Chapter 6: The Second Phone
Dr. Hale was taken to the hospital under police guard.
He had mixed alcohol with prescription medication, but doctors expected him to survive.
Whether he had harmed himself or someone had staged the scene remained unclear.
The motel room had been wiped clean.
His phone was missing.
So was the rest of the letter from the blue box.
Linda told detectives Ryan kept a second phone inside a storage compartment beneath the passenger seat of his car.
Police recovered it from the impound lot.
There were no contacts listed by name.
Vanessa was “V.”
Dr. Hale was “Doctor.”
Linda was “Problem.”
I was “Policy.”
My unborn child was “Backup.”
Dad read that word three times.
“Backup for what?”
The messages provided the answer.
Ryan believed the baby could help protect him if I died.
A grieving widower holding a premature infant would receive public sympathy. Police would be less likely to examine him closely.
He planned to blame my death on pregnancy-related depression.
Linda would confirm that I had behaved irrationally.
If investigators discovered the sedatives or damaged railing, Ryan would direct suspicion toward his mother.
Vanessa had already created financial records designed to make it look like Linda had received part of the insurance payout.
“He used everyone,” Detective Torres said.
“Not everyone,” I replied. “Vanessa knew.”
The messages showed that Ryan and Vanessa had been involved for more than a year.
They discussed apartments in Portugal, false passports, and the money they expected after my death.
One exchange had taken place while Ryan sat beside me during an ultrasound.
The baby looks healthy, Vanessa wrote.
Good, Ryan replied. Healthy babies make better photographs.
Dad walked out of the room after reading that.
I heard him strike the wall in the hallway.
When he returned, his knuckles were red, but his voice was controlled.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not seeing it.”
“He made sure you wouldn’t.”
Dad sat beside me.
“I should have come sooner.”
“I should have told you sooner.”
We looked at each other.
Both of us had been trapped by the same question.
What should I have done differently?
Dr. Walsh entered before either of us could answer.
“You survived because you kept trying,” she said. “That matters more than what you wish you had done.”
At the bond hearing, prosecutors presented the insurance policy, the sedatives, and the messages.
Ryan’s bond was increased significantly.
But because the attempted murder investigation was still developing, the judge allowed release if the full amount was posted and electronic monitoring was installed.
Someone paid.
The money came through a private legal fund connected to Vanessa’s employer.
Ryan was released that evening.
Police fitted him with an ankle monitor and ordered him to stay away from me.
At 9:17 p.m., his monitor stopped transmitting.
Officers went to the address listed with the court.
Ryan was gone.
His second phone had been left on the kitchen counter.
A single message remained open.
May you like
It had been sent to an unknown number only seconds before the signal disappeared.
The colonel arrived too early. We do it at the hospital instead.
