The next morning, Detective Harris called me before breakfast.
He had found the officer who wrote the original accident report.
His name was Officer Martin Cole.
He had retired several years earlier and was living outside the city.
Harris said Cole had agreed to meet with investigators.
I asked whether I could attend.
He said I could, provided I understood that Cole might not answer every question.
I agreed.
Marlene came with me.
We met Cole in a small conference room at the station.
He looked uncomfortable.
He kept rubbing his hands together.
Harris placed a copy of the original report on the table.
"Do you recognize this?"
Cole looked down.
Then he nodded.
"I wrote it."
Harris asked why the final report was different.
Cole took a long breath.
He explained that when he arrived at the accident scene, he noticed damage along the driver's side of Evelyn's car.
There were marks that suggested another vehicle had struck it.
He had photographed the damage.
He had also written down the location of a piece of broken headlight glass found near the road.
But before the report was finalized, someone contacted him.
A supervisor told him the evidence had been reviewed and that the damage was consistent with a single-car accident.
Cole said he had questioned that conclusion.
Then he received another call.
This time, the caller warned him that the case involved sensitive information.
He was told not to make trouble.
Harris asked whether he knew who had made the calls.
Cole looked at the table.
"One of them came from a man named Raymond Pierce."
My stomach tightened.
"Did you know him?"
Cole shook his head.
"I didn't know him personally."
He explained that Raymond had presented himself as someone working with the insurance company.
He had access to information about the accident.
He knew details that weren't supposed to be public.
Harris asked whether Cole had ever met Lenora.
Cole hesitated.
Then he said he remembered seeing a woman near the scene.
He couldn't identify her with certainty.
But he remembered her standing beside a dark vehicle.
I thought about the photograph.
The one from the night Evelyn died.
The one showing Lenora beside Raymond.
Harris placed it on the table.
Cole studied it.
His face changed.
"That's the woman."
I felt my throat tighten.
Harris asked him to explain.
Cole said he had seen her speaking to Raymond near the road.
He remembered that because she appeared upset.
He had assumed she was connected to the insurance company.
Now he wasn't sure.
I asked whether Evelyn had been conscious when he arrived.
Cole said she had been alive when emergency crews reached her.
He didn't know what she had said.
He had not spoken to her directly.
The ambulance crew had taken over.
I lowered my eyes.
For five years, I had imagined those final moments.
I had wondered whether Evelyn had been afraid.
Whether she had thought about Hallie.
Whether she had tried to call me.
Now I knew someone might have known more than they had ever admitted.
Harris thanked Cole for speaking.
He explained that investigators would compare his statement with the photographs and records.
Cole agreed to provide a formal written account.
When we left the room, I felt exhausted.
Marlene walked beside me.
"At least we're getting somewhere."
I nodded.
But I wasn't ready to feel relieved.
There was still Raymond.
There was still Lenora.
And there was still the question of what had happened before the collision.
That afternoon, Hallie returned to school for a short visit.
She wanted to see two friends.
I drove her there and waited in the parking lot.
When she came back, she was holding a small paper bag.
Her friends had given her birthday presents.
One had drawn a picture of the two of them together.
Hallie showed it to me.
"They said they missed me."
I smiled.
"That's good."
She put the picture carefully inside her backpack.
Then she asked if we could stop at the house.
I looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"I want to get my softball glove."
We went with Marlene and two officers.
Hallie walked through the hallway without looking toward the camper.
She went straight to the storage room.
Her glove was inside a cardboard box.
She also found an old team photograph.
She held it against her chest.
"I thought she threw everything away."
I didn't ask who she meant.
We both knew.
I carried the box outside.
Before leaving, Hallie stopped in the kitchen.
She looked at the place where the baby monitor had been placed during her birthday party.
"That little thing helped us."
"It did."
She smiled faintly.
Then she followed me out.
That evening, Harris called again.
The investigators had matched the broken headlight glass from the original report to a vehicle registered to a company connected with North Ridge Security.
They were checking whether that vehicle had been used by Raymond.
It was not enough to prove who had been driving.
But it gave them another lead.
Harris also said the computer records showed that Lenora had contacted Raymond shortly after the accident.
One message referred to the missing report.
Another mentioned that I had not seen the original evidence.
I sat quietly while he explained.
Then he said something that stayed with me.
"Grant, this investigation is no longer just about the attempted trust transfer. We're examining what happened to Evelyn."
I thanked him.
After the call, I went to Hallie's room.
She was sitting on the bed Marlene had prepared for her.
The wooden box was on the nightstand.
Her mother's letter lay beside it.
I sat down.
"The officer who wrote the first report has spoken."
She looked at me.
"Did he know Mom?"
"Not personally. But he remembered the accident."
I told her what he had said.
She listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she stared at the letter.
"Mom tried to tell people."
I nodded.
"She did."
"And nobody listened."
I took her hand.
"I'm listening now."
She leaned against me.
I stayed there until she fell asleep.
For once, the house was quiet without feeling empty.
Click here to continue reading: PART 18: Raymond Was Found With the Missing Records, and the Investigation Finally Reached the Man Evelyn Had Feared
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 17 of 20
