Chapter 9 - A GHOST SENDS A MESSAGE
Ashley packed two suitcases.
Surveillance recorded her taking cash from three banks.
She moved jewelry from her apartment into a storage locker.
She purchased a prepaid phone.
She did everything a frightened conspirator does before disappearing.
Michael noticed nothing.
He was too busy preparing to receive the insurance money.
He had already contacted a real estate agent about selling our house.
He scheduled meetings with private wealth managers.
He even ordered a new Aston Martin.
The car cost more than the house my mother raised me in.
Then I had an idea.
"I want to send him something."
Daniel immediately disliked it.
"What?"
"A message."
Rebecca looked thoughtful.
"From you?"
"Not exactly."
I remembered the photograph my mother had hidden.
The one showing Daniel beside her.
On the back were three words.
Forgive me, Daniel.
I wanted Michael to feel uncertainty.
Not enough to make him run.
Just enough to make him afraid.
Rebecca approved a simple version.
A courier delivered a small package to Michael's office.
Inside was a copy of the mountain photograph we had taken the morning before he pushed me.
No return address.
No explanation.
On the back, in block letters, were four words.
I REMEMBER THE LEDGE.
We watched Michael open it through office surveillance obtained under warrant.
His face lost all color.
He read the words twice.
Then he locked his office door.
His first call was Ashley.
She didn't answer.
His second call was to the detective investigating my disappearance.
That surprised everyone.
Michael said he had received a cruel anonymous threat.
He claimed someone was exploiting his grief.
But he did not mention the exact words.
He did not mention the ledge.
Because only the killer should have known there was a ledge.
The detective carefully asked him where he believed I landed.
Michael said, "I don't know."
The detective asked whether he had ever looked over the edge.
Michael paused.
"No."
Lie.
When he ended the call, he immediately drove to Ashley's apartment.
She wasn't there.
She was meeting with a criminal defense attorney.
Michael waited inside her building garage.
When she arrived, he grabbed her arm.
Investigators watched from two vehicles away.
"You sent it."
Ashley pulled free.
"Sent what?"
Michael showed her the photograph.
For the first time, Ashley looked genuinely afraid.
"Where did you get that?"
"It came to my office."
"Michael."
"What?"
Her voice became small.
"What if she survived?"
Michael stared at her.
Then he laughed.
"We saw her fall."
"We didn't see her die."
"We heard nothing for two hours."
"You left after twenty minutes."
Michael froze.
Ashley realized her mistake.
So did we.
Twenty minutes.
Michael had lied about how long he stayed.
That meant Ashley had returned later.
Alone.
And suddenly I remembered something from the ledge.
A sound through the storm.
Crunching snow.
A shadow above me.
I had believed I was hallucinating.
May you like
But maybe Ashley had come back.
The question was why.
