Chương 3
The basement key was not supposed to exist.
The lock on the door had been broken for years.
"Where was it found?"
Hall pointed toward the kitchen.
"Inside the drawer."
Claire walked into the kitchen.
The drawer was half open.
She stopped before touching it.
"Who searched this room?"
Hall checked his notes.
"Me and two other officers."
"When?"
"About twenty minutes ago."
Claire looked at the drawer.
Twenty minutes.
That was enough time for someone to move through the house.
Not enough time for someone to disappear easily.
Unless they had somewhere to go.
"Secure the exits," she said.
Hall looked confused.
"The house?"
"The property."
She turned toward Aaron.
"Find Marcus."
"Why?"
"Because if someone was inside this house after we arrived, he needs to explain why."
Aaron did not argue.
That bothered her.
Usually he argued when he thought she was moving too quickly.
This time he just walked away.
Outside, the afternoon had changed.
The sun was lower.
Neighbors who had been watching from a distance had moved closer.
People were always drawn to police activity, even when they pretended they were only passing by.
Claire stepped outside and saw Marcus Sloan standing near the patrol vehicles.
He was speaking with another officer.
Lily was sitting in the back seat of a cruiser holding a paper cup of water.
When Marcus saw Claire, his face tightened.
Not with surprise.
With disappointment.
That was a strange reaction.
"You searched my house without me present," he said.
Claire stopped.
"Your house?"
Marcus looked toward the farmhouse.
"My wife's family owned it."
"You told us you had never been here."
A silence followed.
It was not long.
But it was enough.
Claire watched him realize the mistake.
"I said I didn't spend time here."
"That is not what I asked."
Marcus looked away.
The calm version of him returned slowly.
"You think every inconsistency means something."
"No."
Claire stepped closer.
"I think people who tell the truth usually don't need to edit their sentences after they say them."
Marcus looked at her with open irritation now.
"Is this about Lily?"
Claire glanced at the child.
The girl immediately looked down.
"No," Claire said.
"Then what?"
"The farmhouse."
Marcus exhaled.
"That place is a disaster."
"Why?"
"Because Rachel became obsessed with it."
The answer caught Claire's attention.
"When?"
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
"Months ago."
"Why didn't you mention that?"
"Because my wife was already missing."
"That is exactly when you mention things."
Marcus looked toward the ground.
For the first time, Claire saw something that looked less controlled.
Fear.
Not the fear of being caught.
Something else.
"Rachel believed someone had been using the house."
"Using it for what?"
Marcus shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Try."
He was quiet.
Then he said, "She thought someone was keeping records there."
Claire waited.
"Records of what?"
Marcus looked toward Lily.
The child was watching him.
His expression changed.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for Claire.
"Not here."
"Why?"
"Because my daughter is listening."
Claire almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because suddenly everyone wanted to protect Lily from the truth while nobody had protected her from being near it.
"You brought her here," Claire said.
Marcus's eyes hardened.
"She wanted to come."
Claire looked at him.
"Children don't usually ask to visit crime scenes."
The accusation hung between them.
Marcus looked away first.
A minute later, Aaron returned.
He was holding a folded piece of paper.
His face told Claire before he spoke that something had changed.
"We found Rachel's notebook."
Claire reached for it.
Aaron did not hand it over immediately.
"Where?"
"Behind a loose panel in the upstairs hallway."
"Who found it?"
"Me."
Claire looked at the notebook.
Then at Aaron.
"What?"
He lowered his voice.
"The last entry is dated the night Rachel disappeared."
Claire waited.
"What does it say?"
Aaron hesitated.
Then he opened the cover.
The first page was filled with Rachel's handwriting.
The final page had only one sentence.
Someone inside the investigation is helping him.
Claire felt the air leave her lungs.
She looked across the yard toward the officers moving around the farmhouse.
Then toward Marcus.
Then toward the old house.
The place that had been abandoned.
The place that had somehow known her name.
And now the one person she trusted most was holding evidence that suggested the danger was not only inside the walls.
It was standing among them.
Claire did not answer right away.
The sentence in Rachel's notebook sat between them like something neither of them wanted to touch.
Someone inside the investigation is helping him.
Aaron closed the notebook halfway.
The movement was small, but Claire noticed it.
"Who else has seen this?" she asked.
"No one."
"Are you sure?"
Aaron looked offended for a second.
Then the expression disappeared.
"No," he admitted.
"Not completely."
That was the first honest answer she had heard from him in several minutes.
The yard around them kept moving.
Deputies carried equipment.
A neighbor argued with a reporter behind the yellow tape.
A dog barked somewhere down the road.
The ordinary sounds made everything feel worse.
The world had not changed.
Only Claire's understanding of it had.
She took the notebook from Aaron.
The cover was worn at the corners.
Rachel had carried it often.
There were small dents along the spine where fingers had gripped it too tightly.
Claire opened to the final page again.
The handwriting was rushed.
The ink had pressed hard enough to leave marks on the paper underneath.
Someone inside the investigation is helping him.
No name.
No explanation.
Just a warning.
"Could be about Marcus," Aaron said quietly.
Claire looked up.
"Why?"
"Because Rachel disappeared."
"That's not evidence."
"No."
Aaron glanced toward the farmhouse.
"But it's a possibility."
Claire closed the notebook.
The problem was not that Aaron was wrong.
May you like
The problem was that he was thinking exactly the way everyone had been thinking since the beginning.
Find the easiest person to blame.
