CHAPTER 8
I went to see Rachel again.
"Mark says he's afraid for his life," I said.
"I'm not surprised."
"Why not?"
"Because he owes money to dangerous people."
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."
"Why did you give him the money, Rachel?"
"Because he asked me to. Because he's my brother-in-law. Because I love him."
"You love him?"
"Yes. He's like a brother to me."
"Then why did you smile?"
"Because I was relieved."
"Relieved about what?"
"Relieved that it was Emma and not my child."
"You don't have a child, Rachel."
"Yes, I do. I have a son."
"What?"
"I have a son. I gave birth to him eight years ago. I put him up for adoption."
"You have a son?"
"Yes. His name is David."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. He was adopted by a family in California."
"Why did you give him up?"
"Because I was young. I was sixteen. I couldn't take care of him."
"Does Mark know?"
"Yes. He helped me through it."
"What does this have to do with what happened?"
"Mark threatened to tell David's adoptive parents about me. He threatened to ruin my life."
"He blackmailed you?"
"Yes."
"He made you give him the money?"
"Yes."
"He threatened to expose your secret?"
"Yes."
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was ashamed. I didn't want anyone to know."
"Does Mark know about David?"
"Yes. He's the only one."
"Why did he threaten you?"
"Because he needed the money. He was desperate."
"Rachel, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. It's all my fault."
"No, it's not. Mark is the one who blackmailed you."
"I still shouldn't have given him the money."
"You were protecting yourself."
"I know."
"Where is David now?"
"I don't know. But Mark said he could find him."
"How?"
"I don't know."
"Rachel, I need to find out who Mark owes money to."
"I don't know."
"Think. Did Mark ever mention a name?"
"No. But he talked about a meeting. He had to meet someone at a park in Alexandria."
"When?"
"A few weeks ago."
"Who was he meeting?"
"I don't know."
"What did he tell you?"
"He told me he was scared. He said the person he was meeting was dangerous."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
"Thank you, Rachel. I'll be in touch."
I walked out of the jail and got back in the car with Detective Miller.
"Rachel says Mark threatened to tell David's adoptive parents about her," I said.
"Who's David?"
"Her son. She had him when she was sixteen."
"Does David know about Rachel?"
"I don't know."
"Does Mark know?"
"Yes."
"And he used that to blackmail her?"
"Yes."
"That's terrible."
"I know."
"What are we going to do?"
"We need to find out who Mark owes money to."
"How?"
"We need to find the loan shark."
"How?"
"Through Mark's phone records."
"We already have those. We didn't see anything unusual."
"Did we see any calls to unknown numbers?"
"Yes. A few."
"Call them."
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"I'll need a warrant."
"Get one."
