Chapter 4 - ELIZABETH'S SECRET
Detective Marcus Reed had retired three months after Caroline’s death.
Andrew found him living outside Hartford in a narrow brick house overlooking a frozen lake.
Reed remembered the case immediately.
“Your wife’s death bothered me.”
Andrew sat across from him.
“Then why was it ruled accidental?”
“Because everything pointed that way.”
Reed leaned back.
“The railing had corrosion beneath the decorative plating.”
“The contractor admitted he missed it.”
“There were no fingerprints suggesting a struggle.”
“No neighbor heard an argument.”
“And your sister had a phone record placing her inside the house.”
Andrew placed a photograph on the table.
“What about the green fiber?”
Reed’s face changed slightly.
“You noticed that.”
“Why wasn’t it tested?”
“Because the lab categorized it as low-value transfer material.”
“Meaning?”
“It could have come from clothing.”
“A blanket.”
“A cleaning cloth.”
“Anything.”
Andrew placed one half of the rabbit’s ribbon beside the photograph.
Reed sat forward.
“Where did you get that?”
“My son’s toy.”
He told Reed what Alex had said.
He also described Lucinda cutting the ribbon that morning.
Reed remained silent for several seconds.
“That changes things.”
“Can the fiber still be tested?”
“If the evidence was preserved.”
“Was it?”
Reed gave him a grim look.
“It should have been.”
Andrew returned to the estate after dark.
Elizabeth was waiting in the kitchen.
Alex was upstairs with a security officer Andrew had personally hired that afternoon.
“Detective Reed thinks the case can be reopened.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“That’s good.”
But she seemed distracted.
Andrew noticed.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Elizabeth froze.
“Sir?”
“You’ve been nervous since I mentioned the pendant.”
Elizabeth looked toward the hallway.
Then she closed the kitchen door.
“My name isn’t Elizabeth Carter.”
Andrew did not move.
She reached beneath the neckline of her uniform and removed a thin silver chain.
A small identification tag hung from it.
ELIZABETH MORROW.
Andrew stared at her.
“Morrow?”
She nodded.
“Caroline’s maiden name was Morrow.”
Andrew’s voice became quiet.
“You’re related to her.”
Elizabeth swallowed.
“She was my half sister.”
Andrew stood so quickly the chair scraped across the floor.
“You entered my house under a false name?”
“Yes.”
“You cared for my son under a false name?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Tears gathered in Elizabeth’s eyes, but her voice remained controlled.
“Because Caroline called me three days before she died.”
Andrew stopped.
“She told me she thought someone inside this family was stealing from Alex’s trust.”
Andrew stared at her.
“She didn’t say who.”
“She only told me she had found altered transfer documents.”
“She said she was going to confront the person.”
“Then she died.”
Andrew’s anger collided with shock.
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I did.”
“I called from Oregon.”
“I told them Caroline had concerns about money.”
“They said they found no evidence of financial crimes connected to her death.”
Andrew looked away.
Elizabeth continued.
“I didn’t believe them.”
“So you came here.”
“Five months ago.”
“And used a different last name.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucinda knew Caroline had a younger half sister named Elizabeth Morrow.”
Andrew looked at her again.
“I needed to get close enough to understand what Caroline was afraid of.”
“And what did you find?”
Elizabeth’s face grew pale.
“She wasn’t afraid for herself.”
May you like
She looked toward the ceiling, where Alex slept.
“She was afraid for him.”
