Chapter 6 - THE LOCKED PANTRY
Travis was detained for questioning, but Dana still didn’t know where Erin was.
The Bennett house became a crime scene.
Leah stayed at the hospital with Mia while officers searched it.
At 10:15 p.m., Dana video-called from the kitchen.
The pantry door had a new padlock.
Inside was enough food for weeks.
Formula, canned soup, cereal, diapers, bottled water.
The problem had never been a lack of supplies.
Someone had simply made them inaccessible.
Leah closed her eyes.
Mia saw her expression.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“I used bathroom water.”
“You kept your brother alive with what you had.”
Mia looked toward Caleb’s room.
“I didn’t know the right amount.”
“That was never supposed to be your job.”
Mia’s chin trembled.
For the first time all day, she looked six.
Dana called again twenty minutes later.
They had found Erin’s bedroom torn apart.
Desk drawers dumped.
Mattress lifted.
A framed wedding photo smashed on the floor.
But one thing stood out.
Behind the dresser, officers found a shallow hole cut into the drywall.
Whatever had been hidden there was gone.
“What would she keep there?” Leah asked.
Mia stared at the screen.
“Daddy’s folder.”
“What folder?”
“The brown one.”
“What was in it?”
“Papers. Mommy cried when she read them.”
Dana turned to someone off camera.
Then she looked back.
“We also found a laptop in Travis’s room.”
“Anything useful?”
“It has scanned copies of documents with Erin’s signature.”
“Real signatures?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Dana paused.
“And there’s a draft power of attorney naming Travis Bennett as financial agent for Erin and both children.”
Leah’s stomach tightened.
“Was it signed?”
“No.”
May you like
Another pause.
“But the signature page is open on the screen.”
