Chapter 5 - The Photograph Taken at 2:17The anonymous witness called herself Maya.
No last name.
No address.
No explanation for why she had been at Raven Falls.
Deputy Ruiz played the recording for Claire.
The woman sounded young.
Maybe late twenties.
Her breathing was fast.
“I saw him push her.”
The dispatcher asked, “Did you personally witness physical contact?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly did you see?”
“He put both hands on her shoulders and shoved her.”
“Did you photograph it?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Can you send the image?”
Another pause.
Then Maya whispered, “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because if Ethan knows I have it, he’ll come after me.”
Claire looked at Ruiz.
“How does she know his name?”
Ruiz didn’t answer.
The recording continued.
“Ma’am, how do you know the male subject?”
Maya went silent.
Then:
“Ask him about Rebecca.”
The call ended.
Claire stared at the phone.
“Who’s Rebecca?”
“We’re checking.”
“I’ve never heard that name.”
Ruiz closed the recording.
“Neither had we.”
Ava sat beside Claire’s bed with her arms folded tightly.
“What happens now?”
“We keep looking for Maya.”
“And Ethan?”
“Currently staying at a hotel in Silver Junction.”
Claire couldn’t believe it.
“You let him leave?”
“He isn’t under arrest.”
“He tried to murder me.”
Ruiz’s voice stayed calm.
“And we need enough evidence to prove that beyond your testimony.”
“The witness saw it.”
“The witness who won’t identify herself or provide the photograph.”
Claire hated the logic because she understood it.
“What about the insurance policy?”
“Strong motive. Not proof of attempted murder.”
“I didn’t sign it.”
“That may become important.”
Ava leaned forward.
“Why doesn’t he know she’s alive?”
Ruiz glanced at Claire.
“Because right now Ethan thinks rescue operations are still searching.”
“What’s he doing?”
Ruiz hesitated.
“We’ve had someone watching him.”
Claire immediately understood that something had happened.
“What?”
“After leaving the mountain, Ethan went to your house.”
Ava’s face changed.
“He what?”
Claire whispered, “He has a key.”
“He entered at 7:31 tonight,” Ruiz said. “Stayed thirty-eight minutes.”
“Did you follow him inside?”
“No warrant.”
“So you watched the man who tried to kill me walk through my house?”
“We documented everything we legally could.”
Claire pressed her fingers against her temples.
“What did he take?”
“We don’t know.”
Ava stood.
“I’m going there.”
“No,” Claire and Ruiz said together.
Ava stared at them.
Claire softened her voice.
“Please.”
Ava sat again.
Ruiz’s phone vibrated.
She looked at the message.
“Rebecca Holloway.”
Claire waited.
“Who is that?”
“A forty-eight-year-old woman from Boulder who died three years ago.”
“How?”
Ruiz continued reading.
“Kayaking accident.”
Claire’s skin prickled.
Ava asked the obvious question.
“What does she have to do with Ethan?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Ruiz typed something.
Then stopped.
Her eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Claire asked.
“There’s a memorial article.”
She turned the screen around.
Claire saw a photograph of Rebecca Holloway smiling beside a lake.
Beautiful woman.
Dark red hair.
Behind her were friends gathered at a memorial.
Claire’s eyes moved across the photograph.
Then stopped.
“No.”
Ruiz enlarged the image.
A man stood near the edge of the crowd.
Younger.
Shorter hair.
But Claire knew the shape of his mouth.
The angle of his jaw.
Ethan.
Ava whispered, “That’s him.”
Claire stared.
Three years ago.
Before he supposedly moved to Colorado.
Before he supposedly knew Rebecca.
“What does the article say?”
Ruiz read.
“Rebecca was kayaking alone on Lake Mercer. Her overturned kayak was recovered. Her body was found two days later.”
“Was it considered suspicious?”
“No.”
Claire couldn’t look away from Ethan’s face in the memorial picture.
“Why was he there?”
Ruiz began searching.
Ten minutes later they had another answer.
A local obituary guestbook.
Rebecca’s sister had thanked friends and family.
One message stood out.
Thank you, Ethan, for loving her during her final year.
Claire’s stomach turned.
“He dated her.”
Ava’s voice trembled with rage.
“He dated a forty-eight-year-old woman who died in an accident.”
“And now he dates Mom.”
Claire finished the thought herself.
“A forty-five-year-old woman who almost died in an accident.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Claire noticed something on the memorial photograph.
A woman in sunglasses standing beside Ethan.
Her hand rested on his lower back.
Not like a stranger.
Not like a friend.
Claire pointed.
“Who is she?”
Ruiz zoomed in.
The face remained partly hidden.
Ava leaned closer.
“I know her.”
Claire looked sharply at her daughter.
“What?”
“I’ve seen her before.”
“Where?”
Ava’s face lost color.
“At your house.”
Claire’s heartbeat slowed.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought she was someone from work.”
Claire stared at the mysterious woman beside Ethan.
May you like
Ava swallowed.
“She came out of your bedroom.”
Related Stories
