He Called at 3 AM to Move the Car, I Called 911 to Move the Body Chapter 02

He Called at 3 AM to Move the Car, I Called 911 to Move the Body Chapter 02

Detective Vance took the phone.

“Ethan Brooks?”

The man on the screen nodded. “I’m here.”

“Where are you right now?”

“NorthRiver Cold Chain Logistics headquarters.”

“You called Nora Hayes and told her to move the car?”

“Yes.”

He answered too quickly. Like he’d rehearsed the response beforehand.

Detective Vance pressed on. “Your car is parked in the B2 garage at Crestview Heights. You’re at headquarters. How did you know it was blocking the fire lane?”

Ethan on the screen hesitated.

“Property management called me.”

Detective Vance turned to the property manager.

The man waved his hands frantically. “I didn’t call. I swear I didn’t call.”

Susan jumped in. “Don’t let Nora Hayes lead you around by the nose! Married couples fight. Everyone has their little squabbles. She just wants to embarrass Ethan!”

Wendy’s eyes were red as she looked at me. “Nora, Ethan’s been under so much pressure lately. If you really care about him, stop pushing him like this.”

I stepped forward, staring at the man on the screen.

“Ethan.”

He looked at me. His gaze was flat.

I said, “Take the phone to the window.”

He frowned. “Nora Hayes, what are you trying to do?”

“Take it to the window.” My voice was barely a whisper. “Let me see the sky outside your building.”

The video went silent for two seconds. Three.

The picture froze.

Then the call dropped.

Brian immediately started yelling. “Bad signal, that’s all. Nora Hayes, you’re crazy. Get yourself checked out!”

Detective Vance looked up. “Say that again.”

Brian shut his mouth.

I stared at the dark screen, my stomach sinking further.

NorthRiver headquarters was on the fifteenth floor. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Perfect signal. Whenever Ethan video-called me from work, I could see the steam rising from his coffee.

The background in that video was too still. Too perfect. Like a picture pasted behind him.

Detective Vance had the tech team keep searching the car.

The K-9 unit arrived. They sniffed the trunk, the back seat, the drainage gutters. Nothing.

The techs sprayed Luminol. The lights went off. The garage went dark.

I held my breath.

No blue glow. No blood. Nothing.

Susan laughed coldly. “See? Officer, can you arrest her now? Calling the cops on her own husband at 3 AM? I wouldn’t feel safe with a woman like that in my house.”

Wendy murmured, “Maybe Nora just loves Ethan too much.”

That cut deeper than any knife.

I looked up at her. “Wendy, are you so close to my husband that you’d come to the garage at 3 AM with his mother and brother?”

She went pale. “You’re misunderstanding. I’m his secretary. Of course I’d come if there was a company emergency.”

“A company emergency?” I latched onto her words. “I called the police to a residential garage. Who told you there was a company emergency?”

Wendy’s lips trembled.

Brian stepped in front of her. “She misspoke. You’re twisting her words.”

I ignored him and turned to Detective Vance. “The garage is clean. Then we go to NorthRiver headquarters.”

Detective Vance didn’t agree immediately. “Give me a reason.”

“One: Ethan’s video background was wrong. Two: he blamed property management, but they never called him. Three: right before the call dropped, I heard a beeping pattern. Three short, one long.”

Detective Vance’s eyes narrowed. “What beep?”

I turned to Brian. His face was already tight.

I said slowly, “The temperature alarm from Cold Storage Unit 7.”

Susan shrieked, “That’s a lie!”

Brian jumped in. “Unit 7’s been under maintenance. A few beeps are normal.”

“I said three short, one long.” I stared him down. “Maintenance alarms are continuous. The three-short-one-long pattern only triggers when temperature inside the unit is abnormal. Brian, you can’t even memorize your brother’s company alarm codes, and you expect me to believe you?”

The vein in Brian’s neck jumped. Wendy clutched her cardigan tighter.

Detective Vance saw it all. He turned and gave the order. “Move out. NorthRiver Cold Chain Logistics headquarters.”

Susan lunged forward to block us. “You can’t! Do you have a warrant? Those units hold client cargo. Who’s going to pay if you break in and ruin the goods?”

I pointed at myself. “I will.”

Susan froze.

I pulled up the company registration and authorization documents on my phone. “I hold thirty-five percent of NorthRiver Cold Chain. Ethan gave me top-level emergency authorization years ago. Detective Vance, any losses from opening the units tonight—I’ll cover them.”

Susan looked at me differently now. There was hatred in her eyes. Fear. And a deep, hidden resentment.

My chest tightened.

Ethan. Where are you?