Chapter 6 - The Second Phone
Ryan called me at 2:14 a.m.
I answered because Officer Brooks had told me to let calls record automatically.
“Emily.”
His voice sounded different.
Smaller.
“Where are you?”
“You know where I am.”
“I need you to understand something before Maya fills your head with nonsense.”
I almost laughed.
“My sister didn't sleep with Vanessa.”
Silence.
“My sister didn't increase my insurance.”
“That's not what it looks like.”
“Then tell me what it looks like.”
He exhaled.
“I was moving money.”
“To Vanessa?”
“For a project.”
“Project Stone?”
Silence again.
I felt cold.
“What was Project Stone?”
“I can't discuss it over the phone.”
“Why?”
“Because people are listening.”
I looked toward Maya.
She was.
So was the recording app.
“Where is your second phone, Ryan?”
This time he didn't answer at all.
“Ryan?”
“I love you.”
The words made me angry.
“Don't.”
“I do.”
“You looked at me bleeding on the ground and went to her.”
“I panicked.”
“You protected her.”
“I was trying to stop everything from exploding.”
“What is everything?”
A long pause.
Then he whispered, “Vanessa is dangerous.”
I closed my eyes.
“You've been sleeping with her for more than a year.”
“I made a mistake.”
“A year isn't a mistake.”
“I couldn't get away from her.”
I almost believed the fear in his voice.
Almost.
“Then why were you paying her?”
“She knows things.”
“About what?”
“Emily, just promise me you won't go home.”
My skin prickled.
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa still has access.”
“To the house?”
“To more than the house.”
The line went dead.
Maya stared at me.
“What does that mean?”
I had no idea.
Ten minutes later, Officer Brooks called.
They had located Vanessa's car.
Abandoned.
Near a bus station.
No Vanessa.
No luggage.
But they found something under the driver's seat.
Ryan's second phone.
Police needed a warrant before searching it.
By morning, they had one.
Officer Brooks returned at 8:30.
Her face told me the results were bad.
“There's a conversation you need to know about.”
My throat tightened.
“Between Ryan and Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
She sat down.
“Vanessa wrote, ‘If the stairs don't work, we need something that looks natural.’”
Maya cursed.
I could barely breathe.
“What did Ryan say?”
Officer Brooks met my eyes.
“He replied, ‘Stop talking like that. I never agreed to hurt her.’”
I closed my eyes.
Relief and horror hit together.
Ryan had not agreed.
But he knew.
He knew enough to understand Vanessa was discussing ways I could die.
“And then?” I asked.
Officer Brooks hesitated.
“There was another message three days later.”
“What?”
“Ryan wrote, ‘We can't let Emily find out what we did with Stone.’”
I opened my eyes.
“What did they do?”
“That,” Officer Brooks said, “is what we're trying to find out.”
Then another officer entered.
He leaned down and whispered something to Brooks.
Her expression changed.
She stood.
“What happened?”
She looked at me.
“We found Vanessa.”
“Where?”
May you like
Officer Brooks paused.
“Inside your house.”
