Chapter 9 - The Missing Hour
Tove had called him from his own house at 10:30 p.m.
She said Mireya was asleep upstairs.
Cullen had been two cities away at a shipping conference.
After the crash, Tove told police she had spent the entire evening babysitting.
That alibi had never been questioned.
Now Cullen sat beside his daughter on Mara's couch.
"Mireya, I need to ask about the night Mommy died."
She immediately looked at the floor.
"You were in her car, weren't you?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"For a little while."
Cullen kept his voice soft. "Tell me what happened."
"Mommy put me in the back seat because she said we were going to Aunt Mara's. Tove followed us. Mommy was scared."
"Then what?"
"Mommy stopped near the old lighthouse. Tove's car stopped too. Mommy told me to get out and hide behind the stone wall. She said she would come back."
Cullen's chest tightened.
"She left you there?"
"She was trying to save me."
Mireya began to cry.
"I heard Tove yelling. Then another man yelled. Mommy drove away. Tove followed. The man found me."
"Who?"
"I didn't know his name. He had a police badge."
Cullen looked at Vale.
Mireya continued.
"He told me Mommy had an accident. He drove me home. Tove was already there. She changed my pajamas and told me I had dreamed everything."
Cullen felt sick.
"What did the policeman look like?"
Mireya pointed to Vale's phone.
"Can I see pictures?"
Vale pulled up a public department photograph.
Mireya scanned the faces.
Then her finger stopped.
Deputy Chief Mason Rourke.
"Him."
Vale swore under his breath.
Cullen stood.
"Arrest him."
"We need more than a child's identification after eighteen months."
"She just placed him at a concealed crime scene."
"I believe her. A prosecutor needs proof."
Mara, who had been quietly sorting the foundation files, suddenly looked up.
"Maybe we have it."
She held one spreadsheet.
A vendor called NORTH STAR CONSULTING had received nine payments from Harbor House.
The registered owner was Mason Rourke's wife.
Vale stared at the page.
"Now we have a trail."
His phone rang.
He listened for ten seconds.
Then his face changed.
"Rourke just reported his service weapon stolen."
Cullen understood at once.
May you like
Rourke was not preparing to run.
He was preparing to use it.
