Chapter 5
Darkness swallowed the room.
Maisie screamed.
Evelyn grabbed her.
“I’m here.”
Outside, the police cruiser’s lights immediately came on.
A flashlight beam moved across Evelyn’s front windows.
Then her phone rang.
Marcus.
“Are you safe?”
“The power just went out.”
“Officers are checking the property.”
Evelyn carried Maisie downstairs.
A policeman entered through the front door.
“Transformer’s fine,” he said. “Your power line was cut.”
Evelyn looked toward the backyard.
Someone had been there.
But whoever did it was gone.
Marcus ordered another patrol unit to remain until morning.
He also told Evelyn not to approach the blue cottage.
She agreed.
Then, at sunrise, she followed police there.
The cottage stood beside Lake Mercer.
Its faded blue siding looked almost gray now.
Weeds covered the driveway.
The property had not been sold.
It still belonged to Rachel’s estate.
Grant had lied again.
Police entered first.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
Dust covered the furniture.
In the upstairs bedroom, Marcus found a loose floorboard.
Beneath it was a waterproof case.
Inside were two things.
A flash drive.
And a notebook.
Rachel’s notebook.
Evelyn sat at an old kitchen table while investigators copied the drive.
Rachel had documented everything.
Dates.
Bank transfers.
Arguments.
Threats.
Names.
Patrick.
Thomas.
Vanessa.
Grant.
One entry was underlined twice.
Grant found out I spoke to Evelyn. He thinks I gave her evidence. I didn’t. Not yet.
Evelyn stared at the line.
Rachel had tried to reach her.
That missed phone call had mattered.
The flash drive was even worse.
It contained audio recordings.
In one, Grant argued with Rachel.
“You’re not taking Maisie.”
“I’m her mother.”
“She’s my daughter too.”
“Then start acting like her father.”
A crash sounded.
Then Rachel’s voice became quieter.
“If anything happens to me, people will know.”
Grant laughed.
“You watch too many movies.”
The recording ended.
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
Marcus paused the next file.
“You don’t need to hear all of this.”
“Yes, I do.”
The second recording involved Vanessa.
Rachel confronted her inside the cottage.
“How long?”
Vanessa answered, “Long enough.”
“You came into my home.”
“You introduced us.”
“You were my friend.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I realized Grant wanted a different life.”
Rachel’s voice shook.
“A life with my husband?”
“A life without you.”
Evelyn felt cold.
Then came the most important recording.
It was dated the day Rachel died.
Grant’s voice.
Thomas’s voice.
Patrick’s voice.
They were discussing money.
Rachel had apparently placed a recorder somewhere nearby.
Thomas said, “She reports the trust transfers, we all go down.”
Grant replied, “I’ll handle Rachel.”
Patrick asked, “What does that mean?”
Grant answered, “It means she won’t be a problem tomorrow.”
Silence filled the cottage.
Marcus stopped the recording.
“That changes everything.”
Police immediately contacted the district attorney.
Grant was no longer facing only child-endangerment charges.
Detectives began rebuilding Rachel’s final day.
Her car had crashed on a rural road outside the city.
Investigators at the time found no mechanical problem.
But the vehicle had been destroyed months later.
Grant had authorized it.
Now officers searched old evidence photographs.
One image showed something overlooked.
Rachel’s seat belt was cut.
Not torn during the crash.
Cut.
A forensic specialist believed the damage might have occurred beforehand.
Marcus called Evelyn that evening.
“We arrested Grant on suspicion connected to Rachel’s death.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Maisie was coloring beside her.
“What about Vanessa?”
“We’re still working on her role.”
“Thomas?”
“Conspiracy and financial charges for now.”
“And Patrick?”
“Cooperating.”
Evelyn looked at Maisie.
“Cooperating because he’s innocent?”
Marcus paused.
“No.”
The answer did not surprise her.
Then Evelyn noticed Maisie drawing four people.
One was small.
One had yellow hair.
One was tall.
The fourth person stood beside a square.
“What’s that?” Evelyn asked.
Maisie pointed.
“That’s Daddy.”
“And this?”
“Vanessa.”
“And the square?”
Maisie kept coloring.
“The box.”
Evelyn sat beside her.
“What box?”
“The one Daddy said nobody can find.”
“Where?”
Maisie stopped drawing.
Her eyes shifted toward the window.
“Grandma?”
“Yes?”
May you like
“Daddy said Mommy is inside it.”
Evelyn’s blood ran cold.
