Chapter 5 - The Old Phone
The officer who came to the house documented Mateo's concerns and advised him not to search Ricardo's phone or confront him again. Ricardo refused to hand it over, so the officer explained that investigators would decide what legal steps were available. Mateo gave a statement about the pantry, the notebook, and the message he had seen.
The next morning, he took Sofia to the pediatric clinic. The doctor examined her and documented her condition. A social worker helped Mateo contact a child advocacy center. He told them everything, including what made him ashamed: he had worked late, trusted Vanessa, and failed to notice how afraid his daughter had become.
That afternoon, Detective Daniel Reyes called about Mariana's crash.
"We found the original file," he said. "A witness saw a pickup leaving the scene. The witness couldn't identify the driver, and the lead went nowhere."
"Ricardo drove a red pickup then," Mateo replied. "He told me he'd been out of town that night."
Reyes asked Mateo to give a formal statement and warned him not to contact Ricardo. Mateo agreed.
That evening, he found an envelope pushed beneath his office door. Inside was a note printed in block letters: STOP DIGGING OR YOUR DAUGHTER WILL LOSE BOTH PARENTS.
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Mateo looked through the window. A red pickup idled at the curb, one rear light dimmer than the other. Then it pulled away.
He photographed the note and called Detective Reyes. He did not chase the truck.
