Chapter 2 - THE THING SEWN INTO ELLIE’S BACKPACK
Raymond took them to a twenty-four-hour diner two blocks away while the rain kept falling hard enough to wash the street silver.
Ellie fell asleep in the booth with her head in Michelle’s lap. Raymond ordered coffee and watched the front windows.
“Don’t use the car,” he repeated. “And don’t go to anyone’s house yet. Not even family.”
Michelle looked at him sharply.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because Brenda knew about the couch before anyone told her. People like that don’t work alone.”
At 4:41 a.m., Detective Carla Monroe called. She confirmed that Christopher’s shirt contained real blood, but not enough to suggest a fatal injury. The ring was genuine. The benefit sheet looked like a crude motive chart—life insurance, pension benefits, employer death payment, mortgage coverage.
“It reads like someone wanted us to think about money,” Monroe said.
“Money for who?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
When Michelle hung up, Ellie stirred and clutched the fluorescent backpack tighter.
“I don’t want to lose it,” she mumbled. “Daddy said I should keep it with me always.”
Raymond’s eyes narrowed.
“Always?”
Michelle turned the bag over and unzipped the small front pocket. Crayons. A juice pouch. A dinosaur sticker sheet.
Nothing strange.
Then Raymond ran his fingers along the inside seam.
“There.”
He used a butter knife from the diner table to lift a tiny flap of stitching.
Inside, hidden between the lining and the fabric, was a silver tracking tag.
Michelle stared at it.
Raymond let out a slow breath.
“So now we know two things.”
“What?”
“First, your husband wanted to know where this backpack was.” He set the tracker on the table. “Second, he wanted your daughter to carry it.”
Michelle’s phone began vibrating.
MOM
She answered.
Donna didn’t ask whether Michelle was safe.
She didn’t ask where Ellie had slept.
She said, “Bring Ellie to my house right now. Brenda called and said the police think Christopher is dead.”
Michelle sat up straight.
“How do you know that?”
Donna hesitated.
“Brenda told me.”
“The police don’t think he’s dead. They found a bag.”
Another pause.
Then Donna softened her voice too suddenly.
“Well, if there’s trouble, you and Ellie shouldn’t be alone.”
Raymond shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Michelle said, “I’m not coming.”
Donna’s tone sharpened. “Don’t be stubborn, Michelle. Families have to stick together.”
After she ended the call, Michelle looked at Raymond.
“She knew too much.”
He nodded.
“And too early.”
Before daylight, Michelle and Ellie checked into a small hotel near the county courthouse under Raymond’s name. He paid cash.
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At 6:15 a.m., Detective Monroe texted a simple warning:
Do not return to the apartment until we clear it. We are pulling building footage now.
