Chapter 5 - What Laura Was Trying to Protect
Chapter 5 - What Laura Was Trying to Protect
The police did not hand Daniel the contents of Laura's storage unit.
They photographed everything.
They logged the drives.
They took statements.
They moved slowly.
Daniel wanted them to move faster.
Instead, Helen reminded him that slow was often what real investigations looked like.
Three days passed.
Laura remained unconscious but stable.
Evan stayed in hospital-arranged temporary care after the social worker raised concerns about returning him to Ray while Laura's written warning was being reviewed.
Daniel visited every day.
He did not try to act like a father.
He brought sandwiches.
A deck of cards.
A phone charger after Evan lost his.
Once, he brought a new puzzle book because the old one was finished.
That was all.
On the fourth day, Detective Ortiz asked Daniel to come downtown.
Helen came with him.
Ortiz placed copies of several documents on the table.
"These are from the storage unit."
Daniel looked at the first page.
It was one of Laura's letters.
He read only the first two lines before putting it down.
"I can't do this here."
Ortiz nodded.
"You don't have to."
"Why are you showing me?"
"Because she kept copies of correspondence she sent to you. Some of the envelopes came back. Some apparently did not."
Daniel swallowed.
"Meaning someone received them."
"Meaning they were delivered somewhere. We don't know who handled them."
Daniel looked at Helen.
She said nothing.
Ortiz slid forward another paper.
It was an email printout.
From Ray to Laura.
Twelve years old.
Stop embarrassing yourself. Mercer already made it clear he doesn't want anything to do with this.
Daniel read it twice.
"What is 'this'?"
Ortiz watched him.
"You tell me."
Daniel shook his head.
"I didn't know she was pregnant."
Helen leaned forward.
"You said you suspected something now."
"Suspecting now isn't knowing then."
Ortiz placed another sheet on the table.
This one was a bank record.
"There was money missing from Laura and Ray's former employer. Not enough to destroy the company, but enough to trigger an internal review."
"How much?"
"Just under ninety thousand over several years."
Daniel looked at the signature authorizing several vendor payments.
Raymond Bennett.
Ortiz continued.
"The company never pursued criminal charges. They treated it as an accounting dispute and terminated two employees."
"Was Ray one?"
"No."
"Laura?"
"No. She resigned before the review finished."
"Why?"
"We're trying to establish that."
Daniel leaned back.
"So Laura finds financial problems. She disappears. Ray tells her I want nothing to do with her. My letters never reach me."
"That's one possible interpretation."
"And now her brake line may have been damaged."
"Daniel," Helen warned.
He looked at Ortiz.
"Tell me I'm wrong."
Ortiz remained calm.
"I'll tell you we don't have enough evidence yet to connect those things."
That was not the same answer.
Then Ortiz placed a more recent document on the table.
It was a credit report.
Evan Bennett's name appeared at the top.
Daniel frowned.
"He's eleven."
"Exactly."
There were two accounts.
One credit card.
One line of credit.
Both opened within the previous year.
Daniel felt sick.
"Who opened them?"
"We're investigating."
"You think Laura found out."
"We know she disputed them."
Ortiz handed him a copy of a letter Laura had sent to a credit bureau three weeks before the crash.
My minor son's identity has been used fraudulently.
Daniel read it in silence.
Ortiz continued.
"She also contacted an attorney."
"Who?"
"Local consumer fraud attorney. We spoke with him yesterday."
"What did she tell him?"
"That she believed someone in her family had used Evan's information."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Ray."
"We're not at the point where I'm naming a suspect to you."
Helen glanced at Daniel.
He knew what that meant.
Do not push.
Daniel nodded.
"Fine."
On his way out, Ortiz stopped him.
"One more thing."
Daniel turned.
"We found a small audio recorder in the storage unit."
Daniel waited.
"We're examining it."
"Anything useful?"
"Possibly."
"Meaning?"
Ortiz looked at him.
"Meaning I'm asking you again not to confront Ray."
That evening, Daniel found Ray outside the hospital anyway.
Not because Daniel had gone looking for him.
Ray was waiting beside Daniel's SUV.
The broken headlight had been temporarily covered with clear protective tape.
Ray glanced at it.
"Still haven't fixed that?"
Daniel stopped several feet away.
"Move away from my car."
"You always were dramatic."
"Move."
Ray smiled.
"Laura made you feel important again?"
Daniel said nothing.
"You know what her problem was?" Ray continued. "She could never let anything go."
Daniel took out his phone.
Ray noticed.
"What are you doing?"
"Recording."
The smile disappeared.
Daniel kept his voice level.
"Say whatever you came to say."
Ray stared at him.
Then laughed.
"You think you're clever."
"No. I think Laura was."
For a second, something dark passed through Ray's expression.
"Stay away from things you don't understand."
Daniel did not answer.
Ray stepped closer.
"You have no idea what she was like after you left."
"I didn't leave."
"Sure."
"She wrote to me."
Ray went still.
Daniel saw it.
"You told her I didn't want the baby."
Ray's face changed again.
Not surprise.
Calculation.
Daniel heard his own heartbeat.
Ray said quietly, "You should be careful what you think you know."
Daniel held up the phone.
"You should be careful what you say."
Ray walked away.
Daniel waited until he was inside the hospital before his hands began to shake.
Evan was sitting near Laura's room.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You're lying."
Daniel looked at him.
"You're eleven."
"I can still tell."
Daniel sat beside him.
After a moment, Evan said, "I remembered where Mom hid one thing."
Daniel turned.
"What thing?"
"A little black USB."
"At the storage place?"
Evan shook his head.
"No."
"Where?"
"In my old science fair volcano."
Daniel stared at him.
"What?"
"She said nobody would ever look inside it because it was ugly."
Despite everything, Daniel laughed.
Evan smiled.
Then the smile disappeared.
May you like
"The volcano is at Uncle Ray's house."
Daniel stopped laughing.
