Chapter 13 - Before the Morning Flight
The ferry terminal security camera captured Sarah arriving with two suitcases.
She wore oversized sunglasses and a straw hat.
Nothing about the picture suggested a woman eager to answer difficult questions.
But a ticket alone did not establish that she intended to flee an investigation.
Vanessa reminded me not to turn suspicion into a verdict.
I agreed and provided investigators with the travel information through the proper channel.
Meanwhile, Greg called his wife for the first time in three days.
Their conversation was not mine to manage, but he later described the parts relevant to the case in a formal statement.
He asked whether she'd pushed Mia.
Sarah told him Mia had deserved a lesson.
Greg asked whether she understood what she was saying.
Sarah shouted that children had to learn not to embarrass adults.
Then she hung up.
A few hours later, she contacted him again.
This time she apologized for her words.
She said she had been scared, overwhelmed, humiliated.
She asked him to make the whole situation disappear.
Greg refused.
I didn't admire him for eventually reaching the minimum standard of decency.
But I appreciated that he had stopped protecting the lie.
On the morning of her scheduled departure, Sarah appeared at the station with an attorney rather than boarding the plane.
She had been advised that leaving would complicate her situation.
She gave an account of the incident that investigators could compare against the recordings and witness statements.
I learned little of that interview immediately.
Cases moved at the pace of evidence, not the pace of my anger.
At the hospital, Mia's headache worsened after a busy afternoon.
Her doctor adjusted the day's activity and reminded us that concussion recovery can be uneven.
I canceled every meeting on my calendar.
She slept with one hand wrapped around a stuffed sea turtle.
Around midnight, she whispered, “I think Sarah hated me.”
I moved closer.
“She did something very wrong.”
“Was it because I made a mistake?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
I had no explanation that would not burden her with adult ugliness.
“Because she chose to be cruel,” I said.
“And that choice belongs to her.”
Mia looked at me with solemn eyes.
“I don't want to go to another wedding.”
“Then we won't.”
“Ever?”
“We can decide later.”
She considered that.
“Can we have cake at home instead?”
“Absolutely.”
I kissed her forehead.
My phone vibrated against the mattress.
A message from Naomi contained the latest audit results.
One pending payment was linked to a service I'd never heard of.
The recipient was a private reputation agency.
Its contract had been signed six days before the wedding.
The campaign objective was one chilling sentence.
ESTABLISH ELENA VALE AS UNSTABLE AND UNRELIABLE FOLLOWING THE EVENT.
Following the event.
Not following an accident.
May you like
Someone had expected there to be an event.
