Chapter 5 - THE GIRL WHO CARRIED THE NOTEBOOK
Clara Keterman had contacted Mave four days before Howard's death became public.
She'd found Mave's name in her father's handwritten notes.
The message contained only six words.
He said you would understand this.
Mave had arranged to meet her at a public library in Cranston.
Clara arrived wearing a gray coat and carrying a canvas bag.
She was seventeen, thin, and visibly frightened.
Her father had told her to deliver the notebook and brass seal if anything happened to him.
He'd also told her not to trust Thornfield's attorneys.
Mave listened as Clara explained that Howard had been afraid for months.
He'd begun sleeping in his office.
He'd stopped answering calls from unknown numbers.
And he'd written down instructions for his daughter.
When Mave asked where Clara was staying, the girl refused to answer.
"My father said nobody should know."
Mave respected that.
She gave Clara the contact information for a youth advocate and urged her to contact a trusted adult.
Clara promised she would.
Then disappeared.
Now, speaking to Naomi Whitcomb, Mave admitted she hadn't heard from Clara since.
Naomi's voice sharpened.
"Did you report her missing?"
"I didn't know whether she was missing. She told me she was going somewhere safe."
"Do you have her phone number?"
"Yes."
"Send it to my office."
Mave hesitated.
"Please don't let Thornfield find her."
Naomi replied, "We'll take appropriate steps to protect her."
The search began.
Clara's phone had been switched off.
Her school had recorded an excused absence.
And the last person known to have seen her was a woman who worked at a community shelter.
The woman remembered Clara clearly.
"She was carrying a backpack," she told investigators. "She said she was going to stay with family."
"What family?"
The woman shook her head.
"She didn't say."
Meanwhile, Rafe received a message from an unknown number.
STOP HELPING THE NURSE. YOUR MOTHER'S DEATH WAS AN ACCIDENT.
He showed it to Elena March.
She advised him to preserve the message and forward it to investigators.
Rafe agreed.
But the message confirmed something he'd begun to suspect.
Someone was monitoring his involvement.
That evening, Mave was discharged from the hospital.
She remained weak but medically stable.
Rafe offered her a room at a secure hotel.
She declined.
"I need to stay somewhere connected to the investigation."
Elena March suggested temporary protective arrangements coordinated with authorities.
Mave agreed.
Before leaving, she looked at Rafe.
"Why are you doing this?"
He considered the question.
"At first, because of my mother."
"And now?"
He looked at her.
"Because I don't want another person to disappear while everyone pretends nothing is wrong."
Mave studied him.
Then nodded.
That night, Naomi Whitcomb received a voicemail.
A girl's voice whispered:
"My name is Clara Keterman."
There was a pause.
May you like
Then:
"My father didn't kill himself."
