Chapter 9 The Secret Study

I heard Meredith's heels clicking across the hardwood floor upstairs.

"Riley? I know you're here. Your car's in the driveway.

I pressed myself against the basement wall, my heart hammering so loud I was sure she could hear it. The basement evidence would have to wait. Right now, I needed to find another way out.

The basement had a door that led to the backyard. I could slip out, circle around to the front, and Found you I spun around.

But it wasn't Meredith. It was Mrs. Greene, creeping down the basement stairs with Ash behind her.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. "I told you to leave!"

"Back door's blocked," Mrs. Greene hissed. "There's another car out there. A man."

Caleb. He'd lied about working late.

We were trapped.

"Riley!" Meredith called from upstairs, her voice sing-song and terrifying. "I just want to chat. Woman to woman."

Mrs. Greene grabbed my arm. "There's another way out. Through Caleb's study. There's a window that leads to the side yard."

"His study is locked."

"Not anymore." She held up a key. "I've been cleaning this house for fifteen years. I have keys to everything."

We crept up the basement stairs. I could hear Meredith moving through the kitchen, opening cabinets, looking for us.

"She's getting closer," Ash whispered.

Mrs. Greene led us down a hallway I'd never been in before. At the end was a heavy wooden door.

"Caleb's private study," she whispered, sliding the key into the lock. "He keeps it locked. Even from Evelyn."

The door opened with a soft click.

Inside, the room was dark except for moonlight streaming through a large window. Bookshelves lined the walls. A massive desk sat in the center, covered with papers.

"The window," Mrs. Greene whispered, pointing.

But I was staring at the desk. Even in the dim light, I could see stacks of documents. Files. Bank statements.

"Riley, we need to go," Ash urged.

"Wait." I moved to the desk. "Just give me one minute."

I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight. The papers were organized in neat piles. Bank statements on the left. Insurance documents in the center. And on the right...

My blood went cold.

Marriage certificates. Seven of them. All with different names, but the same man's signature.

Daniel Thompson married to Sarah Mitchell.

David Thompson married to Clara Hayes.

Dale Thompson married to Jennifer Morrison.

Derek Thompson married to Michelle Crawford.

The list went on.

"My God," Mrs. Greene breathed, looking over my shoulder. "He's been doing this for over a decade."

I grabbed the first bank statement. It was from 2015, under the name Derek Thompson. The account showed a balance of negative $47,000.

Then, three months later, a deposit of $500,000.

Life insurance payout.

I grabbed another statement. 2017. David Thompson. Another massive debt. Another mysterious windfall after a "tragic accident."

"He's broke every time," I whispered. "Then his wife dies, and suddenly he's rich again."

"Riley!" Meredith's voice was getting closer. "I know you can hear me. We really need to talk about your husband."

I stuffed the marriage certificates into my jacket and grabbed a handful of bank statements.

"Now can we go?" Ash pleaded.

Mrs. Greene was already at the window, trying to open it. "It's stuck."

I heard footsteps in the hallway. Getting closer.

"Let me try," I said, pushing past her.

The window was old and painted shut. I pushed harder. Nothing.

The footsteps stopped right outside the study door.

The door handle rattled.

"Locked," Meredith murmured. "How interesting."

We heard keys jingling.

She had keys too.

"The desk," I whispered. "Help me move it."

Mrs. Greene and I grabbed one end while Ash pushed from the other side. The desk scraped across the floor, blocking the door just as it started to open.

"Riley? Meredith's voice was right on the other side. "That's not very friendly."

The door pushed against the desk. She was trying to get in.

I grabbed a letter opener from the desk and jammed it into the window frame, prying at the paint. The window finally gave way with a loud crack.

"There we go," I breathed.

"Riley, sweetie, I really think we should talk, Meredith called. "I have some things to tell you about your sister in law. And your husband. Things you need to know."

I froze. "What things?

Mrs. Greene grabbed my arm. "Don't listen to her."

But I couldn't help myself. "What do you want to tell me?

"Did you know Evelyn was having an affair?

My stomach dropped.

"That's right. Your precious sister in law wasn't as innocent as you think. She was sleeping with her therapist. Dr. Marcus Webb. For months."

I thought about the photo on my phone. Evelyn holding hands with a stranger in a hotel room.

"She was planning to leave Caleb for him," Meredith continued. "Take Ash. Take half of everything. Your husband was devastated."

"She's lying," Mrs. Greene whispered.

But doubt crept into my mind. Was she?

"Riley, the fire wasn't murder. It was justice. Evelyn was going to destroy this family. Take everything Caleb worked for. Take his son."

The desk groaned as Meredith pushed harder against the door.

"Your husband loved her. He tried to save their marriage. But she was selfish. Cruel. She deserved what happened to her."

"Don't listen," Ash whispered fiercely. "Mom wasn't like that."

"Wasn't she? Meredith's voice was sweet poison. "Ask the boy. Ask him about the nights she didn't come home. Ask him about the phone calls she made in secret."

I looked at Ash. His face was pale.

"Ash?"

"She... she did go out sometimes. At night. After Dad went to sleep."

My heart cracked a little.

"And she did make phone calls. But

"But what?" Meredith called. "But she told you not to tell Daddy? But she said it was their secret?"

Ash nodded reluctantly.

"Riley, your sister in law was a cheater and a liar. Just like Clara. Just like all of them. They use men like Caleb, then try to take everything when they get bored."

I felt sick. Was everything I believed about Evelyn wrong?

"The insurance money? I called out. Was that justice too?

Meredith laughed. "Insurance money? Honey, what insurance money?

I pulled out the bank statements. "I'm looking at them right now. Five hundred thousand dollars. Deposited right after Evelyn died."

Silence on the other side of the door.

"Meredith? What insurance money?

When she spoke again, her voice had changed. Colder. More dangerous.

"Riley, you really shouldn't have gone through his things."

The desk lurched forward as something heavy slammed against the door.

"Go," Mrs. Greene urged. "Now."

I climbed through the window first, then helped Ash. Mrs. Greene was halfway through when the desk finally gave way.

The study door burst open.

Meredith stood there, but she wasn't alone.

Caleb was with her.

And he was holding a gun.

"Hello, darling," he said calmly. "I think it's time we had a talk."

Mrs. Greene scrambled the rest of the way through the window. We all three stood in the side yard, breathing hard.

"Run," I whispered.

"Riley." Caleb's voice drifted through the open window. "I know you can hear me. Come back inside. Bring the boy. We can work this out.

Like hell, I muttered.

If you run, I'll find you. You know I will. And when I do, it'll be much worse for everyone involved.

I looked at Mrs. Greene and Ash. My car keys are inside.

Mine too, Mrs. Greene said.

Then we walk. Stay off the main roads.

We started moving toward the treeline behind the house.

Riley! Caleb's voice was getting angry now. You have something that belongs to me. I want it back.

What? I called over my shoulder.

My son. And my wife.

We reached the trees and started running.

Behind us, I heard Caleb's voice one more time, carrying across the night air.

You can't hide forever, Riley. And when I find you, you're going to wish you'd died in a fire like the others.

We ran deeper into the woods, branches scratching at our faces.

Where are we going? Ash panted.

Town, I said. Police station.

They won't believe us, Mrs. Greene warned.

They will when they see what I took.

I patted my jacket, feeling the marriage certificates and bank statements.

We have proof now. We have

I stopped running.

What is it? Mrs. Greene asked.

I checked my pockets again. Front jacket pockets. Back pockets. Inside jacket pocket.

Nothing.

Riley, what's wrong?

My voice came out as a whisper.

The papers. They're gone.

What papers?

"The marriage certificates. The bank statements. Everything I took from his desk."

Mrs. Greene stared at me. "Where are they?

I felt sick. I must have dropped them. When we were climbing out the window.

So we have nothing?

I shook my head. "We have nothing.

We stood in the dark woods, three fugitives with no proof and no plan.

That's when I heard it.

Dogs barking in the distance.

Getting closer.

Riley, Ash whispered, his voice full of terror. Are those...?

Tracking dogs, Mrs. Greene finished.

The barking was getting louder. Closer.

And underneath it, I could hear Caleb's voice, calling through the trees.

Here, Riley. Here, boy. Come home.

He was hunting us like animals.

And I had a horrible feeling he'd done this before.