Chapter 10 - THE KEY BENEATH THE GARDEN BENCH|
Detective Ruiz sent two officers to my apartment after I described the sedan.
They checked the surrounding streets and asked the neighbors whether they'd noticed anything unusual. Nobody had a useful description of the driver.
The officers advised me to report any further contact immediately.
I followed every instruction.
For the next three days, nothing happened.
No unknown calls.
No photographs.
No unfamiliar cars outside the building.
The silence should have reassured me.
Instead, it felt deliberate.
On Wednesday morning, Ruiz called with an update.
“We've identified the voice in the recording with a reasonable degree of confidence,” he said. “We're still verifying the circumstances, but it appears Rebecca may have been alive when the recording was made.”
I gripped the counter.
“Where is she now?”
“We're trying to establish that.”
“Does the garden bench exist?”
“Yes. We've confirmed there's an old bench in the garden at Ethan's property.”
“Are you going to search beneath it?”
“We're determining the appropriate next steps.”
I wanted to drive there myself.
I didn't.
That afternoon, Ethan sent a message through our attorneys asking whether he could attend Ava's school meeting. My lawyer advised against any unsupervised contact and requested that the court clarify the arrangements.
I agreed.
Then, at six, a new message arrived from the unknown number.
The key is still there. You have until Friday.
I forwarded it to Ruiz.
He called almost immediately.
“Do not go to that property,” he said. “We're treating this as potentially connected to the investigation.”
“Why Friday?”
“We don't know.”
“What happens Friday?”
“We're trying to find out.”
That night, Ava woke from a nightmare.
She stood in my doorway holding her stuffed rabbit, her face wet with tears.
“Mommy, I heard Vanessa.”
I pulled back the blanket.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
She climbed into bed.
“She was talking to Daddy. She said the little girl was supposed to be gone.”
I sat very still.
“Which little girl?”
Ava shook her head.
“I don't know. I heard it when I was in the hallway.”
“Did you hear anything else?”
“She said the papers were hidden where nobody would look.”
I didn't ask further questions.
I told her she could talk to her counselor about the dream and that she didn't have to remember anything she didn't want to.
Then I called Ruiz.
He asked me to document Ava's words as accurately as possible without interpreting them.
By morning, the case had changed.
Investigators were now examining whether Vanessa had been involved in conduct beyond the assault allegation. They would not disclose specifics, but Ruiz confirmed that the recording and documents had created new investigative leads.
At ten, my attorney called.
“Ethan's lawyer has requested a private meeting.”
“About what?”
“His client wants to cooperate.”
I closed my eyes.
“Does he want to protect Ava?”
“I believe he says he does.”
“Those are different things.”
“Yes,” she said. “They are.”
That afternoon, Ethan arrived at the police station with his attorney.
He gave investigators permission to examine relevant parts of his property, subject to the necessary legal procedures.
He also surrendered his phone.
I didn't know what he had told them.
I only knew that, for the first time, he had stopped asking me to trust him and started giving someone else a reason to investigate him.
At 4:18 p.m., Detective Ruiz called.
“We found a key beneath the garden bench.”
“What does it open?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Is there anything else?”
He paused.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A second set of footprints leading from the bench to the basement door.”
I looked toward Ava's bedroom.
The hallway light was on, even though it was still afternoon.
May you like
Someone had used that garden recently.
And whoever it was had been trying to reach something hidden beneath the house.
