Chương 12
“Preston.”
“What happened?”
“Daniel hit him.”
I could picture Preston’s shock.
He was always more offended by resistance than injury.
“Then I came back,” Vanessa said.
“You?”
She looked at me.
“You came out of the visitor center.”
I remembered Vanessa hurrying toward Preston.
Her face pale.
Preston telling her everything was fine.
Daniel had been nowhere in sight.
“Where was Daniel?”
“Behind the maintenance building.”
“Why?”
“Preston told him Madison knew nothing and if Daniel wanted to protect Lila, he would keep it that way until they talked privately.”
“And Daniel agreed?”
“No.”
Vanessa’s voice cracked.
“He stayed because I begged him.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because I thought I could fix it.”
There it was.
The sentence people used after helping create disasters.
Ortiz did not react.
“What were you trying to fix?”
“Everything.”
“That is not an answer.”
Vanessa wiped her eyes.
“I wanted Preston to sign the trust agreement and leave.”
“Why were you involved?”
“Because Preston told me if I helped him, he would end things with Madison.”
My face went cold.
Vanessa looked at me.
“I know how that sounds.”
“No.”
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
“You know how it is.”
She nodded.
“I believed him.”
“Of course you did.”
“I wanted his life.”
I almost laughed again.
“No, you wanted the version he showed you.”
“That too.”
The honesty hurt more than excuses.
Vanessa looked at Eli.
“And I thought money would make Daniel stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Trying to expose Preston.”
“So your plan was to bribe the guardian of Preston’s secret daughter with my life insurance.”
Her face crumpled.
“When you say it like that—”
“How else should I say it?”
She had no answer.
Ortiz intervened.
“Then Madison came back.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Preston said we should drive farther up to the overlook.”
“Why?”
“He said he needed privacy.”
“With Madison there?”
“He planned to have you sign the transfer.”
I stared at her.
“On a mountain.”
“He said you would listen if you were scared enough.”
A chill passed through me that had nothing to do with snow.
“What did he plan to threaten me with?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Divorce.”
I almost smiled.
“That was the threat?”
“And evidence that you had hidden money from him.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I know.”
“No, it’s not just ridiculous.”
Anger sharpened my voice.
“I had no hidden money.”
“I know that now.”
“Now?”
“Preston showed me statements.”
Richard straightened.
“Whose statements?”
“Madison’s.”
“They were fake.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
“I don’t know what was real anymore.”
That, at least, I believed.
Ortiz spoke again.
“Take us to the moment at the cliff.”
Vanessa’s breathing became shallow.
“I don’t want to.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I understand enough.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“I told him to stop.”
“Before or after he pushed me?”
“Before.”
I searched her face.
She seemed to understand why that answer did not help.
“Daniel came up the trail,” she continued.
“He was shouting.”
“What was he shouting?”
“That the police were coming.”
“Were they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then Preston pushed you.”
Her eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
“What happened immediately after?”
“He looked over the edge.”
“Did he see the ledge?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“He said you were gone.”
My skin prickled.
“Then Daniel reached us.”
Ortiz leaned forward.
“What happened?”
“Daniel hit Preston.”
“And Preston?”
“He hit him back.”
“Near the cliff?”
“No.”
“Where?”
“Near the SUV.”
“Then how did Daniel end up in the ravine?”
Vanessa’s face went white.
“Because he ran.”
“From Preston?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Preston had a gun.”
Everything in the room seemed to stop.
I stared at her.
“My husband owned a gun?”
Vanessa looked just as frightened by my ignorance as I was.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In the SUV.”
Richard’s voice went cold.
“Is it registered?”
“I don’t know.”
Ortiz was already reaching for her phone.
“Description?”
“Black handgun.”
“That is not enough.”
“I don’t know guns.”
“Did Preston fire it?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Evelyn whispered, “Oh, God.”
Ortiz did not blink.
“How many shots?”
“One.”
“Did it hit Daniel?”
“I don’t know.”
Vanessa looked at the blood on her sleeve.
“He stumbled.”
“Then?”
“He ran downhill.”
“Preston followed?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“I followed them.”
“Where did you last see Daniel alive?”
Vanessa began crying soundlessly.
“On the lower trail.”
Ortiz waited.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“He was bleeding from his side.”
“Gunshot?”
“I think so.”
“What happened next?”
“I tried to help him.”
“While Preston was there?”
“No.”
“Where was Preston?”
Vanessa’s eyes lifted.
“He went back for Madison.”
I felt cold all over.
“To check the cliff?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why?”
Her voice dropped to almost nothing.
“Because he realized your phone might still be on you.”
Ortiz stood.
Richard looked toward the locked door.
I held Eli closer.
Vanessa stared at me.
“I left Daniel alive on that trail because I thought I could stop Preston from climbing down to finish what he started.”
Ortiz’s face hardened.
“You left a wounded man to go back uphill?”
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“Yes.”
“Was he conscious?”
“Yes.”
“Could he walk?”
“Barely.”
“Did you call 911?”
“I didn’t have my phone.”
“Daniel’s?”
“Preston had it.”
Ortiz’s jaw shifted.
“What about Daniel himself?”
“He told me Preston smashed it during the fight.”
“Convenient.”
Vanessa looked up.
“I know how this sounds.”
“I’m not interested in how it sounds.”
Ortiz leaned forward.
“I’m interested in the minutes between you leaving Daniel alive and Daniel ending up dead in that ravine.”
Vanessa’s lips trembled.
“So am I.”
The words were quiet enough that nobody challenged them.
I watched her hands.
Blood had dried under two fingernails.
Daniel’s blood, apparently.
That detail made him real in a way the phrase body in the ravine had not.
Someone had tried to keep him alive.
Someone had failed.
“What happened when you went back uphill?” I asked.
Vanessa looked at me.
“Preston was gone.”
“Gone where?”
May you like
“I didn’t know.”
“What about the SUV?”
