Chapter 5
I hired a private investigator named Ray the next morning.
He was ex-cop, mid-50s, with a scar across his left cheek and eyes that missed nothing.
I gave him a copy of the recording, the teddy, and everything Maria the nurse had told me.
He listened to the recording twice, his face grim.
“That’s your sister and her boyfriend, no doubt,” he said.
“Voice analysis will confirm it, but I’d bet my badge on it.”
He worked fast.
Three days later, he showed up at my house with a thick manila folder, his face tight.
“Your sister’s boyfriend, Jake, has a record,” he said, laying photos out on my kitchen table.
“Fraud, embezzlement, two counts of identity theft. He’s been running scams for 15 years. Lila’s been his partner for the last three.”
He tapped a bank statement.
“The doctor who signed Mia’s death certificate—Dr. Hale. He owes $500,000 in gambling debts to a loan shark downtown. Two days after Mia died, $200,000 was deposited into his account from an offshore shell company. I traced it back to Jake.”
My hands shook as I looked at the numbers.
They’d paid a doctor to kill my baby.
For $200,000.
Mia’s life was worth less than a fancy house to them.
“Dr. Hale skipped town a week ago,” Ray said.
“But I found him. He’s hiding in a motel 45 minutes outside of town. Scared out of his mind. Jake’s been calling him every day, threatening to hurt his 10-year-old daughter if he talks.”
I stood up, grabbing my jacket.
“Take me to him,” I said.
Ray hesitated.
“It might be dangerous,” he said.
“Jake could be there.”
“I don’t care,” I said.
“I need to hear him say it. I need to know exactly what they did to my daughter.”
Ray looked at me for a long second.
Then he nodded, grabbing his keys.
“Okay,” he said.
“But you stay behind me. If anything goes wrong, you run. Got it?”
I nodded.
As we drove to the motel, my hand rested on the teddy in my bag.
May you like
Mia was with me.
And this time, I wasn’t going to let anyone get away with hurting her.
