Chapter 17 - Daniel's Last Words
Mara asked whether I wanted to listen alone. I shook my head. I wanted someone beside me if I couldn't bear the sound of Daniel's voice.
The recording began inside a car. Wind rattled the microphone. Richard Sterling said he could make every complaint disappear if Daniel gave him the child and stopped contacting Elena.
"She's a little girl," Daniel answered. "Not one of your contracts."
"You have a wife, Mr. Bennett. Think about her."
"I am. That's why you're never getting near her."
There was a scuffle, a car door slamming, and then Daniel speaking again, nearer the microphone. He was out of breath.
"If anyone hears this, Richard told his driver to follow me. I'm taking Grace to Rosa. Elena knows. I don't think I'll get home before morning."
The next portion was broken by static. It didn't tell us exactly how Daniel died. But it destroyed the story that he'd been working an ordinary construction shift. Investigators could now reopen his death with a location, names, and a reason for someone to chase him.
At the end came a separate audio note. Daniel's voice softened the way it did when he used to wake me for breakfast.
"Clara, if this ever reaches you, I'm sorry. I thought I could finish one good thing and come home. Richard has been asking about our plans for a baby. If we have a little girl one day, remember the name we liked. Grace. Don't let anyone tell you it's a name that belongs to fear."
He paused.
"You once said you wanted a quiet life. I did too. I love you. Whatever happens, you get to choose what comes next."
The recording ended. I cried until my throat hurt. No message could give me Daniel back. But at last I knew he'd been thinking of me as a person, not a secret to be managed.
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Then the detective called Mara. Richard Sterling had been located at a private airport.
And he was carrying papers claiming my unborn daughter belonged to someone else.
