Chapter 8 - THE PHOTOGRAPH
The photograph had been taken eighteen days before Natalie died.
Vanessa looked younger, but unmistakable.
Mason stood close enough that their shoulders touched.
On the back, Natalie had written:
THEY THINK I DON’T SEE THEM.
Adrian sat down on the nursery floor.
Clara had never seen a man his size look suddenly small.
“You met Vanessa through Mason?” she asked.
“No.”
He laughed once, without humor.
“At least that’s what I thought.”
Vanessa’s story had been simple. She was a development consultant. They met at a memorial fundraiser. She knew nothing about Natalie beyond public stories. She had been gentle with Olivia, patient with Adrian, willing to enter a house still haunted by another woman.
Now that gentleness felt rehearsed.
The crash investigator arrived before noon.
He brought the archived report and photographs of Natalie’s car.
“Brake line rupture,” he said. “We believed road debris caused it.”
“Believed?” Adrian asked.
“There was a cut, but the edges were damaged by impact. We couldn’t prove tool marks.”
“Who handled the vehicle after the crash?”
The investigator checked the chain-of-custody sheet.
“Vale Protective Services took possession for forty-seven minutes before police impound.”
Mason’s company.
Adrian closed his eyes.
The detective asked, “Who authorized that?”
The investigator turned another page.
“Graham Holt.”
Clara whispered, “They had access before police did.”
Adrian stood.
“Find Mason.”
The detective’s phone rang before anyone moved.
He listened, then looked at Adrian.
“They found his SUV near the river.”
“Was he in it?”
“No.”
“Then keep looking.”
“There’s blood on the driver’s seat.”
Olivia went still.
Adrian looked at the photograph of Vanessa and Mason again.
“Maybe he isn’t running.”
Clara nodded. “Maybe someone is cleaning up.”
A sharp chime came from the hidden drive behind the nursery cabinet.
Olivia leaned closer.
“It’s encrypted, but something just synced.”
“From where?” Adrian asked.
She watched the screen.
A new file appeared.
VIDEO_0314_0217.
The timestamp was from the night Natalie died.
Olivia opened it.
The grainy security video showed Mason entering the garage carrying a tool bag.
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Five minutes later, Vanessa followed.
And thirty seconds after that, Graham Holt walked in and closed the door behind them.
