Chapter 2 - The Missing Denver Trip
The metal door slammed shut behind Patricia and the arresting officers.
Daniel nervously rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to make eye contact with me.
"She is completely insane, Rachel," he stammered defensively.
"I had absolutely no idea she would do something so monstrous while I was in Denver."
He reached into his jacket to pull out his phone, claiming he needed to call a defense lawyer for his mother.
While he dialed, a bright notification flashed across his lock screen.
It was a food delivery receipt from a very famous steakhouse.
That specific restaurant was located right here in downtown Scottsdale.
He had not traveled to Colorado at all.
He had been hiding in our own city the entire time.
I kept my face completely blank, pretending I had not seen anything.
"I need to go check on Lily in the recovery ward," I told him quietly.
I walked out of the room, but I immediately went straight to the hospital's visitor parking garage.
I found Daniel's luxury sedan parked in the darkest corner of the second floor.
I used the spare electronic key fob I always kept on my keychain to unlock his doors.
My hands shook as I opened the heavy glove compartment.
Underneath a stack of toll receipts, I found a secondary, prepaid cell phone.
I swiped the screen, discovering that it did not have a passcode lock.
There was only one active text message thread on the device.
The messages were exchanged between Daniel and a man named Vance.
"The old lady did her part, so the kid is in the hospital," Daniel had texted just two hours ago.
"You better hope the insurance payout clears by Friday, or I collect my debt in blood," Vance replied.
I dropped the phone on the passenger seat, gasping for air.
May you like
Daniel had orchestrated the poisoning of his own daughter to collect an insurance payout.
Suddenly, a heavy hand grabbed my shoulder from behind and spun me around.
