Chapter 9 - THE SON WHO DISAPPEARED
By morning, every television network had Richard Hale’s photograph.
MISSING EXECUTIVE.
FAMILY SCANDAL DEEPENS.
BOAT FOUND EMPTY.
Police divers searched the lake.
Helicopters passed overhead.
Richard’s attorney insisted his client might be injured.
Denise released a statement through counsel accusing “certain relatives” of pushing Richard into emotional collapse.
Certain relatives.
Evelyn knew exactly who that meant.
Her.
By noon, online speculation turned uglier.
Some people claimed Evelyn had destroyed her son’s reputation and driven him to suicide.
Others claimed Richard had been murdered.
A few suggested Connor.
Blake.
Denise.
Everyone became a suspect to strangers.
Evelyn ignored the news.
She sat at Thomas’s old desk in the partially burned cottage while specialists copied surviving records.
Miriam entered carrying coffee.
“You should eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
“I said I’m not hungry.”
Miriam put the coffee down.
“Fine.”
Evelyn looked up.
“Do you think he’s dead?”
Miriam did not answer immediately.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because six million dollars tried to leave a company account four hours before his boat was found.”
“You think he staged it.”
“I think Richard likes money more than drama.”
Evelyn stared at Thomas’s notebook.
“My husband died on this lake.”
“I know.”
“Now Richard wants me to think he did too.”
“We don’t know that.”
“No.”
Evelyn closed the notebook.
“But I know my son.”
For years, that sentence had been a defense.
Now it sounded like an accusation.
At 2:16 p.m., the bank investigation produced a lead.
Richard had attempted to route the money through a holding company connected to a remote property in northern Vermont.
Miriam pulled corporate records.
The property was a hunting lodge.
Purchased four years earlier.
Owner:
North Point Strategic Services.
Denise’s brother’s company.
Police were notified.
Before they could mobilize fully, Sophie came running into the room.
“Grandma.”
“What?”
“I know that place.”
Evelyn stood.
“The lodge?”
Sophie nodded.
“Dad took Blake and Connor there last winter.”
“Are you sure?”
“I saw pictures. There’s a red barn and a stone chimney.”
Miriam brought up the listing photographs.
Sophie pointed.
“That one.”
Police moved quickly.
No sirens.
No public announcements.
The lodge was six hours away by road.
State police coordinated with local deputies.
Evelyn was told to remain at the lake estate.
For once, she agreed.
She sat with Sophie.
Jonah.
Miriam.
Waiting.
At 8:43 p.m., Miriam received a call.
“They found him.”
Evelyn stood so fast her chair fell.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief hit first.
Then anger for feeling relieved.
“Is he hurt?”
“No.”
“The blood?”
“Animal blood from packaged meat stored on the boat.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
A staged scene.
Richard had poured blood onto the deck.
Launched the boat.
Then left in a vehicle parked near a secondary marina.
He wanted police searching water while he ran north.
“What was he doing at the lodge?”
“Packing.”
“For where?”
“Canada, possibly.”
Sophie began crying.
Evelyn held her.
“Is he under arrest?”
“Being detained.”
Miriam paused.
“They found more documents.”
“What documents?”
“A second passport application. Cash. Cryptocurrency storage devices. Company files.”
“And anything about Thomas?”
Silence.
“Miriam.”
“They found a recorder.”
Evelyn’s body went cold.
“What recorder?”
“Old.”
“Thomas’s?”
“Police don’t know.”
“When do we hear it?”
“We don’t.”
“What?”
“It’s evidence.”
“Miriam.”
“Evelyn.”
She almost shouted.
Instead, she turned away.
Twenty minutes later, the phone rang again.
This time, Detective Harris asked to speak directly with Evelyn.
“Mrs. Hale.”
“Yes.”
“Richard has requested an attorney.”
“Fine.”
“But before counsel arrived, he made a statement.”
Evelyn gripped the phone.
“What statement?”
“He said the investigation into your husband’s death needs to stop.”
Everything inside Evelyn went still.
“Why?”
“He wouldn’t explain.”
“Put him on the phone.”
“I can’t.”
“Detective.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What did you find?”
A long pause.
“Something in the lodge suggests Richard may know more about Thomas’s death than he previously disclosed.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“What?”
“An old jacket.”
“So?”
“It belonged to Thomas.”
She opened her eyes.
“How do you know?”
“His initials are sewn inside.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“There are stains on it.”
Evelyn could hear her own pulse.
“What kind?”
“We’re testing them.”
She turned toward the window.
The lake was black.
As black as the afternoon Connor pushed her beneath it.
“Detective.”
“Yes?”
“I need to know what happened to my husband.”
“I understand.”
“No.”
Her voice broke for the first time in days.
“You don’t.”
She hung up.
At 11:30, everyone else went to bed.
Evelyn remained in Thomas’s cottage.
She was reading his notebook when her phone lit up.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Silence.
Then:
“Mom.”
Evelyn froze.
Richard.
“How are you calling me?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Where are you?”
“You know where I am.”
“Police have you.”
“For now.”
Evelyn stood.
“Did you kill your father?”
Silence.
Then Richard laughed softly.
Not happily.
Almost tired.
“You always ask the wrong question.”
“What is the right question?”
“You should ask why Dad was on the boat with me.”
Evelyn’s knees weakened.
“You were with him.”
“Yes.”
“You told police you left before he went out.”
“I lied.”
The word entered the room like a gunshot.
“Richard.”
“He wanted to ruin me.”
“What happened?”
“Come see me.”
“Tell me now.”
“No.”
“Richard!”
His voice hardened.
“You want the truth about Dad?”
Evelyn could barely breathe.
“Yes.”
“Then stop letting Miriam decide what you can handle.”
The line went dead.
Seconds later, another call came through.
Detective Harris.
“Mrs. Hale, did Richard just contact you?”
“Yes.”
“We traced the unauthorized phone.”
“Where?”
A pause.
Harris sounded alarmed.
“That call didn’t come from the police station.”
Evelyn’s blood ran cold.
May you like
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying Richard Hale is no longer in custody.”
