Chapter 7: The Detective Who Walked Away
Detective Hayes didn’t speak for several seconds.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not the message.
Not the photograph.
Not even the fact that Kai had somehow known exactly what question to ask.
It was Hayes’s silence.
A person who has nothing to hide usually answers quickly.
A person who has been waiting twelve years for a question knows exactly what to say.
“Detective,” I said.
He looked at me.
“Don’t call me that.””
“Why?””
His eyes dropped.
“Because I’m not one anymore.””
Ethan stood near the doorway, confused and frustrated.
“Can someone please explain what’s happening?””
I looked at my son.
“I’m trying.””
“No, Mom. Everyone keeps saying they’re trying. Kai.
Him. You.””
He pointed at Hayes.
“Everybody knows something except me.””
The pain in his voice cut deeper than any accusation.
I walked toward him.
“Ethan—”
“No.””
He stepped back.
“You brought someone into our home, and now you’re telling me he’s connected to some mystery from twelve years ago?””
“I didn’t know.””
“But you suspected.””
I didn’t answer.
Because I had.
And he saw it.
“Exactly.””
He grabbed his jacket.
“Where are you going?””
“To talk to Kai.””
“Ethan, don’t.””
He stopped.
Not because I convinced him.
Because he was hurt.
“You’re afraid of him because you don’t know him.””
Then he walked out.
The front door closed.
And for the first time in nineteen years, I watched my son choose someone else over me.
Hayes waited until Ethan was gone.
Then he spoke.
“I was removed from the case.””
“Why?””
“Because I found something I wasn’t supposed to find.””
I crossed my arms.
“What?””
He looked at the photograph.
“Rachel Mercer.””
The name landed like a stone.
“Mercer?””
Hayes nodded.
“That was Kai’s mother’s last name.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“But Rachel was married to my husband’s brother.””
“She had another life before that.””
I felt dizzy.
“How did I not know this?””
“Because people only show you the parts of themselves they want you to see.””
I hated how true that sounded.
Hayes continued.
“Rachel’s son disappeared before she married into your family.””
“Her son?””
“Kai.””
I sat down.
My legs suddenly couldn’t hold me.
“No.””
I repeated it.
“No, that’s impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because Rachel never had children.””
Hayes looked at me.
“That’s what everyone believed.””
I thought about every Christmas.
Every family gathering.
Rachel laughing.
Rachel holding Ethan when he was a baby.
Rachel saying she always wanted children.
A lie.
A twelve-year lie.
“Why would she pretend he didn’t exist?””
Hayes was quiet.
Then:
“Because someone helped her.””
“Who?””
He looked at the stairs.
At the house.
At the life I had built.
“You need to ask yourself a different question.””
“What?””
“Who benefited from Kai disappearing?””
The answer came instantly.
Too instantly.
My blood ran cold.
“Rachel.””
Hayes shook his head.
“Not alone.””
The room went silent.
“Someone else was involved.””
“Who?””
He hesitated.
Then said:
“Your former husband.””
I felt like the air had been knocked out of me.
“David?””
Hayes nodded.
“That’s why I was removed.””
I stared at him.
“My husband was involved?””
“I don’t know exactly what happened.””
“You investigated.””
“I investigated a missing child case where every piece of evidence disappeared.””
He looked exhausted.
“Photos vanished. Witness statements changed. Records were altered.””
“And you did nothing?””
His face tightened.
“I tried.””
The anger came before the sadness.
“You tried?””
“I went to your house.””
“When?””
“The night after Kai disappeared.””
I froze.
“You never came.””
“Yes, I did.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I would remember.””
“You wouldn’t.””
The way he said it made my stomach turn.
“What does that mean?””
Hayes looked directly at me.
“It means someone made sure you forgot.””
I stared at him.
Nobody spoke.
Then my phone buzzed.
A video message.
From Kai.
I opened it.
His face appeared on the screen.
He looked tired.
Older than nineteen.
“Laura,” he said.
My heart tightened.
“I know you’re with Hayes.””
I looked at the detective.
“How?””
Kai continued.
“He’ll tell you he tried to help me.””
A pause.
“He did.””
Hayes looked surprised.
“He’ll tell you other people stopped him.””
Kai’s expression changed.
“And that’s true too.””
Then he leaned closer to the camera.
“But there is one thing he never told you.””
The video paused.
A second later, the final sentence appeared.
*Detective Hayes was the last person who saw me before I disappeared.*
I looked up.
Hayes was staring at the phone.
May you like
And for the first time…
he looked guilty.
