Chapter 6 - The Neighbor Who Heard Everything
The anonymous messenger turned out to be Evelyn Price, the sixty-eight-year-old widow who lived next door.
She came to Rachel's house that afternoon carrying a casserole nobody wanted to eat.
"I should have said something sooner," she told Daniel.
"What did you hear?"
Evelyn pressed both hands around her coffee cup.
"Crying. Not every day. But enough."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"I tried once. Claire answered your phone."
Daniel frowned.
"My phone?"
"She said you were in a secure meeting and couldn't be disturbed. She told me Lily was going through a screaming phase."
Daniel remembered that weekend. He had been home.
He had been playing golf with two officers from base.
His phone had been in the kitchen charging.
Evelyn continued.
"A few weeks later, Noah came to my fence. He asked if kids could get divorced from stepmoms."
Rachel covered her mouth.
Daniel's eyes burned.
"What did you say?"
"I told him children are supposed to be safe with adults. He got scared and ran inside when Claire called him."
Evelyn looked directly at Daniel.
"That was when I started paying attention."
She had security footage of her own.
Not inside Daniel's house, but her driveway camera captured Claire's comings and goings.
One date stood out.
Two weeks earlier, Claire left the children alone in the house at 8:42 p.m. and returned at 11:16 p.m.
Daniel had been in Virginia.
"She told me her sister stayed with them," he said.
Evelyn shook her head.
"No one came."
Daniel immediately called the detective assigned to the case.
By evening, the children had been interviewed by a specialist in a child-friendly setting. Daniel was not allowed in the room, which he understood, but waiting outside was the hardest hour of his life.
When Noah came out, he walked directly to Daniel.
"I told the truth."
Daniel hugged him.
"That's all I ever want."
Then the interviewer asked to speak with Daniel privately.
Her expression was careful.
"Commander Mercer, Noah mentioned a locked room in your basement."
Daniel frowned.
"There is no locked room in my basement."
May you like
The interviewer held his gaze.
"Your son says there is."
