Chapter 5 - THE LAST MORNING
Daniel did not ask Ethan that night.
When Ethan woke, Daniel brought him hot chocolate from the vending machine.
"Claire said something about Mom," Daniel said carefully.
Ethan froze.
That was answer enough.
"Buddy, whatever she told you, you can tell me."
Ethan stared into the cup. "Mom was mad at me the day she died."
Daniel's chest tightened. "No."
"I spilled paint on her papers. She said she was late because she had to clean it up. Then she left. Then the truck hit her car."
"She wasn't mad," Daniel said. "She laughed about it."
Ethan shook his head. "Claire said if I hadn't spilled it, Mom would've left earlier and missed the truck."
Daniel could barely speak.
"Claire told you that?"
"A lot. When I was bad."
Daniel took Ethan's face gently in both hands. "Your mother's death was not your fault. Not one percent. Do you hear me?"
Ethan nodded, but he was crying now.
Daniel held him until the shaking stopped.
Then Nora arrived.
"I need to show you something else," she said.
At the beginning, before Nora zoomed in on Claire and Ethan, a black pickup had been parked near the stable entrance. The driver wore a dark baseball cap and appeared to be filming too.
"He wasn't just passing by," Nora said. "He was waiting."
Grant enlarged the frame.
Daniel recognized the truck.
"That's Owen Pike."
"Who is he?" Grant asked.
"Claire's brother."
Nora scrolled forward. "Then you need to see what he did when I called 911."
The video showed Owen's truck crossing the road and stopping beside Nora.
He rolled down his window.
Even through the rain, the audio was clear.
"Delete the video," Owen said. "You don't know what you're looking at."
Then he added five words that changed the investigation.
May you like
"This was supposed to look accidental."
* * *
