Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN WHO FOLLOWED THEM HOME
Lorraine didn't sleep that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Naomi.
Her best friend.
The woman who'd held Imani as a newborn and promised she'd grow up surrounded by love.
The woman who'd died on a lonely highway.
And now, perhaps, the woman someone had deliberately murdered.
At six in the morning, Lorraine called Samuel.
"I want to speak with the investigators."
"They're already reviewing the evidence."
"I was Naomi's closest friend. I may know something useful."
Samuel agreed.
That afternoon, Lorraine gave a formal statement.
She described Naomi's final phone call.
Her fear of Gerald.
The mysterious woman at the funeral.
And the threats Vanessa had made.
The investigator listened carefully.
"Did Naomi ever give you documents?"
Lorraine hesitated.
Then remembered something.
A small blue notebook.
Naomi had placed it in a box of Imani's childhood belongings.
Lorraine had never opened it.
She thought it contained private memories.
Now she wondered.
"I have something at home," she said.
"Where?"
"Atlanta."
The investigator arranged for the notebook to be collected through proper procedures.
But before the courier arrived, Lorraine received a notification from her home security camera.
Motion detected.
Front door.
She opened the application.
A woman stood on her porch.
Tall.
Dark coat.
Long blonde hair.
Vanessa Whitford.
Lorraine felt her stomach drop.
She watched Vanessa ring the doorbell.
Wait.
Then walk toward the side of the house.
A second person appeared.
A man carrying a black equipment bag.
Lorraine immediately called the police.
"My home is being approached by people connected to an active investigation."
The responding officers arrived before anyone entered.
Vanessa and the man left the property.
But Lorraine knew they had been looking for something.
The notebook.
Naomi's final secret.
That evening, the investigator confirmed that the notebook had been recovered safely.
Inside were handwritten observations about unusual company payments.
Names.
Dates.
And several sketches of aircraft equipment.
But the most important page contained a sentence written in red ink.
The original navigation system failed during testing. Gerald ordered the safety report changed.
Rebecca stared at the document.
"That project was approved for commercial use."
Samuel nodded grimly.
"If the allegation is true, people may have been placed at risk."
Lorraine looked at the notebook.
"What else is there?"
The investigator turned another page.
Naomi had written:
Daniel must know. Vanessa has the proof.
Lorraine felt cold.
Vanessa.
The same woman who had threatened her.
The same woman linked to Naomi's vehicle.
Why would she have the proof?
Then Rebecca noticed a small envelope tucked into the notebook's back cover.
It contained a photograph.
Naomi stood beside a private hangar.
She was holding Imani, then a toddler.
Behind them was Daniel Mercer.
He had his arms around both of them.
Lorraine stopped breathing.
"Wait."
Samuel looked up.
"What?"
"Daniel met Imani."
Rebecca stared.
"When?"
Lorraine examined the date printed beneath the photograph.
Imani had been almost three years old.
But Naomi had always claimed Daniel didn't know where they lived.
Lorraine looked toward Samuel.
"Why would she hide this?"
Before he could answer, the investigator found a handwritten message on the photograph's reverse.
Daniel, if you remember anything from that day, protect her.
Lorraine frowned.
"Remember?"
Samuel went pale.
Then Rebecca spoke quietly.
"Daniel suffered a serious head injury nine years ago. He lost portions of his memory surrounding a private aircraft accident."
Lorraine stared at the photograph.
And suddenly understood.
May you like
Daniel hadn't forgotten his daughter because he didn't love her.
Someone had exploited his memory loss to make him believe Naomi and Imani were gone.
