Chapter 4 - The Chase

The SUV accelerated.

I grabbed Ashley and pulled her behind a parked delivery van.

The black vehicle jumped the curb.

Metal screamed against concrete.

People scattered.

I called 911 while Ashley struggled to move on her crutches.

The SUV reversed.

Then it came at us again.

A city bus turned into the lane and blocked it.

The driver of the SUV abandoned the vehicle and ran.

It was not Grant.

It was a man Ashley recognized.

Martin Pike.

Grant’s private security consultant.

Police found no weapon in the SUV.

They did find zip ties.

A syringe.

And a printed photograph of Ashley leaving the courthouse.

Martin refused to talk.

Grant claimed he had fired him months earlier.

Payroll records showed Martin had been paid three days before the attack.

The payment came through a company called North Harbor Consulting.

Detective Lena Ortiz asked whether I knew the name.

I did not.

Ashley did.

“Preston Vale uses it.”

The civil attorney had paid the man who tried to run us down.

The investigation widened.

Kevin Shaw urged me to stay away.

“You are a witness, Daniel.”

“I’m also the person they tried to blame.”

“That does not make you a detective.”

He was right.

I ignored him anyway.

Ashley finally told me where she sent the backup.

“To Evelyn’s former housekeeper.”

“Why?”

“Because Mrs. Caldwell trusted her.”

The housekeeper’s name was June Bell.

She lived two counties away.

Detective Ortiz drove us there.

June opened the door holding an old envelope.

“I wondered when somebody honest would come.”

Inside was a memory card.

Not Ashley’s.

Evelyn’s.

Before she died, Evelyn had installed a second nursery camera because she did not trust Grant.

That camera uploaded to a private account.

June had the password.

We logged in.

Most footage had been deleted.

One clip survived.

Grant stood over Noah’s crib.

Preston Vale stood beside him.

Grant asked how long a child had to be impaired before trustees released emergency money.

Preston answered calmly.

“Permanent is better.”

Ashley covered her mouth.

Then another person entered the frame.

Vanessa.

She was crying.

She said she wanted out.

Grant grabbed her arm.

“You’re already in.”

For the first time, I saw something I had not considered.

Vanessa might not be an equal partner.

She might be trapped.

Then June clicked another file.

The date was the morning Evelyn died.

Evelyn sat alone in the nursery.

She looked directly at the camera.

“If anything happens to me, Grant is not to control Noah’s trust.”

June began crying.

Evelyn continued.

“And if my grandson is ever injured, find my daughter Claire.”

Ashley looked confused.

“Who is Claire?”

June stared at us.

“Grant’s sister.”

“Where is she?”

June’s answer was almost a whisper.

“According to Grant, she died twelve years ago.”

Then the doorbell rang.

June looked through the peephole.

Her face drained of color.

A young woman stood outside.

She looked exactly like Evelyn.

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And she said her name was Claire Caldwell.