Chapter 6 - The Silver Shoe
Detective Shaw arranged for Lily to speak with a trained child interviewer.
Nathan waited outside with Beth.
He had been told not to question Lily repeatedly.
Not to fill gaps.
Not to turn his own fear into her memory.
Waiting felt like doing nothing.
He did it anyway.
Afterward, Shaw sat across from him.
“Some of what she remembers may help us find records or witnesses,” she said. “We won’t ask a small child to carry this case.”
Nathan nodded.
“What did she say?”
“She remembered hiding on the staircase. Adults arguing downstairs. Her mother leaving in a hurry.”
“Vanessa?”
“She described a woman. We’ll assess that carefully.”
“And my father?”
“She remembered a man’s voice. Again, we need independent support.”
Nathan pressed his palms together.
“I understand.”
Shaw studied him.
“Your wife denied being at the old house. We have the photograph now. We’re following up.”
That afternoon, Daniel called.
He had found the name of the neighbor who reported the black SUV.
Martha Ellis.
Seventy-two.
Still living across from the old house.
Nathan met Daniel on her porch.
Martha recognized him immediately.
“Oh, honey.”
She looked ready to hug him, then saw his face.
“Is it about Claire?”
Inside, her living room smelled of lemon polish.
She remembered the SUV.
“Big black one. Parked half over the curb.”
“Did you see who drove it?”
“A man. Broad shoulders. Dark jacket. I couldn’t tell you his face.”
“What time?”
“Before nine. My show hadn’t started.”
Daniel took notes.
“Did you see anyone else?”
Martha hesitated.
“A woman came out the side gate.”
Nathan felt his pulse in his throat.
“Carrying anything?”
“Something pale. A bag, maybe.”
“Did you tell the police?”
“Yes.”
Her answer was immediate.
“They wrote down the car. I told them about the woman too.”
Daniel looked up.
The crash report mentioned no woman at the house.
Martha opened a drawer.
“I kept the card the officer gave me. Afterward, a different man came by. Said the family needed privacy.”
“What man?” Nathan asked.
“He wasn’t police.”
She handed him an old business card.
MERCER DEVELOPMENT.
Richard Mercer.
Nathan stared at his father’s name.
Martha touched his sleeve.
“I thought he was helping you.”
Outside, Daniel’s phone chimed.
He checked it and went silent.
“What is it?” Nathan asked.
“A response from the storage company.”
“What storage company?”
“Your father paid for a unit the week after Claire died.”
Nathan looked back at Martha’s house.
May you like
Daniel turned the screen toward him.
“The payments never stopped.”
