Richard slowly sat back.
For a moment, he imagined Laura driving through the rain, frightened but hopeful that her husband was finally ready to hear the truth.
He imagined her checking the road signs.
Turning toward the old construction office.
Perhaps rehearsing what she would say.
Then the crash.
The police.
The telephone call.
The terrible drive to the hospital.
He pressed his fingers against his forehead.
“Did she ever reach Millbrook?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Richard looked up.
“Where did it happen?”
“About a mile before the office.”
He swallowed.
Daniel continued.
“The original police report described her losing control during heavy rain. But it also mentioned damage to the side of her car that investigators could not conclusively explain.”
Richard stared.
“I was told she hit a guardrail.”
Daniel nodded.
“That was one theory.”
He opened another file.
“But a later examination raised the possibility of contact with another vehicle.”
Richard felt his pulse quicken.
“Another vehicle?”
Daniel spoke carefully.
“The physical evidence was incomplete. The road was wet. The car was severely damaged. The available witness statements conflicted.”
He paused.
“So the case remained classified as a fatal collision without sufficient evidence to establish criminal involvement.”
Richard looked down.
“And you suspected someone forced her off the road.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“I suspected it was possible.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
The investigator studied him.
“Richard, I called you.”
The words struck him.
Daniel continued.
“I also provided the financial material and my concerns to the investigators. But suspicion wasn't proof, and you made it clear you didn't want my involvement.”
Richard closed his eyes.
He remembered.
The telephone call.
The anger.
Nicole standing beside him afterward, telling him Daniel was trying to exploit Laura's death.
He swallowed.
“I shut you out.”
Daniel's expression softened.
“Yes.”
For a moment, Richard could not speak.
Then the investigator leaned forward.
“But you can help now.”
Richard looked up.
Daniel tapped the folder.
“We need a qualified attorney. We need to preserve the records. And we need to let the appropriate investigators evaluate the new information without trying to conduct our own criminal investigation.”
Richard nodded.
He looked toward Laura's handwriting.
Then whispered, “I'll do whatever it takes.”
Daniel held his gaze.
“Then begin by making sure your children are safe.”
Richard became still.
Daniel continued.
“Whatever happened six years ago, Maya and Ethan are living through something serious right now.”
Richard looked down.
He remembered Maya asking him to believe her.
Ethan trembling in the kitchen doorway.
The photograph of Laura back on the hallway wall.
His voice broke.
“I nearly lost them too.”
Daniel said nothing.
Richard looked up.
“I was living in the same house, and I didn't see what was happening.”