Chapter 9 - PLAN B
I don’t remember sitting down.
I remember Irene saying my name.
I remember Marcus taking the paper from Ruiz.
I remember thinking that “Plan B” had never sounded so terrifying.
Ruiz moved quickly.
Police upgraded security around Irene’s room.
Fenwick’s arrest warrant was pushed through.
By midnight, officers were at his Scottsdale home.
He wasn’t there.
His wife was.
She told police she hadn’t seen him since morning.
His car was found two hours later at a private hangar.
Empty.
His passport had been used to book a flight to Costa Rica, but he never boarded.
“He’s hiding,” Marcus said.
“Or watching.”
I hated that thought.
Carla remained in custody.
Mom had hired an attorney and stopped talking.
But people like Carla hated silence.
At 2:00 a.m., Ruiz came to me with news.
“Your sister wants a deal.”
“What does she have?”
“She claims she knows what Plan B means.”
Irene grabbed my wrist.
“Go.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Austin.”
“No.”
She looked at me until I gave up.
“Fine. Ten minutes.”
At the station, Carla sat behind glass wearing county-issued clothes.
Without makeup, she looked younger.
And terrified.
When I entered with Ruiz, she started crying.
“Austin.”
I said nothing.
“I’m sorry.”
Still nothing.
“Mom made this happen.”
I almost laughed.
“You were holding the hammer.”
“She told me Irene was ruining everything!”
“You drugged her.”
“That was Mom.”
“You forged my signature.”
Carla looked down.
“Fenwick said nobody would get hurt.”
“You beat a safe open while my pregnant wife lay bleeding five feet away.”
Her mouth trembled.
“I didn’t hit Irene.”
I leaned forward.
“You watched.”
That landed.
She started sobbing.
Ruiz interrupted.
“Tell us about Plan B.”
Carla wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“Fenwick said if the guardianship didn’t work, we needed leverage.”
“What leverage?”
“Against Irene.”
“How?”
She looked at me.
“You’re going to hate me.”
“I already do.”
Her face crumpled.
“He had someone following her.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know his real name. We called him Drew.”
“What was he supposed to do?”
“Take pictures. Learn her routine.”
My fists clenched.
“And?”
“Fenwick wanted to make it look like Irene was having an affair.”
I stared.
Carla rushed on.
“Fake messages. Hotel photos. Stuff like that. Then you’d divorce her before the baby came.”
“That’s Plan B?”
She hesitated.
Ruiz noticed.
“No. What else?”
Carla looked at the floor.
“If you didn’t believe the affair…”
My voice lowered.
“What else?”
“Fenwick said Drew would cause an accident.”
Ruiz leaned forward.
“What kind of accident?”
Carla whispered, “Car accident.”
For one second I heard nothing.
Then my chair hit the wall behind me.
“You knew?”
“I swear, I didn’t think he meant it!”
“You knew!”
Ruiz stepped between us.
“Austin.”
I pointed at Carla.
“My wife drives that road every morning.”
Carla was crying so hard she could barely speak.
“Not anymore.”
I froze.
“What?”
She looked terrified.
“Fenwick changed the plan.”
“What does that mean?”
Carla swallowed.
“He said after last night there was no time.”
Ruiz grabbed the table edge.
“When did he say that?”
“This morning.”
“How did you talk to him from custody?”
Carla shook her head.
“I didn’t.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Mom did.”
I stared at her.
“Mom hasn’t had a phone.”
Carla looked at Ruiz.
“You think Fenwick is the only person helping us?”
The room went quiet.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Someone inside the police department has been passing messages to Mom.”
