Chapter 15 - THE NIGHT AT THE TOWNHOUSE
Jennifer called 911 before she called Chloe.
Police were dispatched to the townhouse.
Rachel instructed Jennifer not to go there.
Jennifer listened.
Ten minutes felt like an hour.
Then Chloe called.
Her breathing was fast.
“He’s gone.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Where is Jacob?”
“With my sister.”
Jennifer closed her eyes in relief.
“What happened?”
“I saw Daniel’s car.”
“He was sitting across the street.”
“Did he come inside?”
“No.”
“Police arrived and he drove away.”
Jennifer looked at Rachel.
“Do they know where he went?”
“They’re looking.”
Chloe’s voice shook.
“I found the ledger behind the utility panel.”
“What ledger?”
“A notebook.”
“Every investor.”
“Every payment.”
“Some names have amounts beside them.”
“Some have dates.”
Rachel leaned toward the phone.
“Chloe, do not photograph or alter anything else.”
“Leave the house if officers permit.”
“Give the ledger directly to investigators.”
Chloe agreed.
The notebook became the strongest evidence yet.
Daniel had kept handwritten records outside his digital system.
Most entries involved money.
Some involved people.
Eric.
Martin.
Mark.
His father.
Jennifer.
Chloe.
Beside Jennifer’s name was a notation.
POLICY - 2M.
Beside Chloe’s.
JACOB / leverage.
Chloe stared at that word during the police interview.
“Leverage?”
Jennifer sat across from her.
Neither woman understood.
Then investigators found another page.
MAY EXIT.
JUNE RESET.
JULY NEW FAMILY.
Jennifer felt cold.
May was when she returned to work.
June was when Daniel intended to finalize the divorce.
July was apparently when he planned to begin publicly presenting Chloe and Jacob as his family.
Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.
“He planned us.”
Jennifer looked at her.
Chloe whispered.
“I thought he loved me.”
Jennifer did not know what to say.
Because she had once thought the same.
Then investigators turned another page.
There was a list of projected money.
Lake property.
Home equity.
Foundation.
Insurance.
Jennifer stared at the last word.
“Why is my insurance listed as projected money?”
No one answered immediately.
The detective finally said.
“We’re investigating that.”
Jennifer’s voice became firm.
“What does that mean?”
“We have no evidence that Daniel intended to cause you physical harm.”
Rachel stepped closer.
“But?”
The detective hesitated.
“But the policy appears in a list of possible future funds.”
Jennifer felt nauseous.
Chloe covered her mouth.
The detective continued.
“We found internet searches on a device seized from Daniel’s office.”
Jennifer stared at him.
“What searches?”
Rachel immediately asked whether Jennifer wanted the details.
She did.
The detective answered carefully.
“Questions about life insurance contestability periods.”
“Beneficiary rights after separation.”
“And payout restrictions involving pregnancy-related deaths.”
Jennifer stopped breathing for a moment.
Rachel placed a hand on her arm.
The detective repeated.
“There is still no evidence of a plan to harm you.”
Jennifer nodded.
But the distinction no longer comforted her.
Daniel had at minimum calculated the financial consequences of her death.
While she was pregnant.
While he slept beside her.
While she trusted him.
Jennifer whispered.
“Find him.”
The detective looked grim.
“We intend to.”
Then his radio sounded.
Daniel’s car had been located.
Abandoned.
May you like
At the airport.
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