Chapter 7 - the second key
Police arrived twenty minutes later.
Ethan did not tell them everything.
He hated himself for that, but Daniel's warning stayed in his mind.
Compromised officers.
Instead, Ethan reported an intruder.
The responding officers searched the property.
No one.
A rear upstairs window had been opened.
There were no clear prints.
The security camera system had stopped recording eleven minutes before Ethan arrived home.
Corinne claimed she knew nothing about it.
Ethan no longer believed anything she claimed.
One officer noticed the redness on Corinne's cheek.
"What happened there?"
Corinne glanced at Ethan.
For a long moment, Ethan believed she would accuse him.
She could have.
Maybe she should have.
Instead, Corinne said, "I fell into the sofa when I heard the intruder."
The officer looked unconvinced.
Ethan said nothing.
After the police left, Daniel arranged for Ethan and Maisie to stay somewhere else.
A vacant townhouse owned by one of Daniel's clients.
Ethan refused to bring Corinne.
She protested until Daniel quietly said, "They'll look for you too."
That silenced her.
Corinne packed a bag and left for a hotel under a false reservation.
Ethan watched her car disappear.
Part of him hated letting her go.
Another part understood that she might be the only person who knew where Claire had gone.
At the townhouse, Maisie finally fell asleep shortly before midnight.
Ethan sat beside her temporary crib.
The stuffed rabbit remained tucked under her arm.
The bruise on her skin made him feel sick every time he saw it.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
"You should photograph that."
Ethan did.
"Was this the first time?"
Daniel asked.
Ethan looked at him.
"I don't know."
That answer hurt more than anything.
He had been working longer hours.
Corinne handled most weekday childcare.
Maisie had become quieter around her during the past month.
Ethan had assumed it was separation anxiety.
What else had he missed?
Daniel sat across from him.
"I failed Claire too."
Ethan laughed once.
"Don't do that."
"What?"
"Turn this into shared guilt so I forgive you."
"I'm not asking you to."
"Good."
Daniel nodded.
They sat in silence.
Finally Ethan asked, "Why did Corinne marry me?"
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"I don't know."
"Try."
"Maybe initially to stay close to the files."
Ethan stared at him.
"And later?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I think she loved you."
Ethan almost laughed.
"She pulled my daughter's hair."
"I said I think she loved you. I didn't say she was good."
Ethan looked at Maisie.
"What exactly happened between Claire and Corinne in Boston?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Claire never told me."
"Rebecca might know."
They had been unable to contact the nurse since she drove away.
Her phone was off.
Her apartment appeared empty.
At 1:13 in the morning, Ethan's phone received an email.
No subject.
No sender name.
Only an attachment.
A photograph.
Rebecca stood in front of a storage facility.
She held a small brass key.
Below the image was a message.
UNIT 214.
COME ALONE.
6 AM.
Ethan showed Daniel.
"It's a trap," Daniel said immediately.
"Probably."
"You're not going."
Ethan looked at him.
"You lied to me for seventeen months. You're not giving instructions."
"Ethan."
"If Rebecca knows something about Claire, I'm going."
"Then I'm coming."
"It says alone."
"That's usually what traps say."
At 5:45, Ethan left Maisie with a security team Daniel trusted.
He did not like it.
But he could not bring a toddler into whatever waited at the storage facility.
Daniel followed Ethan in a second car despite being told not to.
The facility stood on the industrial edge of town.
Unit 214 was unlocked.
Ethan entered.
Inside were six cardboard boxes.
A folding chair.
A portable recorder.
And a sealed envelope labeled ETHAN.
Rebecca was nowhere.
Ethan opened the envelope.
Inside was another key.
Larger than the cabinet key.
And a note in Claire's handwriting.
Ethan recognized it immediately.
His knees nearly gave out.
The note contained only one sentence.
If Maisie is with you, I was right not to trust anyone.
Ethan read it three times.
Daniel entered behind him.
"Is that Claire's writing?"
Ethan nodded.
Daniel looked at the larger key.
"What does it open?"
Ethan turned the note over.
On the back was an address.
A bank.
And beneath it, three words.
BOX 391.
ALONE MEANS ALONE.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
May you like
Claire had anticipated his brother would be involved.
And she clearly had not trusted him.
