Chapter 11 - The Witness on Briar Street
Elena Brooks lived in a narrow brick house on Briar Street.
Police arrived first.
The front door was open.
No one was inside.
Detective Ruiz made Ethan wait in the car with Margaret while officers searched the rooms.
"He got to her," Ethan said.
"We don't know that."
"You always say that when you know something bad."
Margaret looked at him.
"He's right."
Ruiz did not argue.
An officer came outside carrying a grocery bag.
"Detective? Neighbor says Ms. Brooks left ten minutes ago in a cab. She had luggage."
Ruiz exhaled.
"Airport?"
"Bus terminal."
They reached Elena before she boarded a coach to Kentucky.
The nurse was sixty-two, small, and furious when police approached.
"I already told that lawyer I don't remember anything."
Ruiz stopped.
"What lawyer?"
Elena's face changed.
"Victor Hale came to my house this morning."
Ethan leaned forward from behind Margaret.
"What did he say?"
Elena noticed him.
"Who are you?"
"Daniel Reed's son."
She gripped the handle of her suitcase.
"Oh, honey."
That was enough to confirm the truth before she spoke another word.
They moved to a quiet station office.
Elena described the night of Daniel's crash two years earlier. He had been brought in with a concussion and two broken ribs. Victor arrived claiming to be family counsel.
"Daniel kept asking for Sarah," Elena said. "Victor told him she was on the way. Then a police officer came in. After that, everything got strange."
"How?" Ruiz asked.
"Daniel was transferred before dawn. No family notification. His phone disappeared. A week later, I saw his picture in the news. They said he'd stolen charity funds and fled after the crash. But he hadn't fled."
"Why didn't you report it?"
Elena looked ashamed.
"I did. My supervisor told me the matter had been handled. Then Victor visited my apartment and reminded me I had a daughter in nursing school."
Margaret went still.
"He threatened her?"
"He never used the word threat. Men like him don't need to."
Elena opened her purse and removed an old flash drive.
"I copied Daniel's intake record before it was changed. I kept it because I was scared."
Ruiz took it.
"This could reopen his conviction."
Elena nodded.
Then her eyes shifted to Ethan.
"Your mother came to see me last winter. She was already sick. She said if anything happened to her, I had to tell you one thing."
Ethan's throat tightened.
"What?"
May you like
Elena reached across the desk.
"She said your father never stopped trying to come home."
