Chapter 6 - The Drawing Nobody Wanted Me to See
I reached home in twenty-six minutes.
My driver asked twice whether I wanted him to slow down.
Both times, I told him to keep going.
I had spent fourteen months believing that Lauren's crash was a random tragedy.
Now every detail was beginning to look different.
When I entered the house, Annie was sitting at the kitchen table with Jordan.
Justin stood beside the refrigerator, clutching a stuffed rabbit Lauren had given him for his fourth birthday.
A sheet of paper lay in front of Jordan.
He covered it with both hands when he saw me.
"Daddy."
I approached slowly.
"Hey, buddy."
His fingers tightened around the paper.
"Annie said I wasn't bad."
"She's right."
"Even though I drew the scary thing?"
"Especially then."
I pulled out a chair.
"Can I see it?"
Jordan hesitated.
Then he slid the page toward me.
Three cars.
A gray SUV.
A white delivery truck.
A black sedan.
The drawing was what you would expect from a five-year-old.
Crooked wheels.
Oversized windows.
Stick-figure drivers.
But one detail made my skin turn cold.
The black car had a red triangle on its rear window.
I knew that symbol.
Morrison Dynamics used it to identify specialized vehicles assigned to our research-security division.
It was a simple red triangle containing three white dots.
We had replaced the design two years earlier.
"Jordan."
He looked up.
"Where did you see this?"
I pointed to the triangle.
He swallowed.
"On the bad car."
"What bad car?"
"The one at Mommy's school."
I frowned.
"Mommy didn't go to school."
"The school where she gave the computers."
The foundation meeting.
The one Annie had described.
"When?"
Jordan looked toward Annie.
"Before the loud day."
He meant the crash.
"Was Mommy with you?"
He nodded.
"She took us because Miss Kelly was sick."
I searched my memory.
The twins had accompanied Lauren to several school events.
I had attended none of them.
"Tell me what happened."
Jordan stared at the drawing.
"There was a man."
"What man?"
"He wore sunglasses."
"Did he speak to Mommy?"
Jordan nodded.
"He said she had to stop."
A cold pressure formed behind my ribs.
"Stop what?"
"I don't know."
"Did Mommy answer?"
Jordan looked frightened.
"She said, 'Stay away from my children.'"
Annie put one hand on his back.
I forced myself to breathe.
"What happened next?"
"He went away."
"Then?"
"The car followed us."
"Did Mommy notice?"
Jordan nodded.
"She drove fast."
"And the black car?"
"It followed."
I swallowed.
"Did you see that car again?"
He pointed toward the drawing.
"On the loud day."
I went still.
"The day of Mommy's accident?"
His eyes filled.
"At the house."
I leaned forward.
"Before she left?"
He nodded.
Justin suddenly whispered, "The triangle man."
I turned.
"What?"
Justin pointed to the black car.
"The triangle man came to our kitchen."
The room fell silent.
"When?"
Justin rubbed his eyes.
"When Mommy cried."
I looked at Annie.
She looked just as stunned as I felt.
I knelt beside Justin.
"Can you tell me what he looked like?"
He hesitated.
"Big."
"Anything else?"
"His hands were dirty."
"Dirty how?"
Justin held up his own hands.
"Black."
I stared at him.
"Like paint?"
He nodded.
"Black fingers."
A memory flashed through my mind.
Charles had once brought a private security consultant to dinner.
A man who wore black leather gloves even indoors.
I couldn't remember his name.
But I remembered Lauren disliking him.
She had asked Charles never to bring him to the house again.
At the time, I had thought she was being overly cautious.
Now I wasn't so sure.
I turned to Annie.
"Where is Rebecca?"
"She left about an hour ago."
"Did she say where?"
"No."
I stood.
I called Marcus.
"Get to the house."
"I'm already on my way."
"Why?"
He was silent for a second.
Then said, "I found something in the old security backups."
My pulse accelerated.
"What?"
"The footage from the morning of the crash."
I gripped the phone.
"Did you find the black car?"
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"And?"
"Daniel, the vehicle entered your property at 7:38 a.m."
"Who was driving?"
"We're still enhancing the image."
"Marcus."
His voice dropped.
"The license plate was registered to a Morrison Dynamics subsidiary."
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything.
"What subsidiary?"
"Northbridge Research Holdings."
I knew the name.
Northbridge was a dormant company we had established years ago for a confidential acquisition.
I had signed the formation paperwork myself.
"Who controlled it?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Charles Voss."
The kitchen blurred.
I remembered Charles's invitation.
The old headquarters.
Seven o'clock.
No company personnel.
"Daniel?"
"I'm here."
"There's something else."
"What?"
"The black car didn't just follow Lauren out of the driveway."
I held my breath.
Marcus continued.
"Someone removed a small case from the trunk of her SUV and placed it in the black sedan."
"What kind of case?"
"Hard to tell."
He paused.
"But the person who carried it was wearing a cream-colored coat."
I looked toward the doorway.
A cream coat hung on the hallway rack.
Rebecca's coat.
And beside it was a leather portfolio I had never seen before.
I moved toward it.
Unzipped the portfolio.
Inside were several documents.
A passport.
A bank statement.
And an airline itinerary.
Rebecca Vale was booked on a flight to Zurich.
Departure: tomorrow morning.
One-way.
At the bottom of the portfolio lay a small silver phone.
Lauren's missing phone.
And its screen was lighting up with an incoming call.
May you like
The caller's name was displayed in bright white letters.
CHARLES VOSS.
