Chapter 5 - Followed
Anna pulled Leo away from the glass.
“Mrs. Bell, lock the door.”
The sedan moved before the lock clicked.
It rolled slowly past the house, then disappeared around the corner.
Richard called thirty seconds later.
“They’re together,” Anna said.
“I know. Owen found traffic-camera footage. Do not drive to the hotel we discussed. They may know it.”
“Where do I go?”
“To my mother-in-law’s old cottage in Briar Glen. Nobody uses it. Owen is sending the address.”
Anna hated the idea of hiding, but she hated the idea of Leo being watched more.
Mrs. Bell insisted on coming.
“You shouldn’t be alone with him tonight.”
Anna agreed.
The cottage was small and smelled faintly of cedar. Leo thought it was an adventure. He ran from room to room shouting, “New house!” while Anna checked every window twice.
Richard arrived after dark.
He looked exhausted.
“What did you find?” Anna asked.
“Graham transferred eighty thousand dollars from a maintenance account this morning. The receiving account belongs to a shell company.”
“Vanessa?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Mrs. Bell brought Richard coffee, then sat down across from him.
“There is more, sir.”
Richard looked at her.
She told him about the copying, the threats, the camera shutdowns.
He listened without interrupting.
When she finished, his face had changed.
“How long?”
“Almost two years.”
Anna watched the answer hit him.
Two years.
Claire had died twenty-two months ago.
Richard stood abruptly and walked to the window.
“I trusted Vanessa with everything after Claire died.”
Anna said softly, “That doesn’t make this your fault.”
“It made it possible.”
Before she could answer, Leo toddled over carrying his stuffed elephant.
“Daddy sad?”
Richard picked him up.
“I’m okay, buddy.”
Leo touched his father’s face.
Then he said something strange.
“Aunt Ness blue car.”
Richard looked at Anna. “What blue car?”
Leo pointed outside.
“Mommy car. Aunt Ness.”
Richard went perfectly still.
Claire had driven a blue SUV the night she died.
“What is he saying?” Anna whispered.
Richard crouched in front of his son.
“Leo, did Aunt Vanessa drive Mommy’s car?”
Leo was too young to understand the question.
He only repeated, “Aunt Ness. Mommy car.”
Mrs. Bell covered her mouth.
Richard turned toward her.
“What?”
The housekeeper’s eyes filled.
“The morning after Mrs. Claire’s accident, Miss Vanessa came home before sunrise.”
Richard’s face drained.
“She said she’d been at the hospital.”
“She had grease on her sleeve.”
The room went silent.
Then Owen called.
Richard put the phone on speaker.
“I found the shell company owner,” Owen said.
“Who?”
“Not Vanessa. Graham.”
Richard exhaled.
May you like
“But the mailing address is a storage unit rented under Claire Blackwood’s name.”
Claire had been dead for almost two years.
