Chapter 6 - The House by the Lake
The lake house had been cleaned.
Too carefully.
No fingerprints.
No clothing.
No food packaging.
No phones.
But the people who cleaned it missed one thing.
A thin strip of pharmacy paper had fallen beneath the refrigerator.
It contained part of a prescription number.
Mine.
The rest of my medication had been there.
Police brought in dogs.
They searched the woods.
They searched the shoreline.
They searched an abandoned boathouse.
Inside the boathouse, they found a locked metal cabinet.
The key was taped beneath a workbench.
Inside were six folders.
Each folder carried a name.
Emily.
Sophie.
Robert.
Dr. Patel.
Detective Bennett.
And Jason.
My folder contained medical records.
Bank statements.
Insurance documents.
Photos of me entering the hospital.
Photos of me leaving therapy.
Photos taken through restaurant windows.
Photos of me with friends.
Every person in my life had been documented.
The folder labeled Dr. Patel contained her home address.
Her children’s school.
Her work schedule.
Laura’s folder contained similar information.
The file labeled Jason was nearly empty.
It held one handwritten page.
If he panics, remind him what happens to weak men.
The handwriting belonged to Margaret.
“She was controlling him,” Marcus said.
I shook my head.
“He made choices.”
“Yes.”
“Do not turn him into another victim.”
“We won’t.”
The folder labeled Robert contained something unexpected.
Bank transfers.
Large amounts.
Made over eighteen months.
Each transfer went from Robert’s retirement account into an account controlled by Margaret.
The total was nearly four hundred thousand dollars.
“What was she doing with the money?” I asked.
“We’re still tracing it.”
The final folder was Sophie’s.
Inside was a copy of her passport.
A list of her medications.
Her apartment keys.
And photographs of her sleeping.
Sophie nearly collapsed when she saw them.
“My mother had a key.”
“She was watching you,” Laura said.
“Why?”
“Control.”
Sophie sat down.
“She always knew everything.”
“Where I went.”
“Who I spoke to.”
“What I spent.”
“I thought she was just intrusive.”
“She was collecting leverage,” Laura said.
The police searched the property for twelve hours.
Near the edge of the woods, they found tire tracks.
A rental vehicle had left the property around 3:00 a.m.
Traffic cameras tracked it north.
Then the vehicle disappeared near a rural highway.
That afternoon, Robert asked to speak to me.
Against Laura’s advice, I agreed.
He entered the interview room wearing the same expensive coat he had worn to the airport.
He looked older.
Smaller.
But not sorry.
“I didn’t know Jason took your medication,” he said.
“You knew enough to leave.”
“Margaret told me there was a nurse.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“It’s true.”
“Did you know she increased the insurance policy?”
“No.”
“Did you know she was moving your money?”
His jaw tightened.
“That is private.”
“She stole from you.”
“She managed our finances.”
“She documented Sophie’s medications.”
Robert looked away.
“She worries.”
“She stalks.”
“You don’t understand our family.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“I finally do.”
Robert’s expression hardened.
“Jason loved you.”
“He tried to kill me.”
“He was under pressure.”
“From Margaret?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
I watched him.
“You came here to protect yourself.”
“I came to tell the truth.”
“No.”
“You came because the police found the bank transfers.”
He said nothing.
“What did Margaret need four hundred thousand dollars for?”
Robert looked toward the camera in the corner.
Then back at me.
“She said she was protecting the family.”
“From what?”
His face changed.
For the first time, I saw fear.
“From you.”
I almost laughed.
“Why would anyone need four hundred thousand dollars to protect themselves from a sick woman?”
Robert’s voice dropped.
“Because this was never only about your illness.”
The door opened.
Laura stepped inside.
“What does that mean?”
Robert looked at her.
Then at me.
“Jason found something in Emily’s father’s old files.”
My blood went cold.
“My father has been dead for twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“And Margaret believed those files could destroy all of us.”
“What files?”
May you like
Robert leaned closer.
“The ones proving Jason was never supposed to marry you.”
