Chapter 6 - the red car under the bed)
I returned home at 9:26 that night.
Solomon was waiting in the living room.
The house had been cleaned.
Too clean.
Jennifer's shoes were gone.
My robe was gone.
The sheets had been changed.
Even the wineglasses had disappeared.
Solomon sat with one ankle resting on his knee as if we were about to discuss a mortgage.
“Where's Theo?”
“Safe.”
“With whom?”
“Safe.”
He leaned forward.
“You don't get to hide my child from me.”
I placed my handbag on a chair.
“You don't get to use our child for biometric access.”
His expression did not change enough.
That confirmed more than denial would have.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Then you'll be happy to know I've asked a lawyer to review everything.”
He stood.
“Which lawyer?”
“Mine.”
“Eleanor Shaw?”
I said nothing.
He laughed softly.
“Of course.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Your father hated me. Eleanor hated me because your father did.”
“My father wrote a sealed memorandum.”
The blood left his face for half a second.
I saw it.
Then he smiled.
“A memorandum.”
“With your name in it.”
He walked toward the bar.
“Your father wrote a lot of things.”
“You knew about it?”
“No.”
“You reacted like you did.”
He poured himself bourbon.
“Maybe I'm reacting to the fact that my wife came home, found me cheating, and is now trying to turn it into some criminal drama so she doesn't have to admit her marriage failed.”
That was almost impressive.
He had found a story in which his affair made him the victim.
“Why Jennifer?”
“What?”
“If you were building some long-term plan, why risk everything for her?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Don't flatter yourself.”
“I wasn't.”
He took a drink.
“Maybe I was tired of being treated like an employee in my own family.”
“You don't work for Bennett Medical.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I actually don't.”
“For eight years, every room has been Richard's room. Every decision has been Richard's decision. Every dollar has been Richard's dollar.”
“My father is dead.”
“And somehow he's still the most important man in our marriage.”
I stared at him.
For the first time, I saw the shape of his resentment clearly.
Not jealousy.
Entitlement.
He did not hate my father's memory.
He hated the fact that Dad had built walls Solomon could not climb.
“You thought marrying me would make you rich.”
“I am rich.”
“No.”
I smiled faintly.
“You live richly.”
His jaw clenched.
“You think there's a difference?”
“Yes.”
I walked toward the staircase.
He stepped in front of me.
“Where are you going?”
“To my son's room.”
“For what?”
“His pajamas.”
“I'll get them.”
I looked at him.
“Move.”
He did not.
The front doorbell rang.
Solomon frowned.
I opened it.
Detective Aaron Price stood outside in plain clothes.
He was fifty-eight, broad-shouldered, silver-haired, and impossible to intimidate.
Solomon's face hardened.
“What is he doing here?”
Aaron nodded politely.
“Solomon.”
“You're not on duty.”
“Nope.”
“Then leave.”
Aaron looked at me.
“Claire invited me.”
“This is my house.”
Aaron glanced around.
“County records disagree.”
I almost smiled.
Solomon did not.
Aaron did not claim police authority.
He was there as a witness.
That mattered.
I walked upstairs.
Solomon followed.
Aaron followed Solomon.
Theo's room looked normal.
Blue blanket.
Books.
Stuffed dinosaur.
Toy bin.
And several red cars.
I immediately saw the gap beneath the bed where Theo usually shoved things.
I crouched.
Three cars.
I did not touch them.
Aaron took photographs.
“Which one?”
“I don't know.”
“You said he hid the card inside one.”
“Yes.”
“Let's call him.”
I called Margaret and put Theo on speaker.
“Sweetheart, do you remember which red car had the little card?”
“The fast one.”
I almost laughed.
They were identical.
“Anything special about it?”
“The wheel was broken.”
I looked under the bed.
One car had a missing front wheel.
Aaron photographed it.
Then put on gloves.
Solomon stood in the doorway.
“This is ridiculous.”
Aaron removed the battery panel.
A tiny memory card slid into his gloved palm.
Solomon stopped breathing.
I looked at him.
He looked at the card.
That reaction was the last thing Aaron needed.
He sealed it inside an evidence bag.
Technically, it was not official evidence yet.
But he documented the recovery.
“What is on it?” I asked.
“Don't know.”
Solomon laughed.
“You think that belongs to you?”
“It was hidden in my son's toy.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
Aaron looked at him.
“Then you won't mind if Claire makes a copy.”
Solomon stepped forward.
“I absolutely mind.”
Aaron's expression changed.
“Why?”
Silence.
I felt my heartbeat in my throat.
Aaron looked at me.
“We'll take it to a forensic lab.”
Solomon said, “No.”
No one moved.
Aaron asked, “Why not?”
“Because you don't have authority to take anything from my home.”
I answered before Aaron could.
“My home.”
Solomon looked at me.
I continued.
“My son's toy. My security system. My father's documents. My trust.”
He stepped toward me.
“And my wife.”
I felt nothing.
“Not anymore.”
He stared.
I removed my wedding ring.
Eight years.
Platinum.
Three small diamonds around one larger stone.
I placed it on Theo's dresser.
Solomon's face changed.
“This isn't over.”
“Yes,” I said. “The marriage is.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You think you can just walk away?”
“I know I can.”
His eyes moved to the evidence bag.
Then back to me.
“You have no idea what you're doing.”
“No.”
I looked at Aaron.
“But I'm learning.”
We left together.
The memory card went to a private forensic examiner used by Aaron's department for overflow work.
I expected photographs.
Access codes.
Maybe copied documents.
What came back the next morning was worse.
The card contained eight audio files.
Three spreadsheets.
Four scanned documents.
And one video.
In the video, Charlotte sat at my dining room table.
Miles Avery stood beside her.
Solomon stood directly across from them.
My father's blue folder was open.
Theo's name was visible on a document.
Then Solomon said something so clearly that I replayed it three times.
“Once Claire is declared unstable, the boy stays with me. After that, the trust has to follow the child.”
Charlotte replied, “Exactly.”
Miles asked, “And if she fights?”
May you like
Solomon smiled.
“She won't be in a position to.”
