Chapter 2 - WHAT WAS INSIDE THE SUV
Mark refused to tell me where he was.
Every time I asked, he returned to Dad.
“Is he awake?”
“Yes.”
“Has he used his phone?”
“Probably.”
“Sarah, keep him there.”
“You don’t get to give me orders after yesterday.”
“This is bigger than yesterday.”
That was obvious.
“What’s inside your car?”
Silence.
“Mark?”
“Documents.”
“What documents?”
“Nothing you understand.”
That sentence made my decision for me.
I ended the call.
Then I called Dad.
He answered sounding annoyed rather than sick, which was reassuring.
“They’re trying to feed me oatmeal without salt.”
“Dad, has anyone contacted you this morning?”
“My bank did.”
I stood up.
“Why?”
“Some fraud alert.”
“What kind?”
“They asked whether I applied for a home-equity loan.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did you?”
“Of course not.”
Dad's house had been paid off for eleven years.
“What did they say?”
“That someone submitted paperwork against the property.”
I sat on the edge of my bed.
“Dad, yesterday you asked me about Mark helping with house papers.”
He went quiet.
“Tell me.”
Several months earlier, Mark had offered to help Dad reorganize his financial records.
Mark worked as a senior loan officer for a private mortgage brokerage in Columbus. He knew lenders, title companies, credit reports, closing packages—the boring machinery Dad hated dealing with.
Dad had let him scan tax returns and insurance documents.
Then two weeks ago, Dad noticed property-tax mail being redirected electronically to an address he didn’t recognize.
He confronted Mark.
Mark said it was probably a county-system error.
Dad didn't believe him.
“So I called Jim.”
Jim Keller had been Dad's attorney for twenty years.
“I was supposed to meet him yesterday after the hospital,” Dad said. “Then they kept me overnight.”
“For what?”
“To review my accounts and make sure nobody had opened anything in my name.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did Mark know?”
“I told him.”
When?
“Tuesday.”
Three days before Mark refused me his car.
Then another call came through.
Unknown Columbus number.
I answered.
“Mrs. Walker?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Laura Bennett with Columbus Police. Your husband's vehicle was recovered early this morning near an office park off West Henderson Road.”
I gripped the phone.
“Is Mark hurt?”
“We haven't located your husband.”
My mouth went dry.
“Why are you calling me?”
“Your contact information was inside the vehicle.”
She paused.
“So were documents containing your father's name, Social Security number, property information, and what appear to be loan closing materials.”
I couldn't speak.
Then she added:
“There was also blood inside the vehicle.”
May you like
That was the moment Mark's demand not to call police stopped sounding frightened.
And started sounding desperate.
