Chapter 5: The Man Who Already Knew
My foot came off the accelerator.
The car slowed without me meaning it to.
Sophie's hand shot out and gripped my arm.
I kept my voice level.
"I'm sorry — who did you say you are?"
"Gerald Hargrove." A pause.
"Daniel's father.
I think you know why I'm calling, Mrs.
Mitchell."
Sophie's face had gone white.
She pulled Lily tighter against her chest.
I signaled and pulled off the road again.
This time deliberately.
"Mr.
Hargrove, I'm not sure what you think I have, but I think you may have the wrong number."
"I don't think so." His voice stayed smooth.
Conversational.
The tone of a man who had never once been told no and found it inconvenient.
"A young woman named Mara Voss was employed at Clearwater Resort until four days ago.
She left without notice.
She also left behind something of considerable importance to my family.
We have reason to believe she made contact with your daughter before leaving."
I said nothing.
"Mrs.
Mitchell.
I'm not calling to cause trouble.
I'm calling because this situation can be handled quietly and fairly, to everyone's benefit.
I'd like to meet.
Just a conversation."
"I'd need to understand what this conversation is about before agreeing to anything."
"It's about a child," he said.
"My grandchild.
And making sure she's properly cared for."
The word *properly* landed like a stone.
"I appreciate the call," I said.
"I'll have to get back to you."
"Of course." Another pause.
"I do hope we can resolve this without involving anyone else.
Courts can be slow.
And very public."
The line went d*ad.
I set the phone down on the console.
Sophie was staring at me.
"He already knows," she whispered.
"Yes."
"How?
How does he already know?"
"I don't know." I pressed my hands flat on the steering wheel.
"But he called my phone, Sophie.
Not yours.
Mine.
By name."
Sophie looked down at Lily.
"Mara said his father had a judge," she said quietly.
"I heard what Mara said."
"Mom, if he has people who can find us this fast—"
"Then we need to be smarter than fast." I picked up my phone and scrolled to a name I hadn't called in two years.
"There's someone I need to call."
"Who?"
"Her name is Ruth Adler.
She was your father's attorney.
She handles family law now." I pressed call.
"Don't say anything about Lily to anyone until I've spoken to her.
Not a word.
Not to your friends, not online, not to anyone."
Sophie nodded.
Ruth picked up on the third ring.
"Karen.
It's been a while."
"Ruth, I need your help.
Today if possible.
It's urgent."
A brief silence.
"Tell me what's happening."
I told her everything.
The resort.
Mara's note.
The envelope.
Gerald Hargrove's phone call.
All of it.
Ruth listened without interrupting, which was one of the things I had always trusted about her.
When I finished, she was quiet for a moment.
"Where is the child now?"
"In the car with my daughter."
"And the note and the letter — you have them physically?"
"Yes."
"Don't let them out of your hands.
Come to my office.
I'll clear my afternoon." She paused.
"Karen, don't go home first.
Come directly here."
"Why?"
"Because if Gerald Hargrove called you twenty minutes after that baby left the resort, he already has someone watching.
I don't want him knowing where you live before we've had a chance to talk."
I looked in the rearview mirror.
The road behind us was empty.
"We're on our way," I said.
I ended the call and pulled back onto the road, this time heading toward town instead of home.
Sophie looked at me.
"Is she good?" she asked.
"This Ruth?"
I thought about the year after David died.
The estate paperwork.
The insurance dispute.
The way Ruth had sat across from me in that same office and said *let me handle this* in a voice that made me believe her.
"She's very good," I said.
Lily made a small sound in Sophie's arms.
None of us spoke again until we reached the city.
But when I turned onto the street toward Ruth's office building, there was a black car idling at the corner.
May you like
It pulled out behind us as we passed.
It was still there when I parked.
