Chapter 7 - THE STORAGE UNIT

Shawn called Detective Ortiz before he did anything else.

She told him to stay at the hospital.

He did not.

He met her two blocks from Pine Ridge Storage at 3:46 a.m.

Snow fell harder now.

A plain county sedan waited with its lights off.

Ortiz looked furious.

“I said stay at the hospital.”

“You also said you needed records.”

“I did not say become Batman.”

Despite himself, Shawn almost laughed.

They watched Brenda and Mark carry boxes from Unit 118.

A metal trash barrel burned behind the building.

Ortiz called for backup.

Then Mark lifted a banker’s box and dumped folders directly into the flames.

Ortiz moved.

“Police! Step away!”

Everything happened at once.

Brenda froze.

Mark ran.

Shawn saw him sprint between two rows of units.

A deputy chased him.

Ortiz kicked snow onto the barrel while Shawn grabbed a metal lid and smothered the fire.

Inside the half-burned folders were bank records, copies of checks, medical forms, and notarized documents.

Brenda stood shaking.

“I told him not to burn anything.”

Ortiz handcuffed her.

“You can explain downtown.”

Mark made it over the back fence.

He escaped into the woods.

Inside Unit 118, investigators found a second surprise.

Furniture from Don and Maria’s house.

Old jewelry.

Maria’s wedding china.

Don’s coin collection.

Boxes labeled AUCTION.

Then Ortiz opened a black file case.

Inside was a ledger.

It recorded payments from the diverted account.

Renovation contractor.

Car loan.

Vacation rental.

Dr. Mercer.

Attorney Peter Vale.

And regular transfers to Mark Dalton.

One entry was circled in red.

$18,000 - CHRISTMAS CLOSEOUT.

Shawn looked at Ortiz.

“What does that mean?”

She turned the page.

A handwritten note answered.

DEC 26 - MOVE D&M TO HAWTHORNE CARE.

DEC 27 - CLOSE HOUSE.

DEC 28 - LIQUIDATE STORE.

May you like

My Son Sat There While His Wife Slapped My 4-Year-Old Granddaughter Hold...

MY SON WATCHED HIS WIFE HIT MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER—BUT WHAT LILY WHISPERED NEXT MADE MY BLOOD RUN COLD.My four-year-old gr...

**My Wife Secretly Unplugged the Nursery Camera, Then Approached My 6-Mo...

My Wife Secretly Unplugged the Nursery Camera—Then I Saw Her Standing Over My 6-Month-Old Son With a Red-Hot Iron. But What She Sa...

I Came Home Early and Found My 5-Year-Old Daughter Eating Scraps Beside...

I thought I was coming home to an ordinary dinner.Instead, I found my five-year-old daughter sitting on the kitchen floor beside t...

Don and Maria were never coming back after Christmas.

Brenda had planned to erase their home in three days.