Chapter 4: The Passenger Who Was Never There
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
The dining room seemed to tilt around me. The crystal chandelier above us blurred into a thousand tiny lights, and the familiar faces surrounding the table suddenly looked like strangers.
My father hadn't been alone that night.
Someone else had been in the car.
Someone the police report had never mentioned.
"Who?"" I finally whispered.
Samuel Harrison closed his briefcase.
"That's what your father wanted you to discover.""
I shook my head.
"No. You can't just tell me that and expect me to wait. Who was in the car?""
Samuel glanced toward Arthur.
My grandfather looked equally troubled.
"Samuel," Arthur said, "she deserves the truth.""
"I agree. But I need to be certain before I give her a name.""
Vanessa suddenly laughed.
It was a short, unpleasant sound.
"This is getting ridiculous. You're all acting like Dad was murdered by some mysterious stranger.""
I turned toward her.
"Nobody said murdered.""
Her expression changed.
For one brief second, she looked as though she had forgotten where she was.
Samuel noticed.
"Miss Carter, did you know about the second passenger?""
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
"No.""
"Then why did you react?""
"Because this entire evening has been a circus.""
"That's not an answer.""
She reached for Derek's hand.
"Come on. We're leaving.""
Arthur nodded toward the security guards.
"Nobody leaves.""
Vanessa's voice rose.
"You cannot keep us prisoner!""
"No," Samuel replied calmly.
"But I can inform the police that potentially relevant witnesses are attempting to leave before giving statements.""
Derek slowly released Vanessa's hand.
That small movement made her turn on him.
"Seriously?""
He avoided her eyes.
I watched them carefully.
There was something between them that neither wanted to discuss.
Samuel removed another document from his briefcase.
"This is the original police accident report. Not the amended version that was eventually circulated to the insurance company.""
I leaned forward.
"There's another version?""
"Yes.""
He placed both reports side by side.
The first listed two occupants.
Daniel Carter.
And an unidentified female passenger.
The second listed one.
Daniel Carter.
I stared at the pages.
"Why was it changed?""
Samuel tapped a line near the bottom.
"The original report indicated that a witness saw someone exit the passenger side of the vehicle before emergency services arrived.""
My stomach tightened.
"Someone got out?""
"Apparently.""
"Who?""
"We don't know yet.""
I looked at Grandfather.
"Did you know?""
Arthur shook his head.
"No. I was told you and Daniel were the only occupants.""
"Then why didn't you investigate?""
His eyes filled with regret.
"Because I was told the witness had been mistaken. I was grieving my son, Nia. I wanted to believe the accident was exactly what everyone said it was.""
Vanessa suddenly grabbed her handbag.
"That's enough.""
Arthur looked at her.
"Sit down.""
"I have nothing to do with this.""
Samuel studied her.
"Then perhaps you'll be willing to answer one question.""
She stopped.
"Which question?""
"Where were you on the evening of October seventeenth, four years ago?""
Her face went blank.
I knew the date.
It was the night of the accident.
Vanessa glanced at Richard.
My uncle stared at his plate.
"I was at home," she answered.
Samuel opened another folder.
"Interesting. Because according to the original witness statement, a woman wearing a red coat was seen leaving the vehicle.""
Vanessa's hand tightened around her handbag.
"I owned dozens of red coats.""
"Did you own one with a missing button?""
She said nothing.
Samuel placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a red wool coat lying on the hood of a police vehicle.
One button was missing near the collar.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was wearing a red dress tonight.
Her expression had become frighteningly still.
"That coat," Samuel continued, "was recovered from a roadside barrier approximately forty yards from the accident.""
My grandfather slowly stood.
"Vanessa?""
She shook her head.
"You're making a mistake.""
"Then tell us where you were.""
"I said I was home!""
Samuel turned the photograph around.
On the back was a handwritten evidence number.
And beneath it, a name.
Vanessa Carter.
I felt the room disappear around me.
"You were there?"" I asked.
She looked at me.
For the first time, she didn't look angry.
She looked desperate.
"Nia, listen to me.""
"Did you get into the car with my father?""
She opened her mouth.
No words came out.
Derek stepped backward.
I noticed.
Samuel noticed too.
"Mr. Derek," he said, "you appear to know something.""
Derek shook his head.
"I wasn't there.""
"Nobody accused you of being there.""
Vanessa grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't say anything.""
Derek looked down at her hand.
Then he looked at me.
"I think you should know something.""
Vanessa's face twisted.
"Derek!""
He pulled away.
"Richard told me he had paid someone to remove the original passenger statement from the police file.""
My uncle stood so quickly his chair fell backward.
"You're lying!""
Derek continued.
"He said the woman had been identified, but the family didn't want her name appearing in the investigation.""
Samuel slowly closed his folder.
"Who was the woman?""
Derek looked toward Vanessa.
Then he whispered three words.
"It was Vanessa.""
The silence that followed was absolute.
I stared at my cousin.
She began shaking her head.
"No. That's not what happened.""
I could barely form the question.
"Why were you in my father's car?""
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't know what was going to happen.""
"What does that mean?""
She looked at Richard.
He stepped toward her.
"Vanessa, don't.""
But she was already crying.
"Your father wanted to confront me. He said he knew about the money.""
I gripped the wheels of my chair.
"What money?""
She covered her mouth.
Samuel moved closer.
"Miss Carter, I strongly advise you to tell us everything.""
Vanessa looked at me.
And then she said something I would never forget.
"Your father wasn't taking you to the hospital that night, Nia.""
My heart stopped.
"What?""
"He was taking you somewhere else. Somewhere he said you'd be safe.""
"Where?""
Vanessa looked toward the dark windows.
"To meet the person who had been helping him investigate Richard.""
I stared at her.
"Who?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know. I never saw his face.""
Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"I kept this because I was afraid.""
She placed it on the table.
It was a parking receipt.
Dated the night of the accident.
The location was a private airport outside the city.
And written across the back, in my father's handwriting, were four words.
*Nia must meet her mother.*
May you like
My mother had died when I was nine.
Or at least, that was what my family had always told me.
