He Called at 3 AM to Move the Car, I Called 911 to Move the Body Chapter 06

He Called at 3 AM to Move the Car, I Called 911 to Move the Body Chapter 06

The lights in the interrogation room stayed on all night.

I sat at the end of the hallway, holding a cup of hot water. I didn’t drink a single sip.

Detective Vance’s team was still processing Unit 7. Bleach could wash the surface, but not the blood trapped

deep in the drains. The floor looked clean, but blood diluted in the cracks still reacted. The forklift had

human tissue residue on its front end.

Brian’s shoes had traces of Unit 7’s anti-slip flooring. Wendy’s computer had three folders.

[Ethan’s Voice Samples] [Video Replacements] [3 AM Plan]

When Detective Vance read those folder names to me, my vision went dark for a second.

The Three O’Clock Plan. They had calculated everything down to the minute. 3 AM-deepest sleep. Security shift change. Seventeen minutes of surveillance blind spot in the garage.

If I’d gone down, I’d have walked straight into their trap.

Detective Vance said: “Their original plan was probably to subdue you, then move Ethan’s body into your car. They already removed your dashcam. The back seat of your white Audi tested positive for chloroform

residue.”

I laughed. It hurt my throat.

That white Audi was Ethan’s birthday gift to me. I’d never driven it once in three years. He’d even put in the softest seats, saying he’d teach me slowly when I was ready.

Those animals used it to frame me.

I asked Detective Vance: “Have any of them talked?”

He shook his head. “Brian’s asking for a lawyer. Wendy’s sticking to the story that she was just following Ethan’s orders. Susan broke down-she keeps saying her younger son has had a hard life.”

A hard life.

I almost crushed the cup in my hand.

Ethan had a hard life too. His father died when he was seventeen. He worked hauling cargo while he was still in school. At twenty-three, he built NorthRiver’s first fleet. He bought Susan a house, paid Brian’s debts,

found jobs for every relative.

And in the end, his own mother pushed him into a cold storage room with one sentence: “My younger son

has had a hard life.”

I closed my eyes.

I couldn’t fall apart. I needed Ethan to leave this world clean. And I needed them to rot in plain sight.

I stood up. “Detective Varice, I need to go home.”

He frowned. “Now?”

“Ethan had a habit. He never kept important things at the office. He was afraid people would snoop.”

Detective Vance sent two officers with me back to Crestview Heights.

Everything was exactly as it had been last night. The black car keys still sat on the entryway table. I walked

around them and went straight to the study.

In the second drawer of the desk was an old photo album. On the cover was a picture from our wedding.

I flipped to the last page and lifted the lining. Inside was a thin metal USB drive.

Ethan had said: “Little Branch, If I ever do something stupid, use this to knock some sense into me.”

I’d laughed at him back then.

Now my hands were shaking so badly I almost couldn’t plug it in.

The drive opened. Inside was a complete ledger.

Brian had siphoned off 6.8 million dollars through suppliers in just three months. Wendy had helped him fake contracts and taken fifteen percent in kickbacks. Susan had two new properties under her name, with “gift from family” listed as the source of funds.

And there was an audio recording.

Ethan’s voice came through the speakers.

“Brian, come to the office at ten tonight. The money you took-I’m giving you one last chance to turn

yourself in. If Mom covers for you again, I’ll hand her over to the police too.”

The recording paused for a few seconds. Then Ethan’s voice softened.

“Little Branch, if you’re hearing this, it means I didn’t handle it right. Don’t be scared. Find Detective Vance

–he was my roommate in high school. He’s solid.”

I couldn’t hold it together anymore. Tears hit the keyboard.

Ethan. You were so stupid. You knew they were rotten to the core, and you still tried to give them one last

chance.

The officers sealed the drive. I wiped my face and messaged Detective Vance.

[Found the evidence.1

He replied fast. [Bring it in.]

I stared at the screen. In that moment, the fire inside me finally had direction.

Brian wants a lawyer. Wendy wants to play innocent. Susan wants to cry about her younger son.

Fine. I’ll block every single escape route they have.