Chapter 9 - Gull Point
Helen's late husband had sold commercial insurance. Before retiring, she had helped him review an unusual claim from Harborstone: a cottage at Gull Point destroyed by fire six weeks after Nora vanished. The claim had been denied because the property had been emptied before the blaze.
“The insurer retained photographs,” Helen said. “I can ask for them.”
By late afternoon, Rachel had obtained a court order for the records. Marcus compared the old photographs to Sloane's threatening image. The blue-bird wall matched exactly, down to a crooked patch of paint above the smallest bird.
“That photograph could be old,” Rachel cautioned.
“Then somebody is using my granddaughter's old room to frighten Sloane,” Evelyn said. “Or somebody rebuilt it.”
Police searched the ruined cottage. Beneath a collapsed cabinet they found a metal tin containing children's drawings, a school pencil, and a scrap of paper with a handwritten address in Providence.
The address belonged to a private pediatric speech clinic.
Evelyn had never heard of it. Rachel called the clinic and asked whether a child resembling Nora had received care. The administrator would not disclose patient information without proper authority, but she agreed to preserve all relevant records.
At dinner, Daniel arrived at Evelyn's gate and begged for five minutes. Rachel approved a brief conversation with officers nearby. Evelyn stood behind the iron bars.
“I loved Nora,” he said.
“So did I.”
“You're destroying our family.”
“I thought losing her had already done that.”
His eyes filled. “There are people I borrowed money from. Bad people. I tried to fix it.”
“Did you hide my granddaughter?”
He looked down. “I thought I could buy us time.”
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“Where is she?”
Before Daniel could answer, his phone rang. He glanced at the name and went white. Evelyn heard the caller's voice through the speaker: “Your mother has until midnight to sign. After that, nobody gets a second warning.”
