Chapter 4 - Someone Was Still Inside
Cullen spun around.
The hallway was empty.
Then he heard the back door close.
He ran.
By the time he reached the kitchen, the lock was swinging and cold night air moved the curtains.
Someone had been inside.
"Mireya!"
He sprinted upstairs.
Her room was empty.
His heart stopped.
Then he heard her voice from the bathroom.
"Daddy?"
She stepped out holding her stuffed fox.
Cullen nearly dropped to his knees.
"You scared me."
"I was brushing my teeth."
He hugged her too hard, apologized, then checked every window and room. In Marisol's office, the file remained on the desk.
The recorder was gone.
Cullen called Vale again.
"They took it."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Get your daughter out of that house now."
Cullen packed medication, clothes, Marisol's envelope, and the foundation file. He took Mireya to Mara's condo downtown, where there was a doorman, cameras, and no address Tove normally used.
At 1:17 a.m., Vale arrived.
He was grayer than Cullen remembered and carried guilt like a second coat.
"I should have reopened Marisol's case," he said.
"Why didn't you?"
Vale looked at Mireya asleep on the couch.
"Because the evidence disappeared."
Cullen's jaw tightened.
"What evidence?"
"A witness reported seeing another vehicle behind Marisol's car before the crash. A black Range Rover. The statement vanished from the file the next morning."
Cullen thought of Tove's car at the time.
A black Range Rover.
"Who could delete a witness statement?"
Vale's eyes dropped.
"Someone with access."
"Meaning a cop?"
"Or someone paying one."
Mireya stirred on the couch.
Her stuffed fox slipped from her arms and hit the floor.
Something hard clicked inside it.
Vale frowned.
Cullen picked up the toy.
A seam along its back had been hand-stitched shut.
Mireya opened her eyes.
"Mommy put something in there," she whispered.
Cullen stared at the fox.
May you like
"What?"
"She told me never to let Tove take him."
