SHOWED HER WHAT, AVA?

Marisol did not answer her phone.

Her salon was closed, the lights were off, and a handwritten notice on the door claimed there was a plumbing emergency.

Police entered through the rear entrance.

Marisol was not inside.

Her handbag remained beneath the front desk. Her car was parked behind the building. Her apartment showed no sign that she had packed for a trip.

For the first time, Detective Ortiz considered her missing.

Claire blamed herself.

She had drawn Marisol into the investigation by trusting her with Ava. Now someone was using that friendship against them.

At 4:30 p.m., officers arrived at the Hale residence and asked Ethan to return to the station.

His phone records placed him near Marisol’s apartment two nights before the salon confrontation.

Claire stared at him.

“You told me you were working late.”

“I was.”

“Then why were you near her apartment?”

Ethan glanced toward the stairs, making sure Ava could not hear.

“Marisol contacted me.”

“About what?”

“Another child.”

At the station, Ethan admitted that Marisol had called him three weeks earlier after noticing a concealed mark behind the hair of a nine-year-old customer named Sophie Lane.

Sophie attended Westbridge Academy.

Her parents were involved in a guardianship dispute supported by Northbridge.

Marisol had been worried, but Sophie’s mother insisted the mark came from an ordinary accident and refused to report it.

A week later, Sophie stopped coming to the salon.

Marisol searched public records and discovered that the child had been temporarily placed with an aunt.

When Ava began acting anxious during appointments, Marisol contacted Ethan because she saw him more often than Claire.

“Why didn’t either of you tell me?” Claire asked.

“Marisol had no proof,” Ethan said. “She was afraid of accusing someone unfairly.”

“And you?”

“I was already investigating the trust payment. I asked her to watch Ava closely.”

Claire stood.

“You used her haircut as part of your investigation.”

“No. I asked Marisol to tell me if she noticed anything concerning. I never expected her to find a mark.”

“You knew enough to be afraid, but you still let Ava return to school.”

“I had contacted Thomas. I thought we needed evidence before Northbridge realized we knew.”

“Our daughter was not evidence.”

“I know.”

Claire had never seen Ethan look smaller.

Detective Ortiz entered the room carrying a printed report.

Marisol’s phone had connected to a cell tower near the river less than an hour earlier. Officers found the device inside a public trash container.

There was no sign of Marisol.

A deleted voicemail had been recovered.

It was addressed to Claire.

“Claire, Ethan is telling the truth about Sophie. I should have told you sooner, and I’m sorry. Kayla came to the salon asking questions before she applied for the job. I think she chose Ava’s chair because it faced the mirror near the office. From that mirror, she could see appointments, customer records, and anyone entering through the back.”

Marisol paused.

“There’s something else. I recognized the woman in Thomas Reed’s video. Not Kayla. The person standing beside the camera.”

Her breathing became uneven.

“I saw her outside Evelyn’s hospital room the night Evelyn died.”

A door opened in the background.

Marisol whispered quickly.

“Do not take Ava home tonight. Someone on the investigation team has been sending them updates.”

The voicemail ended.

Claire looked at Detective Ortiz.

“Who knew we were bringing Ava home?”

Ortiz did not answer immediately.

“My supervisor, the patrol detail, the child advocate, two prosecutors, and me.”