Detective Ruiz returned less than an hour after Victor\u2019s messages reached her.<\/p>\n
This time she brought Harris.<\/p>\n
Neither detective looked pleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Victor?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cGone,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let him leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had no legal basis to detain him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz pulled a chair closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe language is concerning, but it is indirect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said more people could get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe documented it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the message about Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is more useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena stood near the window, arms crossed.<\/p>\n
\u201cUseful enough to arrest him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
She exhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
Ruiz did not react.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat matters,\u201d Harris said, \u201cis that Victor revealed knowledge he may not realize he revealed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows Daniel intended to transfer information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t prove anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Harris said. \u201cBut it gives us something to compare against communications and records.\u201d<\/p>\n
I adjusted Amelia in my arms.<\/p>\n
She had finally fallen asleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find about Marcus\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz\u2019s eyes narrowed slightly, as if surprised I returned to it so quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe confirmed Marcus was born Marcus Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis mother\u2019s maiden name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy use it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still determining that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy marriage license?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFiled under Marcus Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s fraudulent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need legal review before I characterize the marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer unsettled me.<\/p>\n
For years, I had thought the most basic fact of my adult life was simple.<\/p>\n
I married Marcus Mercer.<\/p>\n
Now every word of that sentence had become evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Victor know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at Amelia\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo everyone knew except me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody corrected me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Marcus talking?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cLawyered up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Evelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has she said?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to create contradictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Marcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Victor. With records. With herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she protecting them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she is deciding whom she is most afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded exactly like Evelyn.<\/p>\n
I remembered her standing beside my cage with the key around her neck.<\/p>\n
Afraid of Marcus.<\/p>\n
Afraid of Victor.<\/p>\n
Never afraid enough to help me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say about North Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says Victor presented it as a tax structure for the family business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe claims Marcus told her you agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe also says she never saw you sign anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Ruiz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
The detectives exchanged a glance.<\/p>\n
Harris opened a folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found a payment that concerns us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat payment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom North Vale Consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned a page.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo a towing company.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvoice says vehicle relocation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat vehicle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know from the invoice alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night Daniel disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cold moved through my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe towing company moved his car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is one possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the storage facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho authorized payment?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
My grip tightened around Amelia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDigital approval record.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven forty-three p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was Marcus that night?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I looked from one detective to the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told investigators he was at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I searched my memory.<\/p>\n
Thirty-four days ago.<\/p>\n
A Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Marcus had come home late.<\/p>\n
I remembered because I had kept dinner warm until nearly ten.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time did he arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
I had watched a movie alone.<\/p>\n
He texted that a client emergency would keep him out.<\/p>\n
The movie ended around ten fifteen.<\/p>\n
I showered.<\/p>\n
He came in after.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe eleven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore or after eleven?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould it have been midnight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say where he\u2019d been?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOffice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich office?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz wrote quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything unusual about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the sound first.<\/p>\n
Water running in the laundry sink.<\/p>\n
Not upstairs.<\/p>\n
Garage utility sink.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe washed his shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both detectives stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWork boots.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you remember?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it was almost midnight and he was scrubbing them in the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris asked, \u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it raining?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
I did not know.<\/p>\n
Lena did.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat week was dry,\u201d she said. \u201cI remember because the city had water restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris wrote something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the boots?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see what he was washing off?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny smell?\u201d<\/p>\n
The memory came slowly.<\/p>\n
Not mud.<\/p>\n
Something chemical.<\/p>\n
\u201cBleach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz\u2019s pen stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember asking why the garage smelled like a swimming pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he spilled cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat quickened.<\/p>\n
The event had meant nothing at the time.<\/p>\n
Now every ordinary memory threatened to open beneath me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid his clothes look unusual?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe changed before coming inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis shirt was in a grocery bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA grocery bag?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threw it away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz and Harris looked at each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat color?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny stains?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t inspect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, this is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pressed my lips together.<\/p>\n
Think.<\/p>\n
He carried the bag close to his body.<\/p>\n
Dropped it into the outside trash himself.<\/p>\n
Marcus never took out trash.<\/p>\n
Not once unless I asked repeatedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was something dark on the sleeve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fine. Don\u2019t fill in what you didn\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence grounded me.<\/p>\n
Facts.<\/p>\n
Not fear.<\/p>\n
Not imagination.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis right hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA cut.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnuckle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich hand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he explain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSaid he caught it on a file cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena looked sick.<\/p>\n
I stared at Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Marcus killed Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re investigating Daniel as a missing person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris remained quiet.<\/p>\n
Ruiz asked, \u201cDid Marcus leave again after coming home?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he receive calls?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hear anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered waking sometime after one.<\/p>\n
Marcus whispering in the bathroom.<\/p>\n
The door closed.<\/p>\n
Water running.<\/p>\n
I had been too tired to care.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything you remember exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n
I searched.<\/p>\n
A fragment returned.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s handled.<\/p>\n
Two words.<\/p>\n
I had assumed business.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018It\u2019s handled.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz wrote it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good because I was not guessing.<\/p>\n
Another detail surfaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next morning, Victor came over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow early?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore seven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that unusual?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never came to our house without calling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went into the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus and Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe twenty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hear anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered looking through the kitchen window.<\/p>\n
Victor carrying something.<\/p>\n
\u201cA duffel bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInto or out of the garage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOut.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did he put it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis trunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room felt smaller.<\/p>\n
Ruiz asked, \u201cDid you ask Marcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Victor borrowed tools.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the bag heavy?\u201d<\/p>\n
I pictured it.<\/p>\n
Victor carrying it with both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow heavy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to require both hands?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia stirred.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
My breathing had changed.<\/p>\n
Lena noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Ruiz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after Daniel disappeared?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Marcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
More passwords.<\/p>\n
More questions.<\/p>\n
Checking my phone.<\/p>\n
Accusing Lena of interference.<\/p>\n
Watching me when I opened mail.<\/p>\n
Then the flash drive appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found the drive about two weeks later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must have thought Daniel had gotten something to me before he disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fits the timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he locked me away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why wait two weeks?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither answered.<\/p>\n
I thought aloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he believed I knew something, why not ask immediately?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe started checking everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cTesting what you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exactly.<\/p>\n
Marcus did not act until he was uncertain.<\/p>\n
He watched.<\/p>\n
Waited.<\/p>\n
Created conditions.<\/p>\n
Then moved when he believed he had control.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bank envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one I mentioned before.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat straighter despite the pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt arrived between Daniel disappearing and the cage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz flipped through her notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown bank, blue or silver logo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked where I got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMailbox?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was his exact reaction?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was an error.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether I had opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHad you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
He took the envelope to his office.<\/p>\n
Later that evening, he burned papers in the backyard fire pit.<\/p>\n
At the time he said they were old tax documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe burned something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s expression sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBackyard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFire pit still at the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz immediately sent a message.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can recover burned papers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes fragments. Sometimes residues. Sometimes nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I continued thinking.<\/p>\n
The bank envelope.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s drive.<\/p>\n
Marcus\u2019s growing paranoia.<\/p>\n
My name on North Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t sure what I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Ruiz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the cage gave him time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo do what?\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered my own question.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinish the papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn\u2019s words.<\/p>\n
You said it was temporary.<\/p>\n
Once the papers were finished.<\/p>\n
My skin tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat papers?\u201d<\/p>\n
The detectives said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he finishing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris opened the folder again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may have part of that answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He removed a document copy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days after you were imprisoned, an application was submitted to transfer ownership of North Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA holding company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho owns that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords eventually connect it to an offshore trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have that established.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly beneficially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did the transfer require?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
I already knew what came next.<\/p>\n
\u201cForged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears inconsistent with known samples.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat date?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight days after you entered the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep me alive after he signed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris looked toward Ruiz.<\/p>\n
Neither answered immediately.<\/p>\n
That frightened me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transfer had a waiting period.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty days before final confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that period, an authorized officer could challenge it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo as long as I existed\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could theoretically stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if I disappeared voluntarily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they could argue you abandoned your position.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after thirty days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transfer could finalize without challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
I counted mentally.<\/p>\n
I had been in the cage twenty-one days.<\/p>\n
Marcus said I started labor too soon.<\/p>\n
You weren\u2019t supposed to start yet.<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needed nine more days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detectives went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me I wasn\u2019t supposed to go into labor yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night you found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExact wording?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t supposed to start yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe planned to keep me there until the transfer finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a reasonable line of investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
They did not need to.<\/p>\n
I looked down at Amelia.<\/p>\n
My daughter would have been born in that cage.<\/p>\n
Without medical care.<\/p>\n
Without enough food.<\/p>\n
Without anyone except Marcus and Evelyn knowing she existed.<\/p>\n
Perhaps neither of us was supposed to leave.<\/p>\n
A knock sounded.<\/p>\n
The hospital security officer entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetectives, there\u2019s something you should know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Hale was seen in the employee parking structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCamera shows him entering. We haven\u2019t located him exiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Harris moved toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cLock this floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer nodded.<\/p>\n
Ruiz turned to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not leave this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then my borrowed phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Lena reached for it, but I saw the message first.<\/p>\n
One sentence.<\/p>\n
Your sister has something that belongs to us.<\/p>\n
I looked at Lena.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face lost color.<\/p>\n
Then, very slowly, she reached into her handbag.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
She pulled out a small object wrapped in tissue.<\/p>\n
Black plastic.<\/p>\n
A red stripe.<\/p>\n
The flash drive.<\/p>\n
My entire body went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel mailed it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detective Ruiz returned less than an hour after Victor\u2019s messages reached her. This time she brought Harris. Neither detective looked pleased. \u201cWhere is Victor?\u201d I asked. \u201cGone,\u201d Harris said. \u201cYou … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21068","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\/21068","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=21068"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21103,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21068\/revisions\/21103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}