Chapter 5 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE GREEN DRAWING
The forensic interview took place the following afternoon.
Not at the Romano estate.
Not at the police station.
At a child advocacy center designed to make frightened children feel comfortable.
Emily wasn't part of the interview.
Neither was Vincent.
A trained specialist spoke with Luca while the session was documented according to established procedures.
Vincent waited in another room.
He had never felt so powerless.
When the interview ended, Ortega approached him.
“Luca shared some information.”
Vincent stood.
“Tell me.”
Ortega held up a hand.
“We need to verify it.”
“Samuel.”
The detective sighed.
“He remembers being in a parking structure. He remembers his mother arguing with a man. He remembers a green light above a metal door.”
Vincent frowned.
“A green light?”
“That's what he described.”
“Anything else?”
Ortega hesitated.
“He said his mother gave him something.”
Vincent's heart pounded.
“What?”
“A small object.”
“Where is it?”
“He doesn't know.”
Ortega continued.
“He described Catherine telling him to hide it.”
Vincent stared.
Catherine had been carrying something important.
Something dangerous enough to make her afraid.
Something Anthony Bell wanted.
That evening, Vincent returned to the estate.
He walked into Catherine's old study for the first time in months.
Her books remained on the shelves.
Her favorite photograph still stood beside the window.
A small silver frame showed Catherine laughing while Luca, then three years old, sat on her shoulders.
Vincent picked it up.
On the back, Catherine had written:
For my boys. Always find your way home.
He closed his eyes.
Then noticed something strange.
The backing of the frame wasn't seated properly.
He opened it.
Behind the photograph was a folded receipt.
A storage facility.
A unit number.
And a date.
Three days before Catherine died.
May you like
Vincent stared at the paper.
The storage facility was located less than a mile from the old river warehouse.
