Chapter 8 - The Ex-Husband Who Knew Too MuchClaire hadn’t spoken to Michael in almost eight months.
Their divorce had been ugly.
The years afterward had been worse.
Yet none of it explained why Ethan’s secret phone had contacted him.
“This is wrong.”
Sheriff Mercer shook his head.
“The account information is verified.”
Claire read the number again.
She knew it.
Michael had used it for years.
“Call him.”
“We already did.”
“And?”
“No answer.”
Ava looked stunned.
“My dad knows Ethan?”
Claire turned toward her daughter.
“I don’t know.”
That hurt more than she expected.
Ava had spent years trying to rebuild a relationship with Michael after the divorce.
Claire had encouraged it.
Whatever kind of husband Michael had been, he was still Ava’s father.
“Where is he?”
Mercer answered.
“His office says he left yesterday afternoon.”
“Home?”
“No one answered.”
Claire thought of the person who had tried entering her hospital room.
Not Ethan.
Could it have been Michael?
“Find him.”
“We are.”
Claire looked at the storage-unit key.
“Meanwhile, I want to see unit 317.”
The sheriff hesitated.
“We need a warrant.”
“You have Maya’s note.”
“Probably enough for an application.”
“Then get it.”
Three hours later, Mercer had one.
Claire wasn’t permitted to go.
She argued.
Lost.
Ruiz and two detectives drove to a self-storage facility outside Silver Junction.
Claire watched through a live video call.
Rows of orange doors filled the screen.
“317,” Ruiz said.
She inserted the key.
The lock opened.
Claire held her breath.
Inside were plastic containers.
Camping equipment.
Old furniture.
Nothing immediately incriminating.
Then Ruiz noticed the boxes.
Seven identical black containers stacked against the rear wall.
Each labeled with a woman’s first name.
REBECCA.
LINDA.
PAULA.
MONICA.
JULIE.
CLAIRE.
And one marked only:
NEXT.
Ava covered her mouth.
Ruiz opened Rebecca’s box first.
Jewelry.
Photographs.
A driver’s license.
A scarf.
Letters.
A dried flower.
Claire felt sick.
“Trophies,” Mercer whispered.
Ruiz moved to Claire’s box.
Inside were photographs Claire had never seen.
Claire leaving work.
Claire jogging.
Claire shopping.
Claire eating alone at a restaurant.
Some dated months before she met Ethan.
“He was watching me.”
Ava whispered, “He picked you.”
Claire felt violated in a way the affair hadn’t caused.
Their first meeting hadn’t been chance.
Their relationship hadn’t developed naturally.
Ethan had selected her.
Ruiz removed another object.
A folder.
Claire recognized her company’s logo.
Inside were financial profiles.
Estimated net worth.
Property values.
Family connections.
Insurance information.
Beside Claire’s name:
DIVORCED.
DAUGHTER ADULT.
AGE 45.
EST. LIQUID ASSETS $4.8M.
LIKELY EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY: HIGH.
Claire stopped breathing.
Ava started crying.
“Oh my God.”
Claire read the sentence again.
Emotional vulnerability.
That was what Ethan had seen when he looked at her.
Not intelligence.
Not humor.
Not beauty.
An opportunity.
Ruiz searched deeper.
She found photocopies of policies belonging to the other women.
Each named Ethan or a shell company as beneficiary.
“How many are dead?” Claire asked.
Mercer began checking.
Rebecca Holloway — dead.
Linda Perez — dead.
Paula Stanton — dead.
Monica Reed — alive.
Julie Grant — missing.
Claire felt the room growing smaller.
“How did they die?”
“Different causes.”
Rebecca — kayaking accident.
Linda — fall from a balcony in Mexico.
Paula — car accident.
Julie — disappeared while hiking in Utah.
Claire looked at Ethan’s planning notes.
He wasn’t an angry boyfriend.
He wasn’t even simply a murderer.
He was practiced.
Ruiz moved toward the box marked NEXT.
“Open it.”
Inside were photographs of another woman.
Mid-fifties.
Silver-blond hair.
Elegant clothes.
A country club.
A house.
Financial records.
A handwritten note.
FIRST CONTACT SCHEDULED SEPTEMBER 4.
Claire stared.
He had already selected his next victim.
Then Ruiz pulled out a second folder.
This one wasn’t about a woman.
It was about Michael Bennett.
Claire’s ex-husband.
Photographs.
Bank statements.
Phone logs.
At the bottom was a note in Ethan’s handwriting.
M.B. AGREED TO PROVIDE ACCESS.
Claire’s legs weakened.
Ava whispered, “Dad helped him find you?”
Claire couldn’t answer.
Ruiz kept searching.
A small audio recorder lay beneath the folder.
She pressed play.
Static.
Then Michael’s voice filled the storage unit.
“I gave you her schedule. That was the deal.”
Ethan answered.
“You’ll get your money when Claire is gone.”
Ava stepped backward.
Claire closed her eyes.
Then Michael said something worse.
“I don’t want her dead.”
Ethan laughed.
“That’s unfortunate.”
A pause.
May you like
Then Ethan continued.
“Because your signature is already on the policy.”
Related Stories
