Chapter 7 - The Missing Child
Mark reached the crash scene before the county supervisor.
The government vehicle sat against a telephone pole.
Its rear door hung open.
Rosie’s booster seat was empty.
A smear of blood marked the driver’s window.
Detective Cole stopped Mark at the yellow police tape.
“We are searching the area.”
“She is not in the area.”
“We do not know that.”
“The door was opened.”
“The impact may have released it.”
“Rosie would not leave an injured adult.”
Detective Cole looked toward the vehicle.
“The driver regained consciousness.”
“What did she say?”
“She remembers a black sport utility vehicle pulling in front of her.”
“That was not an accident.”
“She said a woman opened the rear door after the crash.”
“Did she see her face?”
“No.”
“Did she hear Rosie?”
“She heard Rosie call the woman Aunt Beth.”
Mark’s hands went cold.
Bethany was no longer answering her phone.
Diane claimed she had not seen her since the courthouse.
Richard said Bethany was emotionally fragile and had probably gone somewhere to calm down.
No one believed him.
An alert was issued for Bethany’s vehicle.
The license plate appeared on traffic cameras heading north.
Mark followed Detective Cole to the station.
Laura met them there.
She carried a printed photograph.
“Emily’s phone contained this.”
The photograph showed a small lake house surrounded by pine trees.
Mark recognized it.
“My parents owned that place when we were children.”
“Who owns it now?”
“My father sold it.”
Laura placed a property record beside the photograph.
“He sold it to a shell company controlled by Hale Development.”
Detective Cole reached for his keys.
“Send me the address.”
The lake house stood ninety miles away.
Police arrived before Mark.
The front door was open.
Bethany’s vehicle sat behind the house.
Inside, a television played children’s cartoons.
Rosie’s shoes rested beside the sofa.
Mark picked one up.
It was still warm.
“Rosie!”
No one answered.
A back door led toward the lake.
Detective Cole found tire tracks in the mud.
“They transferred to another vehicle.”
Mark entered the kitchen.
A half-finished sandwich sat on the counter.
Beside it was a folded sheet of paper.
The message was written in Bethany’s handwriting.
I DID NOT HURT HER TODAY.
HE SAID HE WOULD FIX EVERYTHING.
I AM SORRY.
Mark crushed the note in his hand.
Detective Cole examined the rear bedroom.
“There is blood on the sink.”
Mark ran inside.
Small drops stained a white towel.
“Is it Rosie’s?”
“We do not know.”
Mark found a broken wineglass in the trash.
The cut may have belonged to Bethany.
A child’s drawing lay beneath the bed.
It showed Rosie standing beside a tall man.
The man held a black square in his hand.
Above the man, Rosie had drawn gray hair.
Mark stared at it.
“My father was here.”
Detective Cole’s phone rang.
He listened without speaking.
Then he looked at Mark.
“Richard’s car was recorded crossing the county line forty minutes ago.”
“Was Rosie with him?”
“The camera could not see the back seat.”
Mark’s phone buzzed.
A video call appeared from an unknown number.
He answered.
Rosie filled the screen.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
A strip of silver tape covered her mouth.
Richard sat beside her.
“Release the company funds.”
Mark could barely speak.
“Take the tape off her.”
“When the bank account is open.”
“You will never see daylight again.”
Richard smiled.
“I have spent forty years making sure people like me do not go to prison.”
Rosie struggled against the seatbelt.
Richard turned the camera toward Bethany.
She sat in the front passenger seat with blood running from her forehead.
“She tried to change her mind.”
Bethany looked at the camera.
“Mark, don’t do it.”
Richard struck the back of her seat.
“Be quiet.”
The image returned to Rosie.
Richard leaned close to her.
“Tell Daddy what happens if he calls the police.”
Rosie’s terrified eyes met Mark’s.
Richard removed the tape.
Rosie gasped.
May you like
“Daddy, Grandpa says he knows where Mommy is buried.”
“He says he can put me beside her.”
