Chapter 14 - JULIA’S DECISION
Thomas refused to identify the second person without a formal agreement.
Prosecutors refused to promise protection from unknown crimes.
The stalemate angered Julia.
“He is using Sarah’s death to negotiate.”
“Yes,” Ortiz said.
“Can’t you force him to answer?”
“He has constitutional rights. We can investigate without trusting his terms.”
“What if the other person is hurting someone now?”
“Then we move as quickly as the evidence allows.”
Julia hated every answer that contained limits.
She had spent months believing rescue meant finding the correct authority and telling the truth. Now she understood that institutions could act responsibly and still move slowly.
Emily’s treatment team advised Julia to create predictable routines.
Breakfast at the same time.
A written schedule.
No surprise visitors.
Permission before touching.
Simple explanations before appointments.
Julia followed the plan until grief disrupted it.
On Sarah’s birthday, she drank two glasses of wine after Emily went to sleep. Alcohol was legal, and Julia had no addiction diagnosis. But Sarah’s history made the smell significant.
Emily entered the kitchen, saw the bottle, and froze.
“Mommy drank that before she forgot things.”
Julia immediately poured the remaining wine down the sink.
Then she made a mistake.
“I’m not your mother.”
Emily’s face changed.
Julia heard how the sentence sounded only after saying it.
“I know,” Emily whispered.
She returned to her room and closed the door.
The following morning, Julia reported the incident to Emily’s therapist and placement worker rather than hiding it.
The disclosure could have endangered the placement.
Naomi asked why Julia had consumed alcohol during a fragile transition.
“Because I was grieving and thought being an adult meant I could manage it,” Julia said. “I was wrong about what Emily needed.”
“Will you agree to remove alcohol from the home?”
“Yes.”
“Will you accept additional support?”
“Yes.”
Julia expected punishment.
Instead, Naomi documented both the lapse and the honesty.
“Safe caregivers are not perfect,” she said. “They are accountable.”
Julia apologized to Emily without asking for immediate forgiveness.
“I should not have compared myself to your mom or made you feel like your fear was unfair.”
Emily stared at Mr. Buttons.
“Are they taking me away?”
“No one has said that. The placement worker will keep checking whether this home is safe. I told her what happened.”
“You told?”
“Yes.”
“Even though you could get in trouble?”
“Yes.”
Emily looked at her for a long time.
“Daddy says people only tell when it helps them.”
Julia did not defend herself.
“Sometimes people tell because hiding makes things less safe.”
That evening, Emily left her bedroom door halfway open.
The investigation into Sarah’s death found another inconsistency.
Evelyn’s vehicle GPS history had been retained through an old insurance program. The data placed her car near Sarah’s apartment twice that evening.
First at 6:24 p.m.
Then again at 10:07 p.m.
Evelyn admitted the first visit.
She denied the second.
The GPS could establish the vehicle’s approximate presence, not who drove it.
A traffic camera captured the car returning toward Evelyn’s neighborhood at 10:31 p.m.
Two figures were visible through the windshield.
The image quality was poor.
One appeared to be a woman.
The other was too small or too low in the seat to identify.
Thomas’s account placed him at Sarah’s apartment earlier, but he claimed he left before 9:00.
Michael’s work van was recorded entering a parking garage downtown at 9:36, though the driver’s face was not visible.
Anna remained missing.
Then a letter arrived at Julia’s apartment.
There was no return address.
Inside was a recent photograph of Emily walking into school beside Julia.
Someone had taken it from across the street.
On the back, a message had been written in block letters:
STOP ASKING WHO WAS WITH EVELYN.
Julia called police immediately.
She did not touch the photograph again. Officers collected it with gloves and documented the envelope.
Emily was moved temporarily to a confidential location while authorities assessed the threat.
Julia went with her.
The photograph contained no usable fingerprints. The stamp had been purchased in cash. The paper was common.
But a small printed code on the reverse showed that the photograph had been produced at a self-service kiosk.
Store surveillance captured the customer.
The person wore a cap and surgical mask.
As the customer turned away, one identifying detail became visible.
A rattlesnake-shaped belt buckle.
The same design Robert Miller had worn.
May you like
The same design found in Thomas’s truck.
Yet Thomas remained in custody, and Robert had been officially dead for seventeen years.
