Chương 13
“That’s not true.”
“She said then we’d lose the house.”
“That’s not true either.”
“I didn’t know.”
Her voice cracked.
“I’m a kid.”
I reached for her.
She leaned away at first.
Then she let me pull her close.
“You’re right.”
She cried into my shirt without making much noise.
“I should’ve told you.”
“No.”
“I should’ve.”
“You should never have been put in a position where you had to decide.”
“She said she needed me.”
I held her tighter.
“That can feel important.”
“It did.”
“I know.”
“And now I hate it.”
“I know.”
After a while, she whispered, “Do you hate Mom?”
I did not answer immediately.
“I’m angry with her.”
“That’s not the same.”
“No.”
“Do you still love her?”
“Yes.”
That answer came easily.
It complicated everything.
Tessa sniffed.
“That seems dumb.”
“It feels dumb.”
She almost smiled against my chest.
Mrs. Alvarez appeared in the doorway.
“Detective wants you.”
I looked at Tessa.
“You okay with Mrs. Alvarez?”
“She talks too much.”
Mrs. Alvarez nodded.
“Known defect.”
Tessa held the fox tighter.
“Fine.”
I followed Mrs. Alvarez back to the dining room.
Shaw was looking at Palmer’s phone.
“What happened?”
“We have preliminary information from Leah.”
“Where’s Claire?”
“She says she doesn’t know.”
“Then what good is she?”
“More than you think.”
Shaw motioned me toward the kitchen, away from Tessa’s room.
“Leah says Daniel gave her the vehicle this afternoon.”
“Why?”
“He told her Claire had abandoned it and asked Leah to move his company vehicle out of the area.”
“Why would she agree?”
“She works for the facility.”
“In what capacity?”
“Administrative assistant.”
“That’s convenient.”
“It’s employment.”
“Did she see Claire?”
“Yes.”
My heartbeat changed.
“When?”
“Around two.”
“Where?”
“At the facility.”
“With Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Rebecca?”
“Yes.”
“Was Claire hurt?”
“Leah says no.”
“The blood.”
“Leah says she doesn’t know where it came from.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I believe she’s frightened.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“It’s the answer I have.”
I exhaled sharply.
“What else?”
“Claire arrived voluntarily.”
“That matches what she told me.”
“Leah says Claire demanded to see Rebecca.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca had been messaging her.”
“Using R.”
“Yes.”
“And pretending to be Ryan?”
“Apparently not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“Rebecca used the initial because Claire already associated R with Ryan.”
“So yes.”
Shaw gave me a look.
“Functionally, yes.”
“Why?”
“Control.”
“Over Claire?”
“Over what Claire learned.”
I looked at the envelope with my name on it.
“What did Claire learn?”
Shaw folded her arms.
“Leah says Claire had been asking about Philip Caldwell and a house outside Tulsa where several children stayed during the late nineties.”
“Stayed?”
“That is Leah’s word.”
“What word would you use?”
“I haven’t interviewed her yet.”
“Was it the house in the photo?”
“She thinks so.”
“Was Leah one of the children?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“According to Leah, her mother was using meth heavily at the time.”
The detail landed without drama.
That made it worse.
“She was sent to stay with Philip temporarily.”
“By who?”
“Her mother.”
“For how long?”
“Months.”
“And Claire?”
“Leah says Claire was there too.”
“Ryan?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“Different arrangements.”
I hated the vagueness because life was probably vague.
Children moving between adults.
Temporary becoming permanent.
Everyone telling themselves it was complicated rather than wrong.
“What happened in the house?”
“Leah wouldn’t say roadside.”
“Why?”
“She started crying when officers asked.”
I looked toward Tessa’s bedroom.
“What does any of this have to do with my daughter?”
“That is the question.”
“No, it is not.”
Shaw waited.
“The question is why Claire thought Rebecca would take her.”
“Yes.”
“Claire wrote that before today.”
“Yes.”
“So this wasn’t panic from whatever happened after she left.”
“No.”
“She had a reason.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“We may find it on the flash drive.”
I paced to the sink and back.
“Rebecca runs the facility where Claire’s biological mother lives.”
“Yes.”
“Claire has been meeting Ryan there?”
“Not inside the facility, according to him.”
“Rebecca could monitor access to the mother.”
“Yes.”
“She could control what Claire learned.”
“Potentially.”
“And Daniel works under her?”
“His company operates transport and support services contracted by the facility.”
“So the family business surrounds the only person who can confirm what happened.”
“That is one way to put it.”
“It’s the obvious way.”
“Obvious and provable are different things.”
Before I could answer, Palmer came in.
“Detective, we’ve got footage from the facility.”
Shaw turned.
“Claire?”
“At 1:41 entering through a side entrance.”
“With Daniel?”
“By herself.”
“Exiting?”
Palmer hesitated.
“At 2:26.”
“With?”
“Rebecca Caldwell.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“And Claire?”
“Claire exits with her.”
“Then where’s Daniel?”
“Separate footage shows him leaving seven minutes later.”
“In what vehicle?”
“Claire’s car.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I gripped the back of a chair.
“So Daniel drove her car.”
“Yes.”
“And Rebecca left with Claire.”
“Yes.”
“Which vehicle?”
“Black SUV registered to the facility.”
I looked at Shaw.
“Then the vehicle following Claire earlier—”
“May have been Rebecca’s.”
“May?”
“Yes.”
Palmer added, “Traffic footage has the same plate.”
Shaw’s eyes sharpened.
“Then it was.”
“What happened next?”
Palmer checked his phone.
“Rebecca’s SUV hits a camera near Northwest Expressway at 2:48.”
“With Claire?”
“Passenger visibility is poor.”
“Then?”
“Nothing until 4:11.”
“Where?”
“A gas station near Piedmont.”
“Rebecca driving?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Palmer looked at me.
“Daniel.”
“And Claire?”
“Not visible.”
My mouth went dry.
“So between 2:48 and 4:11, Claire disappears.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel ends up with Rebecca’s SUV.”
“Yes.”
“While Claire’s car gets dumped near the lake.”
“Yes.”
“Where is Rebecca?”
Palmer looked at Shaw.
“We don’t know.”
I laughed once, bitterly.
“Of course.”
Shaw ignored me.
“Put out a locate on Rebecca separately.”
“Already done.”
“And get officers to the facility.”
“They’re there.”
“Her residence?”
“Checking.”
I stepped closer.
“What about Ryan?”
Shaw glanced at me.
“He’s still at the Hurd house.”
“Claire warned me not to trust him.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“We asked.”
“And?”
May you like
“He says he doesn’t know.”
I rubbed both hands over my face.
