Chapter 10 - THE FAMILY SECRET
Eric survived.
The bullet passed through his shoulder.
Daniel spent the night outside surgery while police searched for the shooter.
Margaret had disappeared.
Her phone was off.
Her home was empty.
So was the safe in her bedroom.
At four in the morning, Sarah sat beside Daniel.
“Tell me about your father.”
“Richard Carter.”
“When did he die?”
“Nine years ago.”
“Cause?”
“Heart attack.”
“Any reason to question it?”
“Not until tonight.”
Sarah nodded.
“Eric says otherwise.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What did he tell you?”
“Your father discovered Margaret had been moving money out of family investment accounts.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Of course.
Money again.
“Eric was seventeen,” Sarah continued. “He overheard them arguing.”
“What happened?”
“According to Eric, your father threatened to divorce Margaret and report her.”
Daniel looked toward the hospital room.
“And then he died.”
“Three days later.”
Daniel remembered the funeral.
Margaret dressed in black.
Crying into Daniel’s shoulder.
Saying, We only have each other now.
He felt physically sick.
“Can you prove it?”
“We’re looking.”
By noon, they had another lead.
Richard’s old physician had documented unusual symptoms in the weeks before his death.
Dizziness.
Nausea.
Heart rhythm changes.
No autopsy had been performed.
Margaret had refused one.
That afternoon, Lily woke from a nap asking for Daniel.
He went to Rachel’s house immediately.
She ran toward him in dinosaur pajamas.
“Daddy!”
He lifted her.
She touched his cheek.
“Daddy sad?”
He almost broke.
“A little.”
She kissed his nose.
“Better?”
Daniel smiled through tears.
“Much better.”
Then Lily looked toward the doorway.
“Uncle E?”
“He got hurt.”
“Grandma?”
Daniel paused.
“Grandma went away.”
Lily whispered, “Good.”
Again.
That word.
Later, while Lily played, Rachel approached.
“You need to hear something.”
“What?”
“Lily was talking in her sleep.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“What did she say?”
“‘Don’t take me to Grandma’s room.’”
Daniel frowned.
“Margaret’s room?”
“I asked her after she woke up.”
“And?”
“She said there was a box.”
Daniel knelt beside Lily.
“What box, sweetheart?”
Lily looked at him.
“Grandma box.”
“What was inside?”
“Pictures.”
“What pictures?”
Lily thought hard.
“Mommy.”
Daniel froze.
Melissa?
“Pictures of Mommy?”
Lily nodded.
“Mommy car.”
Daniel’s skin prickled.
Margaret had pictures of Melissa’s car?
“Where was the box?”
“Under bed.”
Police had searched Margaret’s bedroom.
Nothing.
But Daniel remembered her safe was empty.
They returned to Margaret’s home with a warrant.
Under the bed was nothing.
Sarah checked the floor.
Then one officer noticed scratches beneath the bedframe.
They moved it.
A hidden panel had been cut into the hardwood.
Inside was a second compartment.
Empty except for one envelope.
Sarah opened it.
Photographs slid out.
Melissa’s car.
Taken before the accident.
The rear brake assembly.
Thomas Vale standing beside it.
And one photograph of Vanessa handing him an envelope.
Daniel stared.
Evidence.
Margaret had kept proof.
Insurance against her own accomplices.
Sarah turned over the final photograph.
On the back, Margaret had written one sentence.
IF VANESSA EVER TALKS, THIS ENDS HER.
Daniel felt cold.
Then Sarah’s radio crackled.
An officer spoke urgently.
They had found Margaret.
Not hiding.
Not fleeing.
May you like
She was standing outside Rachel’s house.
Where Lily was sleeping.
