Chapter 8 - The Man Nobody Suspected
Charles Howard was Nathan’s late father’s younger brother.
He had lived in Europe for nearly a decade.
According to the family, Charles left the United States after a bitter argument about Howard Industries.
According to the security photograph, he had been with Rebecca less than an hour before Nathan’s crash.
Margaret stared at the image.
“That’s impossible.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why?”
“Charles told us he was in Paris.”
Ruiz checked his tablet.
“His passport record shows he entered the United States two days earlier.”
Margaret slowly sat down.
Vanessa smiled coldly.
“So your family lied again.”
Ruiz ignored her.
“Where is Charles now?”
Nathan answered.
“Monaco.”
Ruiz shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“He entered the United States six days ago.”
Elena felt a chill.
“Six days?”
Ruiz nodded.
“And he used a private terminal outside Boston.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Why wasn’t I notified?”
“Because he traveled under a secondary passport.”
Margaret whispered.
“He has dual citizenship.”
Ruiz looked toward Vanessa.
“Did you know Charles was here?”
Vanessa hesitated.
That hesitation answered the question.
Ruiz leaned closer.
“Vanessa.”
She sighed.
“Yes.”
Nathan’s anger exploded.
“You’ve been working with him?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know?”
Vanessa looked toward Elena.
“Because Charles contacted me.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
Elena frowned.
“That was when the harassment started.”
Vanessa nodded.
“He told me Elena was the reason the truth about Rebecca had been buried.”
Elena stared.
“You believed him?”
“He had evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
“Photographs.”
“Documents.”
“He showed me a payment from an account linked to Elena.”
Elena’s pulse quickened.
“For what?”
“To a private clinic in Vermont.”
Nathan looked at her.
Elena shook her head.
“I’ve never used a clinic in Vermont.”
Ruiz typed rapidly.
“Name?”
Vanessa gave it.
The technician searched.
Her face changed.
“Detective.”
She rotated the laptop.
The clinic had closed six years earlier.
Its former director was Dr. Alan Voss.
Ruiz searched the name.
Nathan suddenly whispered.
“I know him.”
Margaret looked alarmed.
“How?”
“He treated me after the crash.”
Silence.
Ruiz’s expression sharpened.
The technician pulled another record.
Dr. Voss had also signed a confidential psychiatric commitment form seven years earlier.
Patient name redacted.
But the admission date was the night after Nathan’s crash.
Elena felt cold.
Ruiz said what everyone was thinking.
“Rebecca may not have died.”
Vanessa’s face collapsed.
“No.”
Nathan looked at her.
Ruiz continued.
“She may have been institutionalized.”
Vanessa shook her head harder.
“No.”
“Elena, Nathan, nobody leaves this house.”
Ruiz stood.
“This investigation just changed.”
A loud crash suddenly came from the hallway.
One of the officers shouted.
Everyone rushed toward the foyer.
The evidence technician’s second laptop lay shattered on the floor.
May you like
The front door stood open.
And Vanessa was gone.
