Chapter 5: Her Voice on the Phone
I typed back fast.
*Sophie is safe.
Vanessa is gone.
Tell me where you are.*
The three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
I looked at Diane.
She was watching my face.
The message came.
*I can't yet.
She has someone watching the house.
If you move too fast she'll run and take everything with her.
Please trust me.
I've been building this for two years.*
My throat tightened.
I typed: *Rachel.
Our daughter thought you were d*ad.*
A long pause.
Long enough that Diane reached across the table and put her hand over mine.
Then: *I know.
I'm so sorry.
I need three more days.
Can you keep Sophie away from the house and act like nothing has changed?*
I stared at the screen.
Three more days.
Three days of pretending.
Three days of Sophie not knowing.
I typed: *What did you find out about Vanessa?*
The answer came in pieces, message after message, each one arriving before I'd finished reading the last.
*Vanessa and I were friends for four years.
She introduced herself to you through me.
I always thought that was a coincidence.*
*It wasn't.*
*Your father's company — the investment firm he left you — Vanessa has been siphoning from the client accounts for almost three years.
Small amounts.
Careful.
But I found the transfers when I was helping you sort your father's estate files.
I recognized her account number.
She didn't know I'd seen it.*
*When I told her I needed to talk to her about something I'd found, she went quiet.
Two days later there was a car accident.
Except I wasn't in the car.*
*Someone else was driving it.
A woman about my height, my hair color.
She d*ed, Daniel.
Vanessa let someone else d*e and made sure you identified the body before anyone looked too closely.*
I set the phone on the table.
Diane read the last message over my shoulder.
She made a sound I won't describe.
I picked the phone back up.
*Who was she?
The woman in the car?*
*I don't know her name.
I've been trying to find out.
That's part of what I've been building.
I need the name to go to the police.
Without it, it's just my word against Vanessa's, and Vanessa has two years of you believing I'm d*ad.*
I stood up.
Walked to Diane's window.
The street outside was ordinary — a neighbor walking a dog, a child on a bicycle, late afternoon light on the pavement.
"She's been out there for two years," I said.
"Alone.
Trying to build a case."
"While Vanessa moved into your house," Diane said.
I turned around.
"She said Vanessa has someone watching the house.
Who would do that for her?"
"Vanessa has money.
Your money, apparently."
I thought about the transfers.
Small amounts.
Careful.
Three years.
I picked up the phone and typed: *I'm going to the police tomorrow with the camera footage of what she did to Sophie.
That gives us a reason to have her investigated without showing our hand.
Will that give you enough time?*
Three dots.
*Yes.
But Daniel — be careful what you say.
She'll lawyer up the moment she feels cornered.
Don't mention me.
Don't mention the financial records.
Just Sophie.
Just the footage.*
*Okay.*
*One more thing.*
I waited.
*The woman who d*ed in that car.
I think Vanessa chose her deliberately.
I think she was someone Vanessa wanted g*ne anyway.
Two problems, one solution.*
I read it twice.
Then I typed: *I'll find her name.
I promise.*
I put the phone in my pocket and looked at Diane.
"I need a lawyer," I said.
"Tonight."
Diane was already reaching for her own phone.
"My husband's college roommate.
Family law and crjminal defense.
I'll call him now."
She stepped into the hallway.
I looked down at my pocket where Rachel's messages sat.
Two years.
She had carried this alone for two years to protect Sophie.
To protect me.
To make sure that when it ended, it ended completely.
Outside, a car slowed at the end of Diane's street.
It didn't turn.
It didn't park.
May you like
It just sat there for a moment, engine running.
Then it moved on.
