The following afternoon, Detective Harris called again.
They had found someone at the Redfield address.
A woman.
She had refused to identify herself at first.
But when the officers showed her Evelyn's photograph, she began crying.
Her name was Rebecca.
Evelyn's sister.
I sat down.
"Is she safe?"
"She's safe for now. We're arranging a formal interview."
"Can I speak to her?"
"Not yet. She has to give her statement first."
I understood.
But waiting was becoming difficult.
There were too many unanswered questions.
Why had Evelyn hidden her sister?
Why had Raymond wanted the second memory card?
And why had Patricia been with him?
I told Marlene what Harris had said.
She looked relieved.
"At least she's alive."
I nodded.
Then my phone rang again.
This time, it was an unfamiliar number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
A woman spoke quietly.
"Grant, it's Patricia."
I stood up.
"What do you want?"
"I need to explain."
"Then explain why you were with Raymond."
She began crying.
"I made a terrible mistake."
"That's not an explanation."
"I know."
I looked toward Hallie.
She was sitting with Diane.
I walked into the hallway.
"Did you know about the fake death certificate?"
Patricia didn't answer immediately.
Then she whispered.
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"Did you know about Hallie's inheritance?"
"Yes."
"Did you help them?"
"I helped Raymond find the documents Evelyn had hidden."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because he told me he had proof that Evelyn had stolen money."
I almost laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because I couldn't believe she was still trying to explain herself that way.
"You knew Evelyn better than almost anyone."
"I know."
"You sat with me at her funeral."
"I know, Grant."
"You hugged my daughter."
She started sobbing.
"I know."
I couldn't listen anymore.
"Why did you do it?"
Patricia finally told me something.
She said Raymond had approached her after Evelyn died.
He claimed Evelyn had been involved in financial misconduct.
He said the documents could damage her reputation.
Patricia believed him.
She helped him search for Evelyn's records.
But when she discovered the forged trust paperwork, she realized he had been lying.
I asked why she hadn't contacted me.
She said she was afraid.
I looked at the floor.
"Patricia, my daughter was sleeping in a camper."
There was silence.
Then she whispered.
"I didn't know about that."
"You knew they wanted her inheritance."
"I know."
"You knew they were trying to remove her."
"I thought she was going to a school."
I couldn't believe it.
I ended the call.
Marlene came into the hallway.
"Was that Patricia?"
I nodded.
"What did she say?"
"She admitted helping Raymond."
Marlene shook her head.
"Did she explain the accident?"
"Not yet."
I told her Patricia had asked to meet.
Marlene immediately advised me not to go alone.
I agreed.
I called Detective Harris.
He arranged for Patricia to give a formal statement.
Later that evening, he called me back.
Patricia had agreed to cooperate.
She had also given investigators a name.
A man named Daniel Mercer.
He had worked for North Ridge Security.
According to Patricia, Daniel had been present on the night Evelyn died.
He had also been involved in moving documents from the insurance office.
I asked whether Daniel had been arrested.
Harris said they were still verifying the information.
Then he told me something that frightened me.
Raymond had left his registered address.
Nobody knew where he was.
I immediately looked toward Hallie.
She was watching television with her grandparents.
I didn't want her to hear that.
I asked Harris whether we needed additional protection.
He said officers would remain in contact.
That night, Hallie asked me to sit with her.
She was holding the photograph of Evelyn and Rebecca.
"Do you think Aunt Rebecca remembers Mom?"
"I'm sure she does."
"Do you think she missed her?"
I looked at the photograph.
"Every day, probably."
Hallie ran her finger over Evelyn's face.
"I wish I could remember Mom's voice better."
I sat beside her.
"You don't have to remember everything at once."
She looked at me.
"Do you still remember how she laughed?"
I smiled sadly.
"Of course."
"Tell me."
So I did.
I told her about Evelyn laughing whenever I burned breakfast.
I told her how she used to sing while watering the garden.
I told her about the Sunday pancakes.
Hallie smiled.
For a few minutes, we were simply a father and daughter remembering someone we loved.
Then she asked whether Rebecca would come to see us.
I told her we would wait until the police finished speaking with her.
The next morning, Detective Harris arrived.
He had a new photograph.
It showed Daniel Mercer standing outside an office building.
He asked whether I recognized him.
I didn't.
But Hallie did.
She stared at the photograph.
Then she looked at me.
"That's the man who came to our house."
My heart began beating faster.
"When?"
"Before Thanksgiving."
I asked her to explain.
She said a man had visited Lenora several times while I was away.
He had been carrying a brown envelope.
She remembered the jacket because it had a silver emblem.
The same emblem she'd seen on the old photograph from Evelyn's box.
Detective Harris leaned forward.
"Did you hear his name?"
Hallie nodded.
"Lenora called him Daniel."
I looked at the detective.
He wrote something down.
Then Hallie added another detail.
"He asked Lenora whether the camper was ready."
Nobody spoke.
I felt my hands tighten.
The camper hadn't been an impulsive punishment.
It had been prepared.
Someone had planned it.
Someone had expected Hallie to spend time outside.
And that someone had visited our house before the five weeks began.
Harris thanked Hallie.
Then he asked whether she could identify the man in person.
She nodded.
I squeezed her shoulder.
She had already shown more courage than anyone should have expected from a sixteen-year-old.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Man Who Had Visited Our House Was Connected to Evelyn’s Accident, and Hallie Remembered Something I Had Forgotten
I Thought I Was Bringing My Daughter the Best Birthday Surprise, Until I Opened the Door to the Bedroom That No Longer Belonged to Her
Part 10 of 20
