Chapter 12 - Rebecca's Last Night
Caleb Ross didn't try to run.
When detectives approached his modest house in Indiana, he opened the door wearing slippers and carrying a cup of coffee.
He looked at their identification.
Then sighed.
"I wondered when somebody would finally come."
Detective Reed stepped inside after receiving permission.
"Mr. Ross, we need to ask you about Rebecca Bennett."
Caleb set down his coffee.
"I know."
"How?"
"Marissa called me yesterday."
Reed studied him.
"What did she say?"
"That you'd found the files."
"Which files?"
Caleb rubbed his face.
"Rebecca kept copies of everything."
"Did you work for her?"
He shook his head.
"Not officially."
"Then why was your name on the evidence release?"
Caleb stared at the window.
"Because I was an idiot."
Reed waited.
Finally, Caleb sat down.
"I was a private investigator. Adrian Vale hired me to find out what Rebecca knew."
"About Westbridge?"
"Yes."
"Did you follow her?"
"For a while."
"Did you know someone else was following her the night she died?"
Caleb's expression changed.
"I knew about the truck."
Reed leaned forward.
"Explain."
Caleb took a slow breath.
"Adrian wanted to know where Rebecca was meeting sources. He arranged for a driver to follow her after a medical appointment."
"Victor Haines."
Caleb nodded.
"I told him using a commercial truck for surveillance was stupid. Adrian said it wouldn't attract attention."
"What happened after the collision?"
"Adrian panicked."
"Did he tell you to retrieve the recorder?"
Caleb nodded.
"He thought Rebecca had recorded conversations with him."
"Why did you cooperate?"
Caleb stared at the floor.
"Money."
Reed let the word hang between them.
"Did you alter or destroy evidence?"
"I gave Adrian the recorder."
"And the memory card?"
Caleb hesitated.
"I kept a copy."
Reed didn't move.
"Where is it?"
Caleb looked up.
"In a safe-deposit box."
Daniel heard the recording that afternoon.
Not alone.
Peter sat beside him.
Detective Reed stood nearby.
A victim-support specialist had offered to accompany him, but Daniel had declined.
He needed to hear Rebecca's voice.
Even if it broke him.
The audio began with traffic noise.
A car door closing.
Then Rebecca speaking.
"You're not supposed to be here, Adrian."
A man's voice answered.
"You need to give me the documents."
"No."
"Rebecca, you're making this worse."
"Children are being mistreated. Parents are being deceived. I'm not giving you anything."
A pause.
Then another voice.
A woman.
"Rebecca, please."
Daniel's heart stopped.
Marissa.
Rebecca sounded startled.
"Why are you here?"
Marissa answered.
"Because you don't understand how much trouble you're causing."
"I understand perfectly."
"No, you don't. You have a husband, a daughter, a beautiful life. Walk away."
"Those children deserve better."
Marissa exhaled sharply.
"Do you have any idea what happens to people who make accusations against powerful organizations?"
Rebecca's voice rose.
"Are you threatening me?"
Adrian interrupted.
"We're trying to resolve this."
"Then start by getting Owen out of that facility."
Silence.
Then Marissa spoke.
"Sarah had no right to interfere with his placement."
"Sarah is his mother."
"And she lost control of the situation."
"Because you manipulated his father."
Marissa snapped.
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
Rebecca answered quietly.
"Then explain the payments."
Nobody spoke.
Rebecca continued.
"I have records connecting you to money taken from the Mercer estate."
Marissa's breathing became audible.
"Where did you get those?"
"That's not important."
"Give them to me."
"No."
Adrian spoke again.
"Rebecca, you're very close to making a serious mistake."
Rebecca's answer was immediate.
"Then let the police decide."
Footsteps.
A car door.
The recording shifted.
Rebecca sounded closer.
"I'm leaving."
Adrian called after her.
"Don't make us come to your house."
Rebecca said one final sentence.
"If any of you come near my daughter, I'll make sure everyone knows what you've done."
Then the recording ended.
Daniel stared at the table.
He'd heard Rebecca angry before.
But never like that.
Never with that kind of fear held beneath her voice.
He looked at Reed.
"She was protecting Lily."
Reed nodded.
"She was trying to protect her family and the children she knew about."
Daniel swallowed.
"Did they order the crash?"
"We don't have evidence establishing that. We do have evidence that they arranged surveillance, pressured a witness afterward, and recovered material from the accident investigation under questionable circumstances."
Daniel rubbed his eyes.
"Will they be charged?"
"The evidence is being reviewed by prosecutors."
"Please tell me Rebecca didn't die for nothing."
Reed looked at him.
"What she preserved is helping us investigate serious crimes. That matters."
Daniel bowed his head.
It wasn't enough.
But it was something.
Later, Caleb agreed to explain his involvement in a formal interview.
He described years of work for Adrian Vale.
Surveillance.
Background checks.
Finding financial vulnerabilities.
Monitoring families who challenged Westbridge.
He also admitted that Marissa had asked him to investigate Daniel long before their supposed first meeting.
"She wanted to know whether he had Rebecca's records," Caleb said.
"Why marry him?" Reed asked.
"At first, she planned to get close enough to search the house."
"Then?"
Caleb looked uncomfortable.
"She realized he was wealthy."
"Did she plan to take his money from the beginning?"
"Not at first. But once she knew about the business, Adrian started designing documents."
"What about Lily?"
Caleb stared at his hands.
"Marissa said the child was an obstacle."
Reed's expression hardened.
"An obstacle to what?"
"To controlling Daniel."
At Rachel's house, Lily was building a cardboard castle.
Naomi had been allowed to visit outside her professional role under the arrangements made with Lily's caregivers.
She brought colored markers and a small notebook.
"What's that?" Lily asked.
"A special journal."
"For school?"
"No. For you."
Lily opened it.
Every page was blank.
"What do I write?"
"Anything you want."
"Even bad things?"
Naomi nodded.
"Even things that make you sad or angry."
Lily looked doubtful.
"Will somebody get mad?"
"You can decide who sees it. And if you tell me someone is hurting you or you're in danger, I'll help get you safe."
Lily studied the cover.
"Can I draw instead?"
"Of course."
She chose a red marker.
Then a blue one.
Then green.
Naomi watched as she drew a house with an enormous front door.
In front of it stood three people.
Lily.
Daniel.
And Rachel.
There was also a fourth person.
Naomi smiled.
"Who's that?"
Lily looked up.
"You."
Naomi felt tears sting her eyes.
Then she noticed that Lily had drawn something unusual.
A little blue bird sat on the roof.
"That's pretty."
Lily nodded.
"Mommy Rebecca used to say bluebirds bring good mornings."
Naomi smiled sadly.
"Did she?"
Lily touched the drawing.
"Marissa hated the music box."
Naomi looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"She kept asking me to give it to her."
"Did you?"
Lily shook her head.
"No. I hid it."
Naomi remembered the USB drive.
"Lily, do you know why she wanted it?"
The little girl shrugged.
"She said it was old and ugly."
Then she frowned.
"But I heard her telling Adrian it was important."
Naomi waited.
Lily continued.
"She said Rebecca always kept two of everything."
Naomi felt her pulse quicken.
"Two?"
"That's what she said."
"Did she say anything else?"
Lily nodded.
"She said if the bird was empty, we should look where the bird flies."
Naomi stared at her.
"Where the bird flies?"
Lily pointed toward the window.
"That's what she said."
Naomi looked down at the drawing.
The bluebird.
The roof.
Then she remembered something from the photograph of Rebecca's folder.
One page had shown a handwritten list of dates and locations.
Beside the final entry was a small bluebird symbol.
Naomi had assumed it was decorative.
Maybe it wasn't.
She called Daniel.
He answered immediately.
"Everything okay?"
"Lily just remembered something about the music box."
Daniel stood.
"What?"
"Marissa was looking for a second hiding place."
"Where?"
Naomi studied the drawing again.
"Rebecca apparently said something about where the bird flies."
Daniel went quiet.
Then he whispered, "The cabin."
Naomi frowned.
"What cabin?"
"Rebecca's family had a cottage near Lake Geneva."
"Why would that matter?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"The property was called Bluebird Point."
That evening, Peter obtained permission to examine the cottage with Daniel and investigators.
The small house had stood empty for years.
Dust covered the furniture.
A broken curtain hung beside the fireplace.
Daniel walked through the living room, remembering summers with Rebecca.
Then he saw something mounted above the mantel.
A wooden bluebird.
It had been carved by Rebecca's grandfather.
Daniel lifted it carefully.
A panel loosened beneath the bird's wings.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
And a small black notebook.
Daniel opened the envelope.
Rebecca's handwriting filled the first page.
Daniel,
If you're reading this, you found the second place.
Please don't confront anyone.
Take this to someone you trust.
And tell Lily I loved her every single day.
Daniel turned toward Peter.
His eyes were wet.
"I found it."
Peter took a breath.
"What's in the notebook?"
Daniel opened the cover.
There were dozens of names.
Some he recognized.
Others he didn't.
But the final page was different.
It contained a list of financial transactions, each matched to a case number.
May you like
At the bottom, Rebecca had written:
THE CHILDREN AREN'T THE ONLY THING THEY'RE SELLING.
