Deputy Evan Brooks found Darren Voss forty-three minutes after he left Melissa's home.<\/p>\n
The stop happened at a gas station off Interstate 44.<\/p>\n
Darren was not arrested.<\/p>\n
Not then.<\/p>\n
That irritated Travis until Rebecca Hale explained why.<\/p>\n
"A disturbing story is not the same thing as probable cause for every offense we can imagine."<\/p>\n
Travis sat in Hale's passenger seat while she drove toward Joplin. Bethany followed in her sedan with another attorney from Hale's office. Nobody trusted Kurt enough to let Bethany travel unobserved.<\/p>\n
"What did Darren tell them?"<\/p>\n
"He says Kurt asked him to collect Kaylee because Melissa wanted her picked up."<\/p>\n
"Melissa said the opposite."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"And the paper?"<\/p>\n
Hale glanced at him.<\/p>\n
"He says Kurt gave it to him and said it proved he was authorized."<\/p>\n
Travis looked out the window.<\/p>\n
Fields moved past beneath a pale sky.<\/p>\n
"So Darren's stupid."<\/p>\n
"Possibly."<\/p>\n
"Or lying."<\/p>\n
"Also possible."<\/p>\n
"Which?"<\/p>\n
"I'm your lawyer, not your fortune teller."<\/p>\n
Travis almost smiled.<\/p>\n
They reached Melissa's subdivision shortly before noon.<\/p>\n
A patrol car remained outside.<\/p>\n
Melissa opened the door before Travis knocked.<\/p>\n
Kaylee stood behind her.<\/p>\n
For one second Travis saw nothing else.<\/p>\n
She wore purple pajamas despite the hour. Her hair had been tied into two uneven pigtails, and a green marker stain covered two fingers on her left hand.<\/p>\n
She stared at him.<\/p>\n
Travis crouched.<\/p>\n
"Hey, Bug."<\/p>\n
Kaylee did not move.<\/p>\n
His chest tightened.<\/p>\n
Three months was a long time to an adult.<\/p>\n
To a three-year-old, it might be an entire season of life.<\/p>\n
Then Kaylee whispered, "Daddy?"<\/p>\n
"Yeah."<\/p>\n
She ran.<\/p>\n
Travis caught her against his chest.<\/p>\n
The force knocked him backward onto one knee.<\/p>\n
Kaylee wrapped both arms around his neck.<\/p>\n
She smelled like apple shampoo and crayons.<\/p>\n
Travis shut his eyes.<\/p>\n
For several seconds he forgot Kurt, Bethany, the house, forged papers and every mile he had driven.<\/p>\n
His daughter was real.<\/p>\n
She was warm.<\/p>\n
She was safe.<\/p>\n
"Your face is scratchy," Kaylee informed him.<\/p>\n
Travis laughed into her hair.<\/p>\n
"Sorry."<\/p>\n
"You need shave."<\/p>\n
"I do."<\/p>\n
She leaned back.<\/p>\n
"You brought giraffes?"<\/p>\n
Travis froze.<\/p>\n
The wooden Noah's ark.<\/p>\n
She remembered his promise.<\/p>\n
"It's in my truck."<\/p>\n
"Two giraffes?"<\/p>\n
"Two."<\/p>\n
"And zebra?"<\/p>\n
"One zebra."<\/p>\n
Kaylee considered this.<\/p>\n
"Need two."<\/p>\n
"That's a design flaw."<\/p>\n
She did not understand.<\/p>\n
Melissa began crying.<\/p>\n
Travis stood with Kaylee in his arms.<\/p>\n
Only then did he notice Bethany at the end of the walkway.<\/p>\n
Kaylee saw her.<\/p>\n
"Mommy!"<\/p>\n
Travis set her down.<\/p>\n
Kaylee ran to Bethany.<\/p>\n
Bethany dropped to her knees and held her daughter so tightly that Kaylee complained.<\/p>\n
"Mommy, squish."<\/p>\n
Bethany loosened her grip.<\/p>\n
Travis watched them.<\/p>\n
Anger remained.<\/p>\n
So did hurt.<\/p>\n
But neither erased the fact that Bethany loved Kaylee.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Inside, Deputy Brooks showed Hale and Travis a photograph of the document Darren had carried.<\/p>\n
It was the same filed declaration.<\/p>\n
But attached to it was another page.<\/p>\n
A typed authorization.<\/p>\n
Travis's forged signature appeared again.<\/p>\n
The language allowed Darren Voss to transport Kaylee Mercer on behalf of Melissa.<\/p>\n
"Mercer?" Travis asked.<\/p>\n
Melissa frowned.<\/p>\n
"That's my last name."<\/p>\n
Hale pointed.<\/p>\n
"They used Kaylee's last name as Mercer."<\/p>\n
"Her last name isn't Mercer."<\/p>\n
"Exactly."<\/p>\n
The mistake was small.<\/p>\n
But telling.<\/p>\n
Whoever created the paperwork had built it from Melissa's information rather than Kaylee's official documents.<\/p>\n
"That suggests Darren's authorization was made later," Hale said.<\/p>\n
"After Kaylee came here."<\/p>\n
"Likely."<\/p>\n
Bethany sat on the sofa with Kaylee asleep against her side.<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
Nobody knew.<\/p>\n
Deputy Brooks explained that Darren claimed he had received the document that morning.<\/p>\n
"Kurt called him around seven," Brooks said. "Told him Melissa needed Kaylee brought back because of an emergency."<\/p>\n
"Back where?" Travis asked.<\/p>\n
Brooks checked his notes.<\/p>\n
"Your house."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
She looked equally startled.<\/p>\n
"Kurt wanted Kaylee at the house?"<\/p>\n
Brooks nodded.<\/p>\n
"According to Darren."<\/p>\n
Travis turned toward Hale.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
She did not answer.<\/p>\n
Melissa did.<\/p>\n
"To use her."<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
Melissa wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n
"I'm sorry, but isn't that obvious?"<\/p>\n
Bethany stiffened.<\/p>\n
"Use her how?"<\/p>\n
"If Kaylee was living there when Travis showed up, Kurt could say this was her home."<\/p>\n
Hale's expression changed.<\/p>\n
Not because the theory was proven.<\/p>\n
Because it made sense.<\/p>\n
"Occupancy narrative," she said.<\/p>\n
Travis frowned.<\/p>\n
"Meaning?"<\/p>\n
"If a dispute reaches court, facts on the ground matter. A child living at the residence, belongings there, paperwork suggesting agreed caregiving arrangements\u2014it creates a picture."<\/p>\n
"A false one."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
Bethany looked horrified.<\/p>\n
"He told me sending her away made things cleaner."<\/p>\n
"For whom?" Melissa asked.<\/p>\n
Bethany looked down.<\/p>\n
Travis thought of the blue gingham curtains.<\/p>\n
Kaylee's room had been changed.<\/p>\n
Yet Kurt now wanted her back.<\/p>\n
What had changed?<\/p>\n
His arrival.<\/p>\n
Travis's unexpected appearance had forced the plan forward.<\/p>\n
Hale asked Brooks whether police had searched Darren's vehicle.<\/p>\n
"No basis for a search beyond consent. He refused."<\/p>\n
"Phone?"<\/p>\n
"Same."<\/p>\n
"Did he call Kurt during the stop?"<\/p>\n
Brooks gave a thin smile.<\/p>\n
"He tried."<\/p>\n
"Interesting."<\/p>\n
"Very."<\/p>\n
Travis looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
The black Ram was not outside.<\/p>\n
He still checked.<\/p>\n
Hale noticed.<\/p>\n
"Stop expecting him to appear everywhere."<\/p>\n
"He's managed twice."<\/p>\n
"Fair."<\/p>\n
Kaylee stirred against Bethany.<\/p>\n
Her eyes opened.<\/p>\n
She saw Travis and reached for him.<\/p>\n
Bethany looked at Travis.<\/p>\n
Neither spoke.<\/p>\n
Then she lifted Kaylee and carried her over.<\/p>\n
That small act contained more humility than any apology Bethany had given so far.<\/p>\n
Travis took his daughter.<\/p>\n
Kaylee put her head on his shoulder.<\/p>\n
"Home?"<\/p>\n
The word silenced the room.<\/p>\n
Travis rubbed her back.<\/p>\n
"Soon."<\/p>\n
"Yellow room?"<\/p>\n
He looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
Kaylee remembered her old curtains.<\/p>\n
"The yellow ducks?" Travis asked.<\/p>\n
Kaylee nodded against him.<\/p>\n
Bethany whispered, "I took them down."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Kurt hated them."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at her.<\/p>\n
"Why would Kurt care about curtains?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
There it was again.<\/p>\n
But this time Bethany looked angry at herself for saying it.<\/p>\n
She stood.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Everyone watched.<\/p>\n
"I'm done saying that."<\/p>\n
She picked up her purse.<\/p>\n
"There are things at the house."<\/p>\n
Hale frowned.<\/p>\n
"What things?"<\/p>\n
"His boxes."<\/p>\n
"Kurt's?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"What kind of boxes?"<\/p>\n
"I never looked."<\/p>\n
Travis stared.<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"Garage. Closet. Office."<\/p>\n
"My office?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"What are they?"<\/p>\n
Bethany shook her head, then caught herself.<\/p>\n
"I never opened them."<\/p>\n
"Why not?"<\/p>\n
"He told me they were business records."<\/p>\n
"What business?"<\/p>\n
"He said property work."<\/p>\n
Hale leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"Did you ever see company names?"<\/p>\n
Bethany thought.<\/p>\n
"Voss Residential."<\/p>\n
Darren Voss.<\/p>\n
Kurt Voss.<\/p>\n
Brooks wrote it down.<\/p>\n
Hale asked, "Have you searched that company?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Travis pulled out his phone.<\/p>\n
Hale stopped him.<\/p>\n
"Public information only."<\/p>\n
He searched.<\/p>\n
A business listing appeared.<\/p>\n
Voss Residential Solutions LLC.<\/p>\n
Registered eleven months earlier.<\/p>\n
Address?<\/p>\n
Travis looked twice.<\/p>\n
It was a post office box.<\/p>\n
Owner of record: Kurt Voss.<\/p>\n
Business description: property management and relocation services.<\/p>\n
"Relocation," Travis said.<\/p>\n
Hale took the phone.<\/p>\n
Bethany stared at the listing.<\/p>\n
"He told me he helped landlords."<\/p>\n
"Apparently he tells everyone something."<\/p>\n
Brooks leaned back.<\/p>\n
"What was he doing before that?"<\/p>\n
Bethany frowned.<\/p>\n
"Construction, I think."<\/p>\n
"Think?"<\/p>\n
"He didn't talk about it."<\/p>\n
Hale searched the state's civil docket.<\/p>\n
Several names appeared.<\/p>\n
Kurt Voss.<\/p>\n
Defendant.<\/p>\n
Plaintiff.<\/p>\n
Tenant dispute.<\/p>\n
Property dispute.<\/p>\n
Another property dispute.<\/p>\n
Then something more recent.<\/p>\n
Hale opened it.<\/p>\n
Her face became unreadable.<\/p>\n
"What?" Travis asked.<\/p>\n
She turned the phone.<\/p>\n
Kurt had filed a civil claim four months earlier involving another home.<\/p>\n
Not as tenant.<\/p>\n
As property manager.<\/p>\n
The owner had been deployed overseas.<\/p>\n
Travis felt cold despite the warm room.<\/p>\n
"Same thing?"<\/p>\n
"Not enough information."<\/p>\n
"Owner military?"<\/p>\n
"According to the filing, yes."<\/p>\n
Bethany covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Hale kept reading.<\/p>\n
"The case was dismissed."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Plaintiff failed to appear."<\/p>\n
Brooks asked for the name.<\/p>\n
Hale gave it.<\/p>\n
He stepped outside to make a call.<\/p>\n
Travis stared at Kurt's business listing.<\/p>\n
The plan suddenly looked less personal.<\/p>\n
That made it worse.<\/p>\n
If Kurt had done something similar before, Bethany's affair might have been an entry point rather than the entire reason.<\/p>\n
Travis hated himself for feeling relief at that possibility.<\/p>\n
A betrayal for love was painful.<\/p>\n
Being targeted was colder.<\/p>\n
Bethany sat beside him.<\/p>\n
"I thought he wanted me."<\/p>\n
Travis did not know what to say.<\/p>\n
She laughed once without humor.<\/p>\n
"I know how pathetic that sounds."<\/p>\n
"It doesn't."<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
For the first time since he had returned, there was no accusation in her face.<\/p>\n
Only shame.<\/p>\n
"He listened to everything I complained about."<\/p>\n
Travis stayed quiet.<\/p>\n
"Every fight we had. Every time you missed something. Every time I felt alone."<\/p>\n
Her voice dropped.<\/p>\n
"I gave him the map."<\/p>\n
Travis understood.<\/p>\n
Kurt had not invented the cracks in their marriage.<\/p>\n
He had simply learned where they were.<\/p>\n
Brooks returned.<\/p>\n
"The owner in that earlier case is named Daniel Reese."<\/p>\n
"Can we contact him?" Hale asked.<\/p>\n
"Already trying."<\/p>\n
Travis's phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
A man's voice said, "Is this Travis?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"This is Daniel Reese."<\/p>\n
Every person in the room went still.<\/p>\n
Travis put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
Reese continued.<\/p>\n
"I heard you're having trouble with Kurt Voss."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
A long silence followed.<\/p>\n
Then Reese said, "Whatever he's telling you, don't let him stay in that house another night."<\/p>\n
Deputy Evan Brooks found Darren Voss forty-three minutes after he left Melissa's home. The stop happened at a gas station off Interstate 44. Darren was not arrested. Not then. That … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12763,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12735\/revisions\/12763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}