Chapter 6 - THE TRUCK WASN'T RANDOM
The police detective arrived before lunch.
Detective Marcus Hale.
No relation.
He looked tired, cautious, and immediately uncomfortable when Julian explained the financial connection.
“We’re not calling this intentional,” he said.
“Not yet.”
I watched him place photographs on the tray.
The delivery truck had entered the intersection against a red light.
The driver claimed the brakes failed.
Initial inspection showed the brake line had been damaged.
“Damaged how?” I asked.
“We’re waiting on the full mechanical report.”
Julian pointed to the payment.
“Red Creek received fifty thousand dollars from Ben Pierce’s company six days before the crash.”
Detective Hale looked at the transaction.
“What does Red Creek do?”
“Regional freight.”
“Do they normally work with Pierce?”
“No history we’ve found.”
The detective’s expression changed.
He picked up his phone.
Then asked:
“Where is Mr. Pierce now?”
“No one knows.”
Lauren had already reported him missing.
His phone was off.
Credit cards silent.
Car gone.
Passport missing.
Every fact looked worse than the last.
Mom stood near the window.
Dad had stopped talking almost entirely.
For once, there was nothing he could argue away.
Then the detective asked me:
“Did your brother-in-law know about your estate?”
“I don’t know.”
Lauren answered from the doorway.
“Yes.”
We all turned.
She had returned.
Her makeup was gone.
Her eyes were swollen.
“I told him.”
I felt anger rise again.
“How much?”
“I didn’t know exact numbers.”
“What did he know?”
“That Mom and Dad were beneficiaries.”
My father whispered something I couldn’t hear.
Lauren continued.
“And that I wasn’t.”
I stared at her.
“You discussed my will with him?”
“I complained once.”
“About what?”
She looked ashamed.
“That you always treated me like I couldn’t be trusted with money.”
The irony almost took my breath away.
Detective Hale asked:
“Did Ben ever ask what happens if Miranda dies?”
Lauren’s face changed.
That was the answer.
“When?”
“A few weeks ago.”
My hands went cold.
“What exactly did he ask?”
She started crying.
“He asked whether Mom and Dad would share anything with me if something ever happened to you.”
Dad sat down heavily.
Mom covered her mouth.
I looked at Julian.
The changes I made the previous night suddenly felt different.
Not emotional.
Not punitive.
Protective.
Then Detective Hale’s phone rang.
He listened for less than a minute.
When he hung up, his expression had changed completely.
“The truck driver is gone.”
“What do you mean gone?”
“He checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice.”
“Where did he go?”
“We don’t know.”
The detective looked at Lauren.
“But before he disappeared, someone visited him.”
“Who?”
He turned his phone around.
A hospital security image filled the screen.
A man in a baseball cap stood beside the driver’s bed.
May you like
Lauren’s knees nearly gave out.
“Ben.”
