that.
Michael sat opposite me.
“I’m sorry.””
“For what?””
“For doubting Lily.””
I looked at him.
“It was seconds.””
“Seconds were enough.””
He rubbed his hands together.
“I saw that envelope, and for one second I let what I saw become more important than what I knew about her.””
I said nothing.
“I’ll regret that forever.””
“You can regret it later.””
He nodded.
“Fair.””
I looked at Lily.
“Right now we protect them.””
“Both of them.””
“Yes.””
His eyes met mine.
“Whatever that paternity test says.””
“Whatever it says.””
A knock came at the door.
Everyone stiffened.
Detective Morris checked outside before opening it.
An officer entered carrying an evidence bag.
Inside was Ethan’s backpack.
I stood.
“Where did you find it?””
“Outside Peter Lawson’s office.””
My stomach dropped.
Michael stepped closer.
“Was Peter there?””
“No.””
“The office?””
“Empty.””
“Any sign of forced entry?””
“None.””
Morris took the bag.
“Anything missing?””
Ethan checked while wearing gloves the detective provided.
His schoolbooks were there.
Tablet.
Pencils.
Then his face changed.
“The watch.””
“What?””
“David’s watch is gone.””
Inside the backpack was something that hadn’t been there before.
A key card.
Printed across it:
*NORTHFIELD STORAGE*
Unit 214.
Michael looked at Morris.
“She wants us there.””
“Someone does.””
“You still think it might not be Mom?””
“I think assumptions have hurt this family enough tonight.””
That silenced us.
Then Morris’s phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Her eyes sharpened.
“Understood.””
She hung up.
“The storage company has provided access.””
Michael stood.
“We’re coming.””
“No.””
“Detective—”
“Your mother specifically threatened to destroy evidence if police arrived. That makes this potentially volatile.””
“She also invited my wife.””
“Which is exactly why Claire stays here.””
I hated it.
But I understood.
Twenty-five minutes later, Morris called.
“We’re at Northfield.””
“Is Diane there?””
“No sign of her.””
“What about Unit 214?””
“We’re opening it now.””
I put the call on speaker.
Metal rattled through the phone.
Then a rolling door groaned upward.
Morris stopped speaking.
“What do you see?”” I asked.
Another officer said something I couldn’t hear.
Then Morris answered.
“Boxes.””
“What kind?””
“Records. Photographs. Personal items.””
“Is the black box there?””
“Not immediately visible.””
Michael paced.
“Look for a recorder.””
“We are.””
I heard footsteps.
Paper shifting.
Then Morris said, “Claire?””
“Yes?””
“There are photographs of you.””
My stomach dropped.
“What photographs?””
“Many.””
“How many?””
“Dozens.””
Michael stopped moving.
“From when?””
Morris paused.
“Some appear to predate David’s death.””
I felt sick.
“Anything else?””
“Yes.””
“What?””
“Photographs of Michael.””
He stared at the phone.
“From when?””
“Same period.””
Christopher whispered, “Mom was tracking both of you.””
Morris continued searching.
Then she said, “I found the black box.””
I stood.
“Is the recorder inside?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
“Play it.””
“I can’t do that until it’s processed.””
“Morris—”
“I know.””
Then another voice sounded faintly.
“Detective.””
Morris moved.
“What is it?””
Silence.
Then:
“Claire, there’s a second recorder.””
My skin prickled.
“What’s on it?””
“I don’t know yet.””
“Anything labeled?””
“Yes.””
“What does it say?””
Morris took several seconds to answer.
“‘For Claire, if Diane ever comes back.’”
My chest tightened.
Michael stared at me.
Then suddenly the call filled with shouting.
“Police! Show me your hands!””
I jumped.
“Morris?””
No answer.
“Detective!””
More shouting.
A crash.
Then silence.
The call disconnected.
Michael grabbed his keys.
I caught his arm.
“Wait.””
“My mother might be there.””
“That’s exactly why you wait.””
His phone rang.
Detective Morris.
He answered.
“Morris?””
“I’m fine.””
“Who was there?””
“Peter Lawson.””
I stared at the phone.
“Peter?””
“He entered through a rear service corridor.””
“Why?””
“He says he came to stop Diane.””
“Is she there?””
“No.””
“Then where is she?””
“We don’t know.””
Morris lowered her voice.
“But Peter told us something.””
“What?””
“He says the recorder labeled for you contains David’s final statement.””
I could barely speak.
“Final?””
“Recorded the night before he died.””
Michael sat down.
“What does David say?””
“We haven’t played it.””
In the background, Peter suddenly shouted.
“You need to tell Claire now!””
Morris told him to step back.
Then Peter yelled again.
“Diane knows!””
My pulse hammered.
I moved closer to the phone.
“Knows what?””
Peter’s voice became distant as officers moved him away.
But I heard him.
“David found out why Diane wanted Ethan!””
The line went quiet.
Michael looked at me.
I whispered, “Why did she want him?””
Then Lily stirred on the couch.
Her eyes opened.
“Mommy?””
I immediately went to her.
“I’m here.””
She rubbed her eyes.
“Where’s Grandma?””
“She isn’t here.””
Lily looked confused.
“Yes, she is.””
Every adult in the room froze.
“What did you say?””
Lily pointed toward the back of the house.
“Grandma came to my window.””
Michael was already moving.
“When?””
“When everybody was talking.””
My blood turned cold.
“What did she say?””
Lily reached beneath her blanket.
“She gave me this.””
In her tiny hand was David’s missing silver watch.
Michael stared at it.
I turned it over.
The back plate had been pried open.
Something was hidden inside.
A tiny folded strip of paper.
I pulled it free.
There were only two handwritten lines.
The first was an address.
The second made Michael sit down.
May you like
*If anything happens to me, Diane did not want my money.*
*She wanted Ethan.*
