Chapter 6: The Night That Was Supposed to Happen
The first officer arrived eleven minutes after I called.
I had spent those eleven minutes doing three things.
I had kept Caleb on my lap.
I had kept Sienna's phone in my hand.
And I had kept my eyes on Mason, who sat in the kitchen chair with his forearms on the table and said nothing at all.
Sienna had said one more thing before the police arrived.
"I didn't want him to hurt you," she said.
"I want you to know that.
It wasn't supposed to be — it was supposed to look like an accident.
Something that couldn't be traced."
I looked at her for a long time.
"You hired someone to make my death look like an accident," I said.
"And you want me to know you didn't want me to be hurt."
She flinched.
"I know how that sounds."
"Do you."
She didn't answer.
The officers were two men, both calm, both thorough.
I handed them Sienna's phone and walked them through the message thread.
I showed them Daniel's files on my phone.
I told them about Royce, the black bag, the two visits to the house, the two payments, the confirmation message sent at 7:12 that morning.
One of the officers asked Sienna if she understood her rights.
She said yes.
He asked Mason the same question.
Mason asked for a lawyer.
While the second officer made calls in the hallway, the first one crouched down in front of Caleb.
"Hey, buddy.
You doing okay?"
Caleb looked at me.
I nodded.
"I'm okay," Caleb said.
"My daddy came home early."
The officer looked up at me.
Something moved across his face that he kept professional but didn't quite hide.
"Yes he did," he said.
Daniel arrived twenty minutes later.
He came through the front door, saw me standing in the living room with Caleb still on my hip, and crossed the room without a word.
He put one hand on the back of my neck the way he used to when we were kids and something had gone badly wrong.
"You're okay," he said.
"I'm okay."
He looked at Caleb.
"Hey, little man."
Caleb studied him.
"Are you my uncle?"
Daniel looked at me.
I nodded.
"Yeah," Daniel said.
"I am."
"Daddy talks about you," Caleb said.
Daniel's jaw tightened for a moment.
Then he said, "Good things, I hope."
"He said you're annoying but you always show up."
Daniel laughed.
It was short and a little rough but it was real.
"That's about right."
In the kitchen, I could hear the officers talking to Sienna in low, steady voices.
I heard her answer a question.
I heard her voice crack once.
I didn't go in.
Daniel pulled me aside.
"They're going to need a full statement tonight.
About the account, the documents, everything I sent you."
"I know."
"There's something else." He lowered his voice.
"Royce.
My contact ran his name through a private database.
He's done this before.
Two prior cases in different states.
Both ruled accidental.
Both involved inheritance disputes." He paused.
"Both targets were married."
I looked at the kitchen doorway.
"She didn't find him through a friend," I said.
"No," Daniel said.
"She didn't."
I thought about three weeks of messages.
Dates and times and my exact schedule, fed to someone I had never met.
I thought about the man with the black bag standing in my hallway while my son watched.
I thought about Caleb practicing a new name for his father.
I thought about 6:47 a.m.
and what was supposed to happen after.
"The second payment," I said.
"What was it for?"
Daniel was quiet for a moment.
"Best guess from the amount and timing?
It was the completion fee.
Paid in advance this morning to confirm the job would go forward tonight."
I nodded slowly.
"She paid him to finish it," I said.
"This morning.
While I was getting Caleb's breakfast."
May you like
Daniel didn't say anything.
There was nothing to say.
