Chapter 9: The Sister in the Passenger Seat
Owen turned slowly.
Lauren knelt in the snow with both daughters in her arms.
She had not heard Daniel.
At least, Owen hoped she hadn’t.
“What do you mean Sarah was running from Lauren?”
Daniel’s eyes closed.
Paramedics rushed toward him.
Owen grabbed his coat.
“Answer me.”
A medic pushed Owen back.
“He’s losing blood.”
Daniel was lifted onto a stretcher.
His hand shot out and caught Owen’s wrist.
“Sarah’s car,” he whispered.
“What about it?”
“Lauren was in the passenger seat.”
Then his hand fell.
The ambulance doors closed.
Owen stared at Lauren.
She was whispering to Madison and Harper as paramedics checked them for injuries.
Officer Harris approached.
“Judge Hale is unaccounted for.”
“Daniel says Preston set this up.”
“That fits what the girls described.”
“He also said Lauren was with Sarah the night she died.”
Harris looked toward her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Lauren noticed them watching.
She stood.
“What?”
Owen walked toward her.
“Where were you the night Sarah died?”
Her expression changed.
“I was home.”
“With whom?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Answer it.”
“My husband.”
“Which husband?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Preston’s son. David.”
“Can he confirm that?”
“We’re divorced.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Lauren wrapped her arms around herself.
“Owen, my children were just kidnapped.”
“And my wife died.”
Lauren’s face went still.
“You think I had something to do with Sarah’s death?”
“Daniel said you were in her car.”
Her lips parted.
For one second, Owen saw recognition.
Then denial.
“He’s lying.”
“You knew him?”
“No.”
“You didn’t ask who Daniel was.”
Lauren glanced toward the ambulance disappearing down the road.
“Dad told me.”
“Dad barely explained anything.”
“He mentioned the name.”
“When?”
“At the diner.”
“He never said Daniel was the man with the scar.”
Lauren looked away.
Owen’s stomach twisted.
“You recognized him outside Nathan’s office.”
“No.”
“You took his picture.”
“Because he was watching us.”
“You knew exactly who he was.”
She stepped closer.
“My daughters need me.”
“So did my wife.”
Lauren slapped him.
The sound cracked across the frozen road.
Officers turned.
Owen did not move.
Lauren’s hand trembled.
“You think you’re the only person Sarah lied to?”
“What did she lie to you about?”
Lauren’s anger vanished.
She looked suddenly defeated.
“I can’t do this here.”
“Then start walking.”
Harris placed Lauren’s daughters in the care of a female officer and escorted Lauren to an unmarked vehicle.
They drove to the sheriff’s substation.
Inside a small interview room, Lauren sat across from Owen and Harris.
A camera recorded from the ceiling.
Lauren stared at the table.
“I met Daniel when I was twenty-one.”
Owen said nothing.
“He came to Dad’s office asking questions about Mom.”
“You knew he was our brother?”
“Not then.”
“What did you think he wanted?”
“He said Eleanor Whitlock had ruined his mother’s life.”
“Eleanor was his mother.”
“I know that now.”
“When did you find out?”
“The night Sarah died.”
Owen felt his pulse in his throat.
Lauren continued.
“Sarah called me. She said she had proof Mom had hidden two children.”
“Daniel and Claire.”
“Yes.”
“She asked you to meet her?”
“She begged me.”
“Why?”
“Because she thought I had access to the yellow house.”
“Did you?”
Lauren nodded.
“Mom kept a key in her desk.”
Owen leaned forward.
“What happened that night?”
“I met Sarah in a parking lot near Columbia. She was terrified. She said Claire was alive inside the house.”
“Was Daniel with her?”
“He arrived later.”
“And Dad?”
“Dad followed me.”
Owen shut his eyes briefly.
Richard had been telling fragments of the truth.
“What happened in Sarah’s car?”
Lauren’s breathing became uneven.
“She showed me photographs. Medical records. Payments to Marianne. Payments to Judge Hale.”
“Why was Preston involved?”
“He helped Mom obtain guardianship over Claire after the original doctor refused to renew the order.”
“An unlawful guardianship.”
“Yes.”
“What did Sarah want from you?”
“The key.”
“Did you give it to her?”
Lauren whispered, “No.”
Owen stared at her.
“She died because you refused?”
“I was scared.”
“She trusted you.”
“She was threatening to destroy Mom and Dad.”
“They had imprisoned your sister.”
“I didn’t understand everything then.”
“You understood enough to lie for seven years.”
Lauren began to cry.
“I wanted to go home and think.”
“What happened next?”
“Sarah started driving toward the yellow house. I was in the passenger seat. Daniel followed in his truck. Dad followed Daniel.”
“Who caused the crash?”
Lauren shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“You were inside the car.”
“A vehicle came toward us with no headlights. Sarah swerved. We hit the guardrail.”
“How did you survive?”
“I wasn’t in the car when it went over.”
Owen’s face went cold.
“Why not?”
“Sarah stopped before the bridge.”
“For what?”
“She told me to get out.”
“Why?”
Lauren sobbed.
“Because she realized I had texted Mom our location.”
Owen pushed back from the table.
Harris said, “Stay seated.”
Owen ignored him.
“You betrayed her.”
“I didn’t know anyone would hurt her!”
“You led them to her.”
“I thought Mom would talk to her.”
“You knew Claire had been locked away.”
“I was afraid of losing everything.”
Owen stared at his sister.
“That sentence is the reason people like you destroy lives.”
Lauren wiped her face.
“Sarah threw me out of the car. I walked back toward Dad’s vehicle. Then the dark car came.”
“Who was driving?”
“I couldn’t see.”
“Was it Preston?”
“I don’t know.”
“Daniel?”
“No. Daniel was behind Dad.”
“Mom?”
Lauren looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
Owen leaned across the table.
“You keep saying that because the truth makes you guilty.”
“I am guilty.”
Her voice broke.
“I have lived with it every day.”
“Sarah didn’t get every day.”
Lauren covered her face.
Harris asked, “What happened after the crash?”
“Dad took me home. He told me Sarah had lost control in the rain. He made me swear I had never been there.”
“And the recording?”
“I didn’t know about it.”
“Who paid Preston?”
“Mom.”
“For the sealed identification order?”
“Yes.”
“Why seal it?”
Lauren looked at Owen.
“Because Sarah had something stitched into the lining of her coat.”
“What?”
“A storage key.”
“Did they find it?”
“No.”
“Where is the coat?”
“The funeral home gave it to Mom.”
Owen stood.
“Of course they did.”
He called Eleanor’s housekeeper, Mrs. Gaines.
She answered sleepily.
“Mr. Owen?”
“Did my mother keep Sarah’s belongings?”
A pause.
“She kept one box.”
“Where?”
“In the attic.”
“Is there a coat inside?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do not go into the house. Call the police if anyone arrives.”
Owen ended the call.
Harris received a message and looked toward the interview-room door.
“What is it?” Owen asked.
“Fire crews found a body in the yellow house.”
“Preston?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Adult male?”
Harris hesitated.
“No.”
Owen’s stomach dropped.
“Female.”
Lauren slowly lowered her hands.
Harris continued.
“Preliminary estimate puts the victim in her late forties.”
Claire’s age.
Owen stared at Lauren.
She whispered, “No.”
His phone rang.
The hospital.
Daniel had regained consciousness and was asking for him.
Owen answered.
Daniel’s breathing was weak.
“They found her, didn’t they?”
“We don’t know who it is.”
“It’s not Claire.”
“How can you know?”
“Because Claire escaped years ago.”
“Then where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who was in the house?”
Daniel coughed.
“Marianne.”
Owen’s blood went cold.
Marianne had supposedly been at the police station.
He looked at Harris.
“Confirm Marianne’s location.”
Harris stepped outside.
Daniel continued.
“Preston brought her there to destroy the last witness.”
“Why would Marianne go with him?”
“She didn’t.”
“Then how did he get her out of police custody?”
Daniel’s answer came as a whisper.
“He didn’t.”
Owen closed his eyes.
The woman who had confessed in the diner was not Marianne.
Before he could speak, Harris returned.
His face had changed.
“Marianne Vale was found dead three days ago.”
Lauren stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
Harris placed a driver’s-license photograph on the table.
The real Marianne had short blond hair.
The woman from the diner had dark hair and a different face.
Owen remembered her tears.
Her detailed knowledge.
Her fear of Eleanor.
“Then who was the woman with us?”
Daniel heard the question through the phone.
“She told you her name was Marianne?”
“Yes.”
Daniel began to laugh weakly.
Not with humor.
May you like
With disbelief.
“Owen,” he said, “you’ve already met Claire.”
