Chapter 17 - The Name on the Death Certificate
The crematorium records were incomplete.
One file stood out.
An unidentified woman had been cremated two days after Laura vanished.
Cause of death was listed as complications from traumatic injuries.
The authorization had been signed by a physician who denied ever seeing the patient.
The legal release had been prepared by Peter Shaw’s office.
The woman had been registered under the name Jane Miller.
There were no fingerprints on file.
No photograph.
But a retained blood sample still existed in an archived evidence collection.
DNA testing confirmed what I already feared.
Jane Miller was Laura Brooks.
I sat in Ruiz’s office after hearing the result.
For four years, Laura had been buried under another woman’s name.
No grave.
No memorial.
No truth.
Only paperwork designed to erase her.
The medical examiner reopened the cause of death.
Toxicology from the preserved sample revealed a powerful sedative at a level inconsistent with routine treatment.
Laura had not simply died from injuries caused by the crash.
Someone had drugged her.
The evidence did not yet prove who administered it.
Then Natalie returned.
She walked into a police station three counties away and surrendered.
Ruiz called me.
I arrived after midnight.
Natalie sat inside an interview room.
She looked at me through the glass.
I felt nothing soft toward her.
Whatever help she had once given Laura did not erase what she later became.
Ruiz asked the question.
“Who gave Laura the final injection?”
Natalie began shaking.
“Peter.”
“Were you there?”
“Yes.”
“Did Grant know?”
“No.”
Natalie covered her face.
“Grant thought Peter was moving her somewhere else.”
“Why didn’t you stop him?”
“I tried.”
Her voice cracked.
“He said he would kill Daniel next.
Then the children.”
I stepped into the room.
Natalie looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I shook my head.
“You do not get to use Laura’s death to excuse what you did to Owen and Ellie.”
She started crying.
“I know.”
“Then tell the truth.”
Natalie looked toward Ruiz.
“I can prove it.”
She explained that Peter had always recorded conversations as protection.
And she knew where he kept the backup drive.
May you like
Inside his law office.
Behind a wall carrying a framed photograph of Laura’s memorial.
