Chapter 2 - Rachel
Daniel did not chase Vanessa.
Sophie was crying.
Rachel was beneath the floor.
Those facts mattered more.
He called 911 while Vanessa stood frozen halfway between the family room and the front hall.
“Don’t leave,” Daniel said.
His voice was quiet enough to frighten her.
Vanessa stopped.
Within seven minutes the house filled with noise.
Paramedics.
Two sheriff’s deputies.
A fire-rescue crew.
Daniel carried Sophie outside while firefighters widened access to the crawlspace.
Rachel had apparently been trapped behind a section of ductwork almost fifteen feet from the opening.
She was conscious when they brought her out.
Her clothing was dusty.
Her lower lip was split.
There was bruising along one wrist.
Nothing grotesque.
Nothing Daniel could not look at.
Yet the sight of her on the stretcher made him shake.
Rachel opened her eyes.
“Daniel.”
“I’m here.”
She looked toward Sophie.
The little girl pressed her face into Daniel’s shoulder.
“Is she okay?” Rachel whispered.
Daniel looked at his daughter’s small scratches.
“She’s okay.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
One deputy separated Daniel from Vanessa almost immediately.
Deputy Monica Reyes led Vanessa into the kitchen.
Another officer, Aaron Pike, asked Daniel basic questions.
“Relationship to the injured woman?”
“My sister-in-law. My first wife’s sister.”
“Does she live here?”
“No.”
“When did you last see her?”
“Yesterday morning.”
He stopped.
“No. Yesterday morning is when Vanessa told me Rachel left.”
“Did you see her leave?”
“No.”
“When did you personally last see Rachel?”
Daniel thought.
“Two nights ago.”
Rachel had come for dinner.
She had brought Sophie the large blue dinosaur.
She and Vanessa had been unusually tense.
Daniel noticed.
He also ignored it.
“Any idea why Ms. Bennett would be in the crawlspace?”
Daniel looked toward the kitchen.
“No.”
The answer tasted like a lie even though technically it was true.
He had no idea.
But Vanessa did.
He could feel it.
Reyes eventually returned.
“Mr. Hart, can someone stay with your daughter?”
Daniel called his mother, Carol.
She arrived twenty minutes later.
The moment she saw the ambulance, she nearly ran.
“Sophie?”
“She’s okay.”
Carol took her granddaughter.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Vanessa emerged from the kitchen accompanied by Deputy Reyes.
“Daniel.”
He did not answer.
“Please.”
Reyes stepped between them.
“Mrs. Hart is going to remain elsewhere tonight while we continue gathering information.”
Vanessa stared.
“You’re making me leave my own house?”
Reyes remained calm.
“At this time, nobody is arresting you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Why not?”
Vanessa flinched.
Reyes gave Daniel a warning look.
“Because we are investigating.”
Rachel’s condition was stable enough for transport.
Daniel wanted to go to the hospital.
The deputy asked him to remain until the house was documented.
Crime-scene technicians photographed the access panel.
The crawlspace.
A water bottle.
A small flashlight.
A length of nylon cord.
Daniel stared at it.
Vanessa began crying.
“That isn’t mine.”
Nobody had asked.
Reyes looked at her.
“What isn’t?”
“The cord.”
Silence.
Daniel felt something inside him collapse.
He had known Vanessa for five years.
Married her for sixteen months.
She had slept beside him.
Helped Sophie dress.
Chosen curtains.
Hosted Thanksgiving.
Kissed him that morning before he left for work.
And now she stood inside their home spontaneously denying ownership of a piece of evidence no one had accused her of touching.
Rachel spent the night under observation at County Memorial.
Daniel arrived after nine.
She was awake.
Sophie stayed with Carol.
Daniel sat beside the bed.
“What happened?”
Rachel looked toward the door.
“Where’s Vanessa?”
“Not here.”
“Police?”
“Investigating.”
Rachel nodded.
Her eyes filled.
“Daniel, I am so sorry.”
“For what?”
“I should have told you sooner.”
His stomach tightened.
“Told me what?”
Rachel looked at him for a long moment.
“Emily was right about her.”
Daniel became still.
Emily.
His first wife.
Sophie’s mother.
Dead for almost three years.
“What does Vanessa have to do with Emily?”
Rachel swallowed.
“More than you know.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Rachel.”
“I came to the house yesterday because I found something.”
“What?”
“A loan.”
Daniel frowned.
“What loan?”
“Against Hawthorne.”
Their house.
“You can’t take a loan against my house without me knowing.”
Rachel’s expression told him that was exactly the problem.
“It isn’t only your house.”
Daniel stared.
He knew what she meant.
Emily’s estate had placed half the property into Sophie’s trust.
Daniel controlled the trust for ordinary expenses.
Rachel was required to approve any sale or mortgage affecting Sophie’s ownership.
Rachel whispered, “Someone filed documents showing I approved a home-equity line.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“I never applied for one.”
“I know.”
“How much?”
“One hundred eighty-five thousand dollars.”
Daniel stood.
“That’s impossible.”
“Daniel.”
“How much was taken?”
Rachel looked directly at him.
“Ninety-six thousand.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Daniel sat again.
“Where did it go?”
May you like
Rachel’s next answer changed the shape of his marriage.
“Vanessa’s company.”
