Chapter 9 - THE DETECTIVE'S NAME
Heather left the interview room.
Detective Price was waiting.
Eric stood beside him.
Heather looked at Price.
"Were you at the green house in 1998?"
Eric turned sharply.
"What?"
Price did not deny it.
Heather's stomach dropped.
"You knew."
"I knew the house."
"You said nothing."
"I was fifteen."
Eric stared at him.
"You were part of the program?"
Price nodded.
"For eleven months."
Heather stepped backward.
"You've been investigating your own case?"
"No."
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
"Because it would've compromised the investigation."
Eric laughed angrily.
"You think hiding that you were one of their children doesn't compromise it?"
Price's voice remained calm.
"I reported my history to my supervisor the moment we identified the property."
Heather crossed her arms.
"And nobody thought we deserved to know?"
"No, because my personal history isn't evidence."
"Melissa says you were involved."
"Melissa says whatever keeps Melissa powerful."
Heather studied him.
"Was she at the green house when you were there?"
"Yes."
"Did you know her?"
Price looked through the glass at Melissa.
"Everyone knew Melissa."
"What does that mean?"
"She learned quickly."
He hesitated.
"How to survive."
Heather asked, "Was she a watcher?"
Price nodded.
"Eventually."
Eric frowned.
"And you?"
"No."
"Why should we believe you?"
Price met his eyes.
"You shouldn't. You should verify everything."
That answer disarmed Eric slightly.
Price continued.
"My father owed Victor Hale money. I was placed in Northbridge's program after he defaulted."
Heather felt sick.
"Placed by who?"
"My parents signed papers. They believed it was a scholarship boarding program."
"And what happened?"
Price's jaw tightened.
"I don't discuss that unless necessary."
Heather didn't push.
"Why become a detective?"
"Because I spent my childhood watching adults get away with things because children couldn't explain what happened."
No one spoke.
Then Price took out his badge and placed it on the table.
"I've asked to be removed from primary command."
Eric blinked.
"Why?"
"Because Melissa named me. Whether she's manipulating us or not, I won't let her use my history to damage this case."
Heather looked at him.
"Who takes over?"
"Lieutenant Karen Doyle."
"Do you trust her?"
Price paused.
"Yes."
The hesitation was small.
Heather noticed anyway.
Price left the room.
Twenty minutes later, Lieutenant Doyle arrived.
She was fifty-three, direct, composed, and clearly irritated by the entire situation.
"We are treating CROWN as a potential organized criminal network."
Eric asked, "How many people?"
"Unknown."
"How long?"
"Possibly decades."
Heather pointed toward Melissa.
"She knows who's running it."
"She claims she does."
"What's the difference?"
"Melissa lies professionally."
Doyle placed several documents on the table.
"We executed warrants on properties connected to her."
"Anything?"
"A rental office."
Heather leaned forward.
"What's inside?"
"Surveillance equipment. Records. Cash."
"How much?"
"Two hundred eighty thousand dollars."
Eric exhaled.
Doyle continued.
"And a wall covered with photographs."
Heather's skin prickled.
"Of who?"
"Families."
"Us?"
"Yes."
"Others?"
"Twenty-three households."
Daniel entered with Avery's social worker just as Doyle said it.
He stopped.
"Twenty-three?"
Doyle nodded.
"At least."
"Why?"
"We don't know."
Daniel looked toward Melissa's interview room.
"I was married to her for nine years."
No one answered.
Sometimes there were no useful words.
Later that evening, Olivia finally told Heather why she had been crying before Melissa locked her inside.
It was not because Melissa had yelled.
It was because Olivia heard Melissa talking on one of the small phones.
"What did she say?" Heather asked.
Olivia hugged her rabbit.
"She said Avery messed everything up."
"What else?"
"She said, 'The Collins girl saw the list.'"
Heather's heartbeat changed.
"What list?"
Olivia shook her head.
"Then she saw me."
"What happened?"
"She grabbed my arm."
Heather's hands clenched.
"Did she hurt you?"
"A little."
"What did she say?"
Olivia looked down.
"She asked what I read."
"And what did you tell her?"
"I said nothing."
"What did you actually see?"
Olivia swallowed.
"Names."
"Whose names?"
"Yours."
Heather went still.
"Daddy's."
A pause.
"Avery's."
Another pause.
"And mine."
Heather's mouth went dry.
"Anything beside the names?"
Olivia nodded.
"Numbers."
"What numbers?"
"I don't remember all."
"Any?"
Olivia looked at her mother.
"Beside Daddy it said one."
Heather frowned.
"One?"
"Beside you it said zero."
"And beside Avery?"
"Three."
Heather held her breath.
"Beside you?"
Olivia whispered.
"Two."
Heather did not understand.
But the next morning Lieutenant Doyle did.
She entered their hotel room carrying a recovered photograph from Melissa's office.
Four names.
ERIC COLLINS — 1
HEATHER COLLINS — 0
OLIVIA COLLINS — 2
AVERY CARTER — 3
Doyle set it down.
May you like
Beneath the list was a heading.
SUCCESSION ORDER.
