Chapter 10 - The Missing Eight MinutesThe video changed the investigation.
It did not solve it.
The recording proved Vanessa confronted Ethan over the red phone.
It proved Nathan was present.
It proved they were desperate to keep him quiet.
But it did not show who placed Ethan inside the freezer.
Vanessa's lawyer immediately offered an explanation.
She had been afraid Ethan would reveal the affair.
Nathan's phrase—Then make sure he doesn't—meant stop the child from speaking to Richard until they could explain.
Not kill him.
Not harm him.
Certainly not lock him inside a freezer.
Detective Ward hated explanations that fit too neatly.
So did Maria.
Ethan remained hospitalized overnight.
The following morning his temperature was normal, but he slept most of the time.
Richard stayed beside him.
Maria sat near the window.
When Ethan woke, his eyes went to her first.
“Maria.”
She smiled.
“I'm here.”
Richard tried not to let that hurt.
He deserved it.
Ethan looked toward his father.
“Is she gone?”
“Vanessa isn't here.”
“And Uncle Nathan?”
Richard felt another piece of himself break.
Ethan had called Nathan uncle since he could speak.
“He isn't coming here either.”
Ethan nodded.
Richard waited.
Then asked gently, “Can you tell me what happened?”
Maria touched his arm.
“Don't push.”
“I need to know.”
Ethan looked toward the blanket.
“I found the red phone.”
“Where?”
“Vanessa's room.”
“Why were you there?”
“I was looking for my dinosaur.”
Richard's eyebrows lifted.
“The green one?”
Ethan nodded.
“I left it in her car.”
He had gone into Vanessa's dressing room looking for a toy and found the red phone hidden inside a handbag.
“I thought it was Dad's old phone.”
“What did you see?”
“Messages.”
“What kind?”
Ethan's face tightened.
“Pictures.”
Richard did not ask.
He understood.
“Then what?”
“I heard Vanessa.”
Ethan explained how he ran downstairs with the phone.
Vanessa chased him.
Nathan was already in the house.
They argued.
Ethan managed to press record after hearing Vanessa threaten to take the phone.
He ran toward the basement because Maria was usually doing laundry there.
But Maria had gone upstairs.
“Did Vanessa follow you?”
Ethan nodded.
Richard's breath stopped.
“What happened?”
“She grabbed me.”
Maria leaned forward.
“Where?”
“By the freezer.”
Richard's hands curled.
“Did she put you inside?”
Ethan stared at his father.
Then began shaking.
Not from cold.
Fear.
“It's okay,” Maria said. “You don't have to say it all at once.”
Ethan whispered, “She said nobody would believe me.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“What happened after that?”
Ethan began crying.
“I don't remember.”
Maria moved beside him.
“You remember enough.”
“No.”
Ethan wiped his face.
“There was someone else.”
Richard opened his eyes.
“What?”
“When Vanessa grabbed me… somebody came downstairs.”
“Who?”
“I couldn't see.”
“Was it Nathan?”
“I don't know.”
“A man?”
“I think.”
Maria and Richard exchanged a look.
Ethan continued.
“I heard Vanessa say, ‘You weren't supposed to come back.’”
Richard felt his pulse quicken.
“Then what?”
Ethan squeezed the blanket.
“I got pushed inside.”
“By Vanessa?”
“I don't know.”
“You said she grabbed you.”
“I know.”
“But someone else was there.”
“Yes.”
Richard forced himself to stay calm.
“What do you remember right before the door closed?”
Ethan shut his eyes.
“Shoes.”
“What kind?”
“Black.”
That could describe half the adults in Richard's life.
“And a smell.”
Maria frowned.
“What smell?”
Ethan thought.
“Smoke.”
Richard's stomach dropped.
Nathan smoked cigars.
But only occasionally.
Someone else Richard knew smoked far more often.
Someone who had been in the house that afternoon.
Richard suddenly remembered the contract he came home to retrieve.
He had left it for his attorney.
A man who had stopped by shortly before noon.
“Ethan.”
Richard leaned closer.
“Was Mr. Keller here?”
Ethan's eyes opened.
Thomas Keller.
Richard's longtime family attorney.
Executor of Claire's estate.
The man who had handled every financial document after her death.
Ethan whispered,
“Yes.”
Richard reached for his phone.
Before he could call Ward, Maria spoke.
“Richard.”
Her face had gone pale.
“What?”
“I remember the numbers.”
“What numbers?”
“The ones Ethan wrote in the red phone case.”
9 — 14 — 22.
Richard stared.
Maria whispered,
“Claire's accident report.”
“What about it?”
“The case number ended in 91422.”
Silence.
Richard looked at Ethan.
“Where did you get those numbers?”
Ethan swallowed.
“From Mr. Keller's folder.”
The room went still.
“Why was he carrying your mother's accident file?”
May you like
Ethan's next words were barely audible.
“Because Vanessa gave it to him.”
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