Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Rachel stared at the phone until the call ended.
“That isn’t possible.”
Detective Reed studied her.
“You recognize the name?”
“Daniel Mercer was my sister Caroline’s husband. Emma’s father.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
“Are you certain?”
Rachel nearly snapped at him, but the question remained calm and professional.
“There was a boating accident three years ago,” she said. “The Coast Guard searched for days. They found his jacket and part of the boat.”
“Did they find a body?”
“No.”
“Who handled the identification?”
“My father dealt with most of it. Caroline was pregnant and completely devastated.”
“Where is Caroline?”
Rachel looked through the hospital doors toward Emma’s room.
“She disappeared eleven months ago.”
Detective Reed wrote something in his notebook.
“Walk me through that.”
Rachel sat down slowly.
“Caroline was the oldest of the three of us. She and Daniel married against my parents’ wishes. Dad said Daniel was after our money, but Daniel came from a stable family. He worked in marine engineering.”
“Why did your parents dislike him?”
“He asked too many questions.”
“About what?”
“The family company. Ashford Maritime Logistics.”
Detective Reed’s expression sharpened.
“What kind of questions?”
“I don’t know. Business accounts, contracts, shipping routes. Daniel told me once that some numbers didn’t make sense.”
“And then he vanished in a boating accident.”
“Yes.”
“And Caroline later vanished as well.”
Rachel felt cold.
“You think those events are connected?”
“I think we have a hidden phone in your parents’ house receiving calls from a man who may not be dead.”
Joanna sat beside Rachel.
“Why did Emma live with Vanessa?”
“She didn’t, officially. Caroline left Emma with our parents before disappearing. I was working night shifts and living in a small apartment. My parents said they could provide stability.”
“Yet Vanessa was caring for her this morning.”
“She moved back into the estate after her divorce. She and Lily live there now.”
“How often did you see Emma?”
“Three or four times a week. More when I could.”
Detective Reed turned the evidence bag over. A faded sticker was attached to the back of the phone. It showed a blue whale jumping above waves.
Rachel recognized it.
“Daniel gave Caroline that sticker.”
“Are you sure?”
“They put matching ones on their phones when they started dating.”
The phone rang again.
Daniel.
Detective Reed declined the call.
“Why not answer?” Rachel asked.
“Because we need a warrant and a controlled trace. We don’t want the caller to know law enforcement has the device.”
“What if it’s really him?”
“We’ll find out.”
Rachel thought about Caroline. Her quiet smile. Her habit of twisting her wedding ring whenever she was worried. The final message she had sent Rachel eleven months ago.
Take care of Emma. Don’t believe what Dad tells you.
Rachel had assumed Caroline was distressed and confused. Charles told everyone she had developed severe anxiety after Daniel’s death. He claimed she had left voluntarily to receive private treatment.
Rachel had believed him because the alternative was too frightening.
Now the words looked different.
Don’t believe what Dad tells you.
“Detective,” Rachel said, “I have something.”
She opened her cloud messages and searched for Caroline’s name. The final conversation appeared.
Caroline: Is Emma with you?
Rachel: She’s at Mom and Dad’s. Why?
Caroline: Get her away from there.
Rachel: What happened?
Caroline: I found Daniel’s file.
Rachel: What file?
Caroline: Take care of Emma. Don’t believe what Dad tells you.
Then nothing.
Detective Reed photographed the messages.
“What was Daniel’s file?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Caroline ever mention it before?”
“No.”
A nurse came through the doors.
“Rachel, Emma is awake and asking for you.”
Rachel stood.
Detective Reed handed her his card.
“We’ll speak later. Don’t contact your family without informing me.”
Rachel entered Emma’s room.
The child looked impossibly small beneath the white blanket. A bandage covered the side of her head. Her stuffed rabbit rested beside her, brought from the Ashford house by one of the officers.
Rachel sat and took her hand.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Emma blinked slowly.
“Is Aunt Vanessa mad?”
Rachel swallowed.
“No. She can’t hurt you right now.”
“Grandpa said I make everyone unhappy.”
“Grandpa was wrong.”
Emma stared at the ceiling.
“Mommy said Grandpa lies.”
Rachel’s heart beat harder.
“When did Mommy tell you that?”
“The night she left.”
“Did she say anything else?”
Emma nodded faintly.
“She said Daddy was coming home.”
Rachel leaned closer.
“Your daddy?”
Emma’s fingers tightened around hers.
“She said he was hiding because the bad boats were looking for him.”
Rachel tried to keep her voice steady.
“Do you know where he was hiding?”
May you like
Emma looked toward the doorway, frightened.
Then she whispered, “Inside the red lighthouse.”
