Chương 11
He stopped himself because Sophie was ten feet away.
“Apparently that includes me more than anyone.”
Rachel’s voice softened.
“Daniel.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m not attacking you.”
“It would almost be easier if you were.”
Rachel breathed into the phone.
“I wanted to tell you after she died.”
“But you didn’t.”
“She made me promise.”
“She was dead.”
“That didn’t make the promise disappear.”
Daniel laughed without humor.
“No, it just made your brother-in-law spend two years believing a lie.”
“What lie?”
“That her death made sense.”
Rachel went quiet.
Daniel rubbed his face.
“Where is the unit?”
“North Ridge Storage.”
“Which location?”
“Eastbrook.”
He knew the place.
A row of low buildings near the industrial district, fifteen minutes from Claire’s old office.
“Why C-14?”
“That’s the unit number.”
“What’s inside?”
“I never saw all of it.”
“Of course.”
“I went once.”
“When?”
“A week before she died.”
Daniel straightened.
“What did you see?”
“Boxes.”
“Rachel.”
“Files.”
“What kind?”
“Bank records, printouts, photographs, some flash drives.”
“Photographs of who?”
“I only saw a few.”
“Who?”
“One was Vanessa.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Doing what?”
“Walking into a building with a man.”
“What building?”
“I didn’t know then.”
“And now?”
Rachel hesitated.
“I think it was the county records office.”
Daniel pushed away from the wall.
“What man?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I saw his back.”
“You said Claire trusted you.”
“She trusted me to keep a key.”
“That isn’t trust.”
Daniel lowered his voice further.
“That’s storage.”
Rachel flinched audibly.
“That’s unfair.”
“Good.”
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Trying to hurt me because you’re terrified.”
Daniel stared at the floor.
A nurse passed carrying folded blankets.
He hated Rachel for being right.
“Why did Claire rent it?”
“She said people were looking through her things.”
“At home?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward Sophie.
The hidden corridor behind the wardrobes seemed to extend through his memory now.
Drawers left slightly open.
Claire asking whether he had moved folders.
Vanessa visiting after Claire’s death to help sort clothing.
Every harmless moment had acquired sharp edges.
“Did she say who?”
“No.”
“Did you ask?”
“Obviously.”
“What did she say?”
“That guessing would make me stupid.”
Daniel almost smiled.
That sounded like Claire.
The recognition hurt.
Rachel continued.
“She said she needed proof before she accused anyone.”
“Proof of what?”
“Someone was moving money through accounts connected to her inheritance.”
Daniel frowned.
“Her own money?”
“Not exactly.”
“Explain.”
Rachel exhaled.
“She discovered transfers she didn’t authorize.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Thousands?”
“More.”
“Hundreds of thousands?”
“I think so.”
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
“Did she call the bank?”
“She thought someone at the bank might be involved.”
“That’s insane.”
“She knew how it sounded.”
“So she hired Ethan’s company.”
Rachel went quiet again.
Daniel’s anger shifted.
“You know Ethan.”
“I know the name.”
“You knew Claire hired him?”
“She told me she hired investigators.”
“Through whom?”
“I don’t know.”
“Vanessa says Claire didn’t hire them directly.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Daniel listened carefully.
For once, Rachel sounded genuinely confused.
“What did Claire tell you about Vanessa?”
“She didn’t trust her.”
“Why?”
“She thought Vanessa was asking too many questions.”
“What questions?”
“About the inheritance.”
Daniel looked down the corridor.
The emergency department television played silently over a row of chairs.
A weather map moved across the screen.
He thought of Vanessa sitting at dinner six months after Claire died, laughing with Rachel about Claire’s terrible taste in wine.
Rachel had known Claire distrusted her.
Vanessa had known Claire was dead.
Daniel had invited both women into the same room.
“Why did you let me date her?”
Rachel answered immediately.
“I told you not to.”
“You said she was complicated.”
“I said Claire wouldn’t have liked it.”
“You never said Claire suspected her of stealing money.”
“Because I couldn’t prove she was.”
“You could have said the sentence.”
“And then what?”
Rachel’s voice sharpened.
“You were barely functioning.”
“You don’t get to use that.”
“I’m not using anything.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I watched you sleep in your office for three months because you couldn’t walk past Claire’s side of the bed.”
Daniel said nothing.
“I watched you forget Sophie’s preschool pickup twice.”
His jaw tightened.
“I know.”
“You stopped answering people.”
“I know.”
“You started drinking.”
Daniel looked toward Sophie again.
“Lower your voice.”
“I’m not there.”
“Just lower it.”
Rachel did.
“I didn’t know what telling you would do.”
“So you decided for me.”
“Yes.”
The honesty stopped him.
Rachel continued.
“And I might have been wrong.”
Daniel pressed his lips together.
“That’s convenient now.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“It’s just true.”
A message appeared on Daniel’s screen while Rachel was still speaking.
Unknown number.
He opened it without ending the call.
The message contained a single line.
Don’t let the police reach C-14 first.
Daniel’s pulse jumped.
“Rachel.”
“What?”
“Does anyone else know about the unit?”
“No.”
“Vanessa apparently does.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Anybody else?”
“Claire.”
“She’s dead.”
Rachel went silent.
Daniel regretted the cruelty instantly.
He did not apologize.
“Ethan?”
“Maybe.”
“Whoever sent me the picture?”
“Apparently.”
Daniel paced three steps down the hall.
“Is there anything in that unit that could explain Claire’s death?”
Rachel’s answer came slowly.
“Yes.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“The night I went with her, she showed me a folder.”
“What folder?”
“She said it was the reason she was scared.”
“What was in it?”
“Copies of property records.”
Daniel frowned.
“That’s what scared her?”
“Not the records themselves.”
“What property?”
“A house.”
“Whose?”
“It was purchased through a company.”
“Which company?”
Rachel named it.
Daniel recognized it immediately.
The shell company Ethan had said owned the vehicle following Claire.
His scalp prickled.
“What was the address?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember?”
“It was outside town.”
“Try.”
“I remember the road name had Mill in it.”
“That’s useless.”
“I know.”
“What did Claire think the house was?”
Rachel inhaled.
“A meeting place.”
“For who?”
May you like
“She didn’t know.”
“Then why was she scared?”
