Chapter 9 - The Missing Bunny
I drove back to Nora’s house with Rachel behind me.
The front door wasn’t damaged.
The windows were locked.
The officer outside had seen nobody enter.
But Lily’s bunny was gone from the kitchen chair.
Lily was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
“He took Benny.”
“Who?” I asked.
“The man from the garage.”
Rachel crouched beside her. “What man?”
Lily pointed toward the mudroom.
We found the door from the attached garage slightly open.
The security officer had been watching the front and backyard.
Nobody had checked the garage because Nora’s car was inside and the exterior garage door was closed.
Someone had been hiding there before we arrived.
On the concrete floor was a button from a gray overcoat.
Daniel owned a gray overcoat.
“So he’s alive,” I said.
“Maybe.”
Nora stared at me. “You think Daniel took the bunny?”
A voice came from behind us.
“I did.”
We spun around.
Daniel stood in the doorway from the side yard.
His lip was split. His shirt was bloody. He held both hands up.
Rachel drew her weapon.
“Don’t move.”
“I’m not armed.”
“Where’s the bunny?” I demanded.
“In my car.”
Lily screamed, “Give him back!”
Daniel flinched.
For the first time in my life, he looked ashamed.
“I needed what was inside.”
“What’s inside?”
He swallowed.
“A memory card.”
Rachel cuffed him anyway.
In his car, beneath the passenger seat, we found Benny with his back seam ripped open.
Inside the stuffing was a tiny microSD card wrapped in plastic.
Daniel shook his head when Rachel held it up.
“I never got it out.”
“You kidnapped Claire?” Rachel asked.
“No.”
“You worked for Marcus.”
“Yes.” His voice cracked. “And then I tried to stop.”
“Where is Claire?”
Daniel looked at me.
“She’s at your old lake house.”
My blood went cold.
I hadn’t been there since Anna died.
Daniel added, “And Marcus isn’t keeping her prisoner.”
“What are you talking about?”
May you like
He looked sick.
“Claire called him.”
