Chapter 5 - the employee who disappeared
Gregory Hale had worked for Carter Ridge Construction for eleven months.
Rachel remembered him only after Marcus sent a photograph.
In the picture, Greg stood beside Daniel at a company holiday barbecue, smiling with one arm around another employee.
Rachel had seen him once.
Maybe twice.
He was forgettable.
Average height.
Brown hair.
Quiet.
Exactly the kind of person who disappeared in a crowd.
According to Marcus, Greg had been hired as a procurement coordinator.
He processed vendor invoices.
He had access to subcontractor payment systems.
He was fired in March.
One month after the Hanover transactions began.
"Why?" Rachel asked Marcus over the phone.
"Daniel caught him approving duplicate invoices."
Rachel looked at Vanessa.
She was sitting in the back of Officer Ruiz's patrol car.
Not arrested yet.
Not free either.
Noah had been taken to the hospital with Margaret for complete examination.
Rachel stayed at the house because detectives were now on their way.
"Did Daniel report Greg?"
"No. Greg paid the money back and claimed it was a mistake."
"How much?"
"Six thousand."
Small enough to forgive.
Large enough to test whether Daniel was watching.
Rachel understood.
Greg had been probing the system.
"What was Hanover?"
Marcus sighed.
"Warehouse renovation outside Greensboro. Big contract. Lots of vendors. Easy place to hide fake payments."
"Who approved them?"
"On paper? Me, Daniel and accounting."
"But?"
"But some approval records are wrong."
"Forged?"
"Possibly."
Rachel looked through the open office doorway.
The missing folder.
The forced lockbox.
"Could Greg have created those records?"
"When he worked here, yes."
"Could Vanessa?"
Marcus went quiet.
"She had access to Daniel's laptop."
Rachel rubbed her forehead.
"Marcus, send everything to the detective when they contact you."
"I already made copies."
"Good."
"And Rachel?"
"Yes?"
"Daniel left something here."
Her hand stopped.
"What?"
"An envelope."
"When?"
"Yesterday afternoon."
"Why didn't you mention that?"
"Because he told me not to unless something happened."
Rachel closed her eyes.
Daniel knew.
Not everything.
But enough.
"What does it say?"
"I don't know. It's sealed."
"Give it to police."
"I will."
Rachel ended the call.
Detective Samuel Trent arrived twenty minutes later with a second detective named Priya Desai.
They took control quickly.
The house became a crime scene.
The burner phone was photographed and collected.
The torn diaper bag was collected.
The storage bin was photographed.
Daniel's office was sealed.
Rachel gave another statement.
This time she included everything Daniel had said the night before.
Trent listened carefully.
"Your brother believed his wife was involved in financial irregularities?"
"He didn't tell me that directly."
"But he asked you to look for the Hanover folder."
"Yes."
"And that folder is now missing."
"Yes."
"Mrs. Carter admitted she contacted Elise Marrow regarding your brother's investigation."
"Yes."
Trent leaned back.
"Elise Marrow is not an unfamiliar name."
Rachel stared.
"What does that mean?"
He did not answer immediately.
Desai looked at him.
Trent chose his words.
"She has appeared in previous complaints involving private adoption arrangements."
"Complaints?"
"Nothing that resulted in charges."
"Why not?"
"Witnesses disappeared. Stories changed. Families refused to cooperate."
Rachel thought of Vanessa.
Debt.
Fear.
Leverage.
"How many babies?"
Trent did not respond.
That answer frightened her more than a number.
Desai asked, "Did Vanessa ever mention Elise before today?"
"No."
"Greg Hale?"
"No."
"Any unusual visitors?"
Rachel thought.
"Vanessa had a woman over two weeks ago."
Both detectives looked up.
Rachel searched her memory.
"I came by with groceries. There was a silver sedan outside. Vanessa introduced her as Elise."
Trent sat forward.
"You're sure?"
"I remember because she had a strange necklace."
"What kind?"
"A gold circle with a small green stone."
Desai exchanged a glance with Trent.
Rachel noticed.
"You know it."
Trent said, "Maybe."
"What does that mean?"
"We're verifying."
Rachel became impatient.
"My brother is unconscious in another city, my nephew was nearly carried out of this house, and a man connected to my brother's old company came to pick him up. Please stop talking to me like I'm a witness you need to keep calm."
Trent held her gaze.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
He opened a folder.
"Two years ago, a woman in Raleigh reported that she had paid a private facilitator named Elise Marrow to help arrange a legal adoption. The birth mother disappeared before finalization."
Rachel waited.
"Six months later, another couple used the same facilitator. That case involved forged consent documents."
"Was Elise arrested?"
"No direct proof connected her."
"What happened to the babies?"
"Both were located safely."
Rachel exhaled.
Trent continued.
"Last year, a third case surfaced. Different state. Same pattern. Desperate biological parent. Cash payment. False paperwork. Pressure."
Rachel felt cold.
"Elise runs a baby-selling operation."
"We believe she may be part of a network that exploits private placements and vulnerable families."
"And Greg?"
"We did not have his name before today."
Rachel looked toward the driveway.
The SUV had vanished.
"Now you do."
"Yes."
Her phone rang.
Virginia number.
Rachel answered instantly.
"Ms. Carter?"
"Yes."
"This is Dr. Patel at Mercy General. I'm calling regarding your brother, Daniel Carter."
Rachel stood.
"Is he awake?"
"Yes."
The room blurred.
"He woke up?"
"A few minutes ago."
Rachel closed her eyes.
"Can I speak to him?"
"Briefly."
There was movement.
Then silence.
Then Daniel's voice.
Weak.
Rough.
But alive.
"Rach?"
Rachel covered her mouth.
"You idiot."
A faint laugh.
"Good to hear you too."
"Daniel, what happened?"
"Someone came into my room."
"Greg?"
Silence.
"How do you know Greg?"
Rachel looked at the detectives.
"We have a lot to talk about."
Daniel breathed slowly.
"Noah?"
"Safe."
"Vanessa?"
Rachel hesitated.
Daniel understood immediately.
"Oh God."
"Daniel, listen to me. What happened?"
"I woke up around four. Greg was standing by the desk."
Rachel felt her skin prickle.
"What did he want?"
"The Hanover file."
"Did you have it?"
"No."
Rachel frowned.
"Where is it?"
Daniel coughed.
Then whispered.
"I mailed it."
"To who?"
Another faint laugh.
"You."
Rachel froze.
"What?"
"Yesterday. Overnight envelope. Your apartment."
Rachel stared at the detectives.
"When will it arrive?"
"Probably this morning."
Her blood went cold.
Her apartment was thirty minutes away.
And if Greg had searched Daniel's office and attacked Daniel for that file, he might already know where Daniel had sent it.
Rachel asked one more question.
"Daniel, what is in that folder?"
May you like
His answer changed the investigation completely.
"Proof that Vanessa wasn't the only person stealing from me."
