Chapter 7 - The Petition I Never Filed
“My what?” I asked.
Naomi came to the hospital before sunrise carrying a file stamped by the county court. Someone had petitioned to suspend my parenting time, alleging that I was unstable and had threatened Sarah and Emily.
The document bore my name, a fabricated incident report, and a hearing date scheduled for Monday morning.
“Jason was planning to cut me off legally,” I said.
“He was trying,” Naomi corrected. “This was filed with false supporting material. We can challenge it immediately.”
One statement claimed a deputy had witnessed me screaming outside Sarah's house two weeks earlier. The witness was Grant Keller.
I looked at Emily asleep in the bed. “He planned this before she stopped calling.”
Naomi nodded. “And whoever helped him knew the court process.”
Ruiz came with news of the repair shop. Police had searched it, but the place was empty. They found fresh tire marks, food wrappers, and a child's drawing taped behind an electrical panel. It showed a blue bird inside a cage.
Emily recognized it. “Noah always drew birds.”
She swallowed. “He said a bird could leave whenever it wanted.”
I had never hated a simple piece of paper more.
By noon, emergency orders barred Jason from contacting Emily. Keller was reassigned pending an internal investigation. Sarah remained missing.
I went home briefly with a police escort to gather clothes for Emily. I had not been there for four nights. Her room in my apartment still smelled like strawberry shampoo, and her unfinished puzzle covered the kitchen table.
I found myself staring at the tiny sneakers beside the door, furious at how normal everything looked.
Then I noticed a small package on the doormat. It contained Emily's missing blue backpack.
Someone had cut the fabric along the inside seam.
I called Ruiz, but before she answered, I spotted something wedged deep beneath the lining: a silver flash drive, no longer than my thumbnail.
A note was wrapped around it in Sarah's handwriting.
BEN, IF HE FINDS THE VIDEO, HE'LL ERASE US ALL.
May you like
And taped beneath the note was a recent photograph of Jason standing beside someone in a sheriff's uniform.
THE THINGS BENEATH THE WATER • 20 CHAPTERS
