Chapter 4: The Photograph in the Dark
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the pounding of my own heart.
The photograph showed Emily standing outside our house, wearing her pink winter coat. Her little hands were tucked into her pockets, and her hair was tied into two uneven ponytails.
She was smiling at someone outside the frame.
Someone close enough to photograph her without being noticed.
And underneath the picture were seven words.
*Tell Michael to stop looking. His daughter is next.*
"Who sent this?"" I asked.
Daniel Brooks closed his laptop halfway.
"I don't know yet. The email was routed through several temporary accounts.""
"Then call the police.""
"I already did.""
"And?""
"They're treating it as a potential threat. But we need to be careful.""
I stared at him.
"Careful? Someone is threatening my five-year-old daughter.""
"I understand.""
"No, Daniel. You don't.""
My voice cracked.
For six months, I had swallowed insults, accusations, and humiliation. I'd sat in a cell while strangers called me a monster. I'd watched my daughter leave supervised visits crying because she couldn't understand why her father couldn't take her home.
But this was different.
Someone had put Emily in danger.
Daniel reached across the table.
"Listen to me. If we react emotionally, Sarah's attorney will use it against you. We need evidence, not another allegation.""
I clenched my jaw.
"What do you need?""
"First, I need to know whether Jake Miller is involved.""
Jake had worked at my motorcycle shop for nearly four years.
He was twenty-nine, quiet, dependable, and terrible at remembering to lock the back door. I'd helped him get his apartment after his divorce. I'd even lent him money when his mother needed surgery.
He'd been like a younger brother.
And now his name was attached to a photograph of my daughter and a threat against her life.
Daniel arranged for a detective named Laura Bennett to meet us the following morning.
She was in her forties, with short brown hair and a small scar near her chin.
She placed a folder on the table.
"Mr. Carter, I'm Detective Bennett. I've reviewed the message your attorney received.""
"Can you protect Emily?""
"That's what we're going to work on.""
"She's living with Sarah.""
Detective Bennett opened the folder.
"Has Sarah been informed about the photograph?""
Daniel shook his head.
"Not by us.""
"Good. Let's keep it that way until we know more.""
She showed us a printed copy of the image.
"Do you recognize where this was taken?""
"Outside my house. Near the driveway.""
"Do you recognize the vehicle reflected in the window?""
I leaned closer.
There was a faint reflection near the bottom right corner.
A black Mercedes.
My stomach tightened.
"That's Richard's car.""
Detective Bennett looked up.
"You're certain?""
"I've seen it hundreds of times.""
She wrote something down.
"Does he have access to your property?""
"He used to.""
"Could he still have a key?""
I remembered the spare key Sarah had given him for emergencies.
"Yes.""
Detective Bennett closed the folder.
"That's important.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"What about Jake?""
"We've attempted to contact him. His phone is disconnected, and his apartment appears empty.""
"Can you find him?""
"We're working on it.""
I rubbed my wrists.
"There's something else. Emily said Sarah has photographs taken before the police arrived.""
Detective Bennett nodded.
"We've requested the original files.""
"Why hasn't anyone looked at them before?""
She didn't answer immediately.
Then she said something that made me angry all over again.
"Because the original investigation was built around Sarah's statement, and the photographs submitted by the hospital were considered sufficient at the time.""
"So nobody checked where they came from?""
"Not thoroughly.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Six months. Six months, and nobody checked.""
Detective Bennett didn't defend the department.
Instead, she slid another photograph across the table.
It showed my garage.
The freezer was visible in the corner.
A yellow evidence marker sat beside it.
"Officers searched your property after your arrest," she explained.
"They found a kitchen knife in the garage freezer.""
I stared at the photograph.
"That's impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because I never kept knives in there.""
Detective Bennett studied me.
"Do you recognize the knife?""
I shook my head.
Then I noticed something behind the freezer.
A small red toolbox.
Sarah had bought it for me two Christmases earlier.
I remembered the night she gave it to me.
She'd kissed my cheek and said she wanted me to have something that would always remind me of home.
Now I wondered whether she'd already been planning to destroy that home.
"Detective," I said quietly, "I think Sarah put it there.""
"We're investigating that possibility.""
"And the threat?""
"We're treating it seriously.""
Before she left, Detective Bennett gave Daniel a number to contact her directly.
Then she stopped beside the door.
"Mr. Carter, one more thing. If your daughter tells you something about this situation, don't question her repeatedly. Let trained professionals speak with her.""
I nodded.
After she left, Daniel sat silently for a moment.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"Brooks.""
He listened.
His expression changed.
"Where?""
Another pause.
"Is he alive?""
I stood.
Daniel looked at me.
"Jake has been found.""
My heart jumped.
"Where?""
"In a motel outside Dayton.""
"Take me to him.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Michael, you're not going anywhere.""
"He's my only witness!""
"He's also been hospitalized.""
I stared at him.
"What happened?""
Daniel swallowed.
"Someone broke into his room last night.""
"Is he alive?""
"Yes. But he's unconscious.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"Who did this?""
Daniel turned his phone around.
A photograph had just arrived from Detective Bennett.
It showed Jake's motel room.
The television had been smashed.
The mattress had been cut open.
May you like
And on the bathroom mirror, written in black marker, were four words.
*KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, JAKE.*
