Detective Alvarez did not let anyone leave Melissa's house until he had photographed every page of the black notebook.<\/p>\n
The process took nearly an hour.<\/p>\n
Travis watched from the kitchen doorway while Alvarez turned pages with gloved fingers. Each sheet carried the same compressed handwriting: names, property values, deployment dates, family circumstances, abbreviated observations that reduced complicated lives to weaknesses somebody could exploit.<\/p>\n
Nine entries were detailed.<\/p>\n
Six others consisted only of names and addresses.<\/p>\n
Three had been crossed out.<\/p>\n
Beside Daniel Reese's name was a small check mark.<\/p>\n
Beside another man's name, Kurt had written PAID 20.<\/p>\n
Travis assumed twenty thousand dollars until Hale reminded him not to turn assumptions into facts.<\/p>\n
One entry bothered him more than the rest.<\/p>\n
M. DONOVAN.<\/p>\n
An address outside Springfield.<\/p>\n
E-6.<\/p>\n
WIFE \/ 2 KIDS.<\/p>\n
KUWAIT OCT-MAY.<\/p>\n
TITLE SINGLE.<\/p>\n
NEXT.<\/p>\n
The final word had been boxed.<\/p>\n
"Next," Travis said.<\/p>\n
Alvarez looked up.<\/p>\n
"I see it."<\/p>\n
"He's scheduled."<\/p>\n
"We don't know what that notation means."<\/p>\n
"We know enough."<\/p>\n
Alvarez closed the notebook.<\/p>\n
"We know enough to find Donovan."<\/p>\n
That was different.<\/p>\n
And useful.<\/p>\n
Within twenty minutes, investigators identified Staff Sergeant Marcus Donovan.<\/p>\n
He was currently in Kuwait.<\/p>\n
The house in Kurt's notebook belonged to him.<\/p>\n
His wife, Jenna, and their two children still lived there.<\/p>\n
Travis felt a familiar anger.<\/p>\n
Kurt had apparently already selected another family before finishing with his.<\/p>\n
Alvarez contacted military authorities rather than calling Donovan directly. The coordination frustrated Travis until his father reminded him that waking a deployed soldier with half-understood information could create its own disaster.<\/p>\n
"Facts first," his father said.<\/p>\n
Travis gave him a tired look.<\/p>\n
"You planning to put that on your grave?"<\/p>\n
"If you'll finally listen to it."<\/p>\n
Kaylee had fallen asleep against Travis's chest.<\/p>\n
Her weight made his left arm numb.<\/p>\n
He refused to move her.<\/p>\n
Bethany sat across the room, watching them.<\/p>\n
Every few minutes her phone lit with calls from Kurt.<\/p>\n
She did not answer.<\/p>\n
Seventeen calls.<\/p>\n
Then twenty-one.<\/p>\n
Then messages.<\/p>\n
WHERE ARE YOU.<\/p>\n
CALL ME.<\/p>\n
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING.<\/p>\n
THEY'LL BLAME YOU.<\/p>\n
The last message was different.<\/p>\n
I CAN FIX THIS.<\/p>\n
Bethany stared at it.<\/p>\n
Travis saw something pass through her expression.<\/p>\n
Not temptation.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
"He's said that before," she whispered.<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Whenever something became bad enough that I started questioning him."<\/p>\n
She put the phone facedown.<\/p>\n
"He'd cause the problem, then become the person who could fix it."<\/p>\n
Hale looked at her.<\/p>\n
"Keep every message."<\/p>\n
"I will."<\/p>\n
A call came shortly after eight.<\/p>\n
Kurt's Ram had been found.<\/p>\n
It sat abandoned behind a closed farm-supply store seven miles from Travis's house.<\/p>\n
The keys were gone.<\/p>\n
No Kurt.<\/p>\n
No red folder.<\/p>\n
A traffic camera showed a silver sedan entering the lot shortly after the Ram.<\/p>\n
The sedan left three minutes later.<\/p>\n
Investigators were trying to identify it.<\/p>\n
"Darren?" Travis asked.<\/p>\n
"Possible," Alvarez said.<\/p>\n
Bethany shook her head.<\/p>\n
"Darren drives a white van."<\/p>\n
"Owns one?"<\/p>\n
"I've seen it."<\/p>\n
That did not exclude the sedan.<\/p>\n
But another possibility emerged.<\/p>\n
Someone else might be involved.<\/p>\n
Travis disliked that thought.<\/p>\n
Kurt and Darren were already enough.<\/p>\n
At 8:47, Alvarez received confirmation that military authorities had reached Marcus Donovan.<\/p>\n
Donovan called back from Kuwait.<\/p>\n
His voice came through the speaker rough with fatigue.<\/p>\n
"You're telling me some guy has my house written in a notebook?"<\/p>\n
Alvarez answered carefully.<\/p>\n
"Your name and property address appear in materials recovered during an unrelated investigation."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"We're determining that."<\/p>\n
Donovan was silent.<\/p>\n
Then he asked, "What guy?"<\/p>\n
"Kurt Voss."<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Longer.<\/p>\n
"Jenna knows a Kurt."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Alvarez asked, "How?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know. Friend from somewhere."<\/p>\n
"Have you spoken to him?"<\/p>\n
"Once."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Video call. Couple months ago."<\/p>\n
"What did he want?"<\/p>\n
"Nothing. He walked through the kitchen while I was talking to Jenna."<\/p>\n
Travis felt sick.<\/p>\n
The pattern was repeating.<\/p>\n
Alvarez asked whether Jenna was currently home.<\/p>\n
Donovan believed she was.<\/p>\n
Police were dispatched for a welfare check.<\/p>\n
Donovan's breathing became audible.<\/p>\n
"Is my family in danger?"<\/p>\n
"We don't currently have evidence of an immediate physical threat."<\/p>\n
"That's not what I asked."<\/p>\n
Alvarez paused.<\/p>\n
"No evidence of one."<\/p>\n
Travis respected the precision even though he hated it.<\/p>\n
Donovan asked what Kurt had done to the other family.<\/p>\n
Nobody answered immediately.<\/p>\n
Then Travis spoke.<\/p>\n
"He moved into my house."<\/p>\n
Alvarez looked at him but did not stop him.<\/p>\n
"Who are you?"<\/p>\n
"Travis Hale."<\/p>\n
"Military?"<\/p>\n
"Army."<\/p>\n
"Deployed?"<\/p>\n
"Fort Sill assignment."<\/p>\n
"What did he do?"<\/p>\n
Travis looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
She nodded faintly.<\/p>\n
"He became involved with my wife while I was gone. Got access to my records. Used forged documents involving my property and daughter. Someone also applied for credit in my name."<\/p>\n
Donovan swore.<\/p>\n
Then he became very quiet.<\/p>\n
"My tax file is at home."<\/p>\n
Travis understood immediately.<\/p>\n
"So was mine."<\/p>\n
Donovan said something away from the phone, probably to another soldier.<\/p>\n
Then he returned.<\/p>\n
"I want Jenna out of that house."<\/p>\n
Alvarez said local deputies were already approaching.<\/p>\n
The wait lasted eleven minutes.<\/p>\n
It felt longer.<\/p>\n
Then Alvarez's phone rang.<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
"Mrs. Donovan and both children are safe."<\/p>\n
Everyone exhaled.<\/p>\n
"But?"<\/p>\n
Travis had heard the change in Alvarez's voice.<\/p>\n
The detective looked at him.<\/p>\n
"Kurt isn't there."<\/p>\n
"Good."<\/p>\n
"Mrs. Donovan says she hasn't seen him in four days."<\/p>\n
Bethany frowned.<\/p>\n
"Four days?"<\/p>\n
"She says they had an argument."<\/p>\n
"About what?"<\/p>\n
Alvarez listened to the deputy relaying information.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at Bethany.<\/p>\n
"Apparently Kurt asked whether she knew where her husband kept the deed."<\/p>\n
Bethany covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Marcus Donovan heard.<\/p>\n
"Son of a\u2014"<\/p>\n
His voice disappeared briefly.<\/p>\n
When he returned, the anger had sharpened.<\/p>\n
"Jenna told him?"<\/p>\n
Alvarez answered.<\/p>\n
"According to the deputy, she told Kurt to leave."<\/p>\n
Travis felt unexpected relief.<\/p>\n
The plan had failed.<\/p>\n
At least there.<\/p>\n
But Alvarez continued listening.<\/p>\n
Then his face tightened again.<\/p>\n
"There's something else."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"The deputy found a package on the Donovans' porch."<\/p>\n
"From Kurt?"<\/p>\n
"No return address."<\/p>\n
"What package?"<\/p>\n
Alvarez repeated what he heard.<\/p>\n
"A padded envelope containing photocopies of Staff Sergeant Donovan's property records."<\/p>\n
Travis looked toward the black notebook.<\/p>\n
Kurt had already obtained them.<\/p>\n
Donovan's voice dropped.<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
Nobody knew.<\/p>\n
Alvarez asked the deputy to secure the envelope.<\/p>\n
Travis stood carefully, keeping Kaylee asleep against his shoulder.<\/p>\n
"If Jenna never gave him the papers, he got them somewhere else."<\/p>\n
Hale nodded.<\/p>\n
"Possibly public records."<\/p>\n
"Tax returns aren't public."<\/p>\n
"Do we know he has those?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then separate what we know."<\/p>\n
Travis hated that she was right.<\/p>\n
Bethany suddenly stood.<\/p>\n
"The red folder."<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
"What about it?" Alvarez asked.<\/p>\n
"Kurt kept photocopies of IDs from the notebook people."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"But I saw something else."<\/p>\n
She pressed both hands against the table, concentrating.<\/p>\n
"There were pages behind the licenses."<\/p>\n
"What kind?"<\/p>\n
"I only saw the corners."<\/p>\n
"Bethany."<\/p>\n
"I'm trying."<\/p>\n
Her eyes closed.<\/p>\n
"Military-looking forms."<\/p>\n
Travis felt his pulse accelerate.<\/p>\n
"What forms?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
He nearly reacted to the phrase.<\/p>\n
She opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
"Wait."<\/p>\n
She looked directly at him.<\/p>\n
"They had grids. Boxes. Social Security numbers, maybe."<\/p>\n
"Could you recognize a leave-and-earnings statement?"<\/p>\n
"Maybe."<\/p>\n
"Personnel forms?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Hale interrupted before Travis could push harder.<\/p>\n
"She shouldn't identify something she didn't actually see."<\/p>\n
Alvarez agreed.<\/p>\n
"We'll show her examples later."<\/p>\n
Bethany nodded gratefully.<\/p>\n
Travis carried Kaylee into the living room.<\/p>\n
He laid her on the sofa and covered her with a blanket.<\/p>\n
Her hand closed around his index finger.<\/p>\n
He remained bent beside her.<\/p>\n
For months, he had thought the worst consequence of being away was missing moments.<\/p>\n
Birthdays.<\/p>\n
Fevers.<\/p>\n
Ordinary mornings.<\/p>\n
Now he understood another vulnerability.<\/p>\n
Absence created space.<\/p>\n
A person who understood military schedules could know when a homeowner was hundreds or thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n
A spouse might be isolated.<\/p>\n
Paperwork might sit unattended.<\/p>\n
Routine could become intelligence.<\/p>\n
His phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
His father had sent a photograph.<\/p>\n
Travis opened it.<\/p>\n
A car.<\/p>\n
Silver sedan.<\/p>\n
"Where'd you get this?"<\/p>\n
His father looked over.<\/p>\n
"My doorbell camera."<\/p>\n
Travis enlarged the image.<\/p>\n
Timestamp: two weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
The silver sedan sat outside his father's house.<\/p>\n
"Why was it there?"<\/p>\n
"I assumed somebody turned around."<\/p>\n
"Two weeks ago?"<\/p>\n
"Apparently."<\/p>\n
Alvarez came over.<\/p>\n
Travis showed him.<\/p>\n
The plate was partially visible.<\/p>\n
Enough characters to compare.<\/p>\n
Alvarez sent it to investigators.<\/p>\n
Bethany stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
"I've seen that car."<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"At our house."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"The day Darren moved the boxes."<\/p>\n
"Who drove it?"<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
"I never saw."<\/p>\n
Travis looked at his father.<\/p>\n
"Why your house?"<\/p>\n
The old man understood before Travis finished asking.<\/p>\n
The green metal box.<\/p>\n
Copies of Travis's property records.<\/p>\n
Old financial documents.<\/p>\n
His father went pale.<\/p>\n
"I need to go home."<\/p>\n
Alvarez blocked the idea immediately.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Those records are in my basement."<\/p>\n
"We'll have officers check."<\/p>\n
"My entire filing system\u2014"<\/p>\n
"Can wait."<\/p>\n
The old clerk looked furious at being ordered away from his own records.<\/p>\n
Travis almost appreciated the irony.<\/p>\n
At 9:31, officers reached his father's house.<\/p>\n
No forced entry.<\/p>\n
Doors secure.<\/p>\n
Windows intact.<\/p>\n
Then the basement was checked.<\/p>\n
The green metal box remained where his father had left it.<\/p>\n
Locked.<\/p>\n
Nothing obvious disturbed.<\/p>\n
His father relaxed slightly.<\/p>\n
Travis did not.<\/p>\n
The silver sedan had still been there.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
At 9:44, the plate comparison returned.<\/p>\n
The vehicle from the farm-supply store and the one photographed outside his father's house were the same.<\/p>\n
Registered owner:<\/p>\n
Marla Jean Keene.<\/p>\n
The expired notary whose seal appeared beneath Travis's forged signature.<\/p>\n
Nobody in Melissa's kitchen spoke for several seconds.<\/p>\n
The forgery had just acquired a driver.<\/p>\n
And Kurt's operation had acquired another person.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez did not let anyone leave Melissa's house until he had photographed every page of the black notebook. The process took nearly an hour. Travis watched from the kitchen … <\/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-12738","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\/12738","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=12738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12766,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12738\/revisions\/12766"}],"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=12738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}