{"id":7094,"date":"2026-09-11T16:26:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T16:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/?p=7094"},"modified":"2026-09-11T16:26:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T16:26:51","slug":"part-8-the-storage-unit-carried-my-name-and-inside-it-was-evidence-trent-had-been-building-a-future-for-me-without-my-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/?p=7094","title":{"rendered":"PART 8 \u2013 The Storage Unit Carried My Name, and Inside It Was Evidence Trent Had Been Building a Future for Me Without My Knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For several seconds, I thought Officer Daniels had misspoken.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cSay that again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did not.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<p>The expression on his face made repetition unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>Alex stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<p>Daniels looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you ever rented a unit at Miller Storage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEver signed paperwork there?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you use a different address six or seven years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. My apartment before I married Trent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat address appears on the account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour full name. Date of birth. An old phone number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomebody used my identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat appears possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely. But we verify.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex swore quietly.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels asked, \u201cDo you still have identification showing that old address?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe in a file at the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can retrieve it later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the black box.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel\u2019s belongings sat inside it like clues arranged by someone who believed one day they would need to speak for her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we go to the storage unit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels immediately answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause it\u2019s now part of the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m the person whose name is on the lease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not make it safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafe from what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is exactly what we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was right.<\/p>\n<p>I hated him for being right.<\/p>\n<p>A second officer left to coordinate with detectives.<\/p>\n<p>Within twenty minutes, the house filled with people I had never met. They moved carefully, photographed everything, documented the nursery floor, and asked questions about Trent\u2019s routines.<\/p>\n<p>Did he travel alone?<\/p>\n<p>Did he keep tools elsewhere?<\/p>\n<p>Did he receive mail I never saw?<\/p>\n<p>Did he maintain separate bank accounts?<\/p>\n<p>Every question revealed another part of my marriage I might never have known.<\/p>\n<p>I answered what I could.<\/p>\n<p>Often, the answer was no.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it was I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase became unbearable.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually Daniels convinced me to leave.<\/p>\n<p>Alex drove me to his house.<\/p>\n<p>I sat in the passenger seat with both hands resting over my stomach while the city moved around us.<\/p>\n<p>At one intersection, a woman pushed a stroller across the street.<\/p>\n<p>I watched her until the light changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou okay?\u201d Alex asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We drove another block.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to stay with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His hands tightened on the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t mean forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd every time you say that, I get more angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I\u2019ll stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked out the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere am I supposed to go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can stay with me and be angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite myself, I laughed.<\/p>\n<p>A single exhausted sound.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may be the first useful thing you\u2019ve said today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His house sat on a quiet street lined with maples. I had visited hundreds of times, but entering that afternoon felt different.<\/p>\n<p>There was no Trent behind me asking how long we would stay.<\/p>\n<p>No text arriving before dessert.<\/p>\n<p>No reason to leave early.<\/p>\n<p>Alex carried my suitcase upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>I took the guest room.<\/p>\n<p>He did not mention that it had once been my mother\u2019s sewing room before he renovated the house.<\/p>\n<p>I noticed anyway.<\/p>\n<p>A folded quilt lay at the foot of the bed.<\/p>\n<p>My mother had made it.<\/p>\n<p>I sat beside it and cried for the first time since the ambulance.<\/p>\n<p>Not dramatically.<\/p>\n<p>No sobbing collapse.<\/p>\n<p>Just steady tears that would not stop.<\/p>\n<p>Alex remained downstairs.<\/p>\n<p>He understood that much.<\/p>\n<p>I woke several hours later to my phone ringing.<\/p>\n<p>A temporary device sat on the nightstand.<\/p>\n<p>Alex had set it up using my old number while I slept.<\/p>\n<p>I almost ignored the call.<\/p>\n<p>Then I saw Officer Daniels.<\/p>\n<p>I answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Hale?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe searched the storage unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat upright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Rachel dead?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question came out before I could stop it.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels did not answer right away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did not find a body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relief came, weak and partial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found personal property belonging to Rachel Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClothing. Documents. Medical paperwork. Photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mind snagged on one word.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMedical?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat medical paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t discuss all of it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas she sick?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo indication of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPregnancy records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel was pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt some point before she disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow far along?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately four months based on the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I placed my hand over my own stomach.<\/p>\n<p>The parallel made me nauseous.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Trent the father?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she name him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot in what we\u2019ve reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood and began pacing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a second set of records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn your name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinancial documents. Copies of identification. Employment records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Rachel have my records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t think she did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were put there later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy Trent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My frustration rose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficer Daniels, I know you have to say possibly. I understand that. But please tell me what you actually think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was silent for a moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think your husband used that unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecently?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow recently?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found receipts from this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Three months earlier he had opened the nursery floor.<\/p>\n<p>This year he had visited the unit rented under my identity.<\/p>\n<p>Everything connected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was he storing about me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels\u2019s voice became careful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDocuments that could allow someone to assume your identity or control your finances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat down again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCopies of your passport. Social Security information. Banking data. Insurance papers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLife insurance?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have the final figure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me what you saw.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne policy appeared to be for one million dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I heard footsteps on the stairs.<\/p>\n<p>Alex appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n<p>He saw my face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I raised one finger.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere may be additional policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeneficiary?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour husband.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA folder containing information about your pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat information?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAppointment dates. Doctor information. Delivery estimates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt suddenly exposed in a way violence had not accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>My pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>My child.<\/p>\n<p>Mapped and stored in a hidden unit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas there anything about the baby?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex stepped into the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>he whispered.<\/p>\n<p>I shook my head at him.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was an envelope labeled after your expected delivery date.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My grip tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmpty?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then a thought struck me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless he planned to put something in it later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels did not respond.<\/p>\n<p>The silence told me enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin chilled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaken before she disappeared?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOthers are more recent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow recent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne appears to have been taken eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My entire body went still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t confirm that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have a photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a photograph of a woman who strongly resembles her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOutside a grocery store in another state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich state?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Trent have that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to determine that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could hear my own breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel had not necessarily vanished forever.<\/p>\n<p>She may have escaped.<\/p>\n<p>And Trent had found her again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he contact her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he planning to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The uncertainty felt endless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why keep the photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one of our questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex gestured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpeaker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficer Daniels,\u201d Alex said, \u201cdid you identify the final number Rachel gave me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the other groups?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo relate to the storage unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the rest?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne may correspond to a date.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat date?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo months before Rachel disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would she give Alex a date from before she vanished?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels answered carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause something may have happened that day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found a matching receipt in the unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA motel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOutside Portland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oregon again.<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Rachel there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat name is on the receipt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost dropped the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I had never been to Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrent had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe traveled there for work before you got married.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered.<\/p>\n<p>A weeklong conference.<\/p>\n<p>He had sent photographs from a hotel room.<\/p>\n<p>He brought me back a silver necklace.<\/p>\n<p>I still owned it.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels spoke again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also found travel receipts under your husband\u2019s name from the same period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Trent and Rachel were in Oregon together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t prove Rachel was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut someone using my name was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pressed my fingers against my forehead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does any of this have to do with me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Rachel tried to create a trail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA trail using my identity?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe not Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither man answered.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is one more item you should know about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found a video camera.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOld?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny recordings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral memory cards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s on them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re being reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you watched any?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His hesitation frightened me more than the answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Hale, I want you to understand that the footage is disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears to show Rachel Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA motel room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>I knew before he said it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Trent there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who is recording?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe speaks to the camera.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My heart pounded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t give you the entire statement yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive me one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels breathed slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says she believes Trent intends to replace her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReplace her with who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A chill moved through me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says Trent has been collecting information about another woman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen was the recording made?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSix years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before the fundraiser.<\/p>\n<p>Before Trent met me.<\/p>\n<p>Or before I thought he met me.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Alex.<\/p>\n<p>His face showed the same realization.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRachel says the other woman has a brother who is protective and suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room disappeared around me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex whispered it.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>I could barely speak.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she say my name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen it could be someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But none of us believed that.<\/p>\n<p>My knees weakened.<\/p>\n<p>I sat on the edge of the bed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Trent was collecting information about me before the fundraiser\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex finished the thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen meeting you there wasn\u2019t an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every memory of our beginning changed at once.<\/p>\n<p>His perfect questions.<\/p>\n<p>His apparent attentiveness.<\/p>\n<p>The way he already seemed to understand what mattered to me.<\/p>\n<p>The charity cause he claimed to care deeply about.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he had known before I spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he had studied me.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Rachel had seen what was happening and tried to warn me before Trent could complete whatever plan he had begun.<\/p>\n<p>My voice came out thin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficer Daniels?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to see the video.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may not be possible immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I don\u2019t think you do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Alex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Rachel knew about me before I knew Trent, then she may have been the only person who understood why he chose me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels was silent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if she is alive,\u201d I continued, \u201cshe may still know what he planned to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex sat beside me.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels finally spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to locate her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>Afternoon had faded.<\/p>\n<p>The room had begun to darken.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The call ended.<\/p>\n<p>For several minutes, Alex and I sat without speaking.<\/p>\n<p>Then the temporary phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>A text message.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at it.<\/p>\n<p>Alex leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t open it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I already had.<\/p>\n<p>The message contained no greeting.<\/p>\n<p>No explanation.<\/p>\n<p>Only one sentence.<\/p>\n<p>You finally looked under the crib.<\/p>\n<p>Below it was a photograph.<\/p>\n<p>A recent photograph.<\/p>\n<p>Taken from across the street.<\/p>\n<p>It showed me and Alex entering his house less than three hours earlier.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/?p=7095\"><strong>Click Here to continue read next: PART9: Someone Had Photographed Us Minutes Earlier, and the Only Person Who Should Have Known About the Crib Was in Custody<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For several seconds, I thought Officer Daniels had misspoken. \u201cSay that again.\u201d He did not. The expression on his face made repetition unnecessary. Alex stepped forward. \u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d Daniels looked &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7111,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7094\/revisions\/7111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmnews168.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}