He Called at 3 AM to Move the Car, I Called 911 to Move the Body Chapter 03

He Called at 3 AM to Move the Car, I Called 911 to Move the Body Chapter 03

When the squad cars pulled up to NorthRiver Cold Chain, the security booth light was still on.

The guard on duty, Old Song, saw us and went pale.

“Ms. Hayes? At this hour…”

I cut straight to it. “Is Ethan inside?”

Old Song’s eyes darted. “I think… I think he’s in his office.”

Detective Vance pressed. “You think?”

Old Song stammered, “I didn’t go up.”

I walked to the access control system and pulled the log.

Ethan’s keycard: 9:48 PM entry. No exit.

Brian’s keycard: 10:03 PM entry.

Wendy’s keycard: 10:26 PM entry.

Susan didn’t have a card. But the garage gate log showed her car entering at 1:47 AM.

I handed the records to Detective Vance. “They were all here.”

Brian’s face was dark. “So what? I came to work. Wendy’s the secretary. Mom brought soup for my brother.”

I turned to Susan. “Where’s the soup?”

She choked. “I threw it away.”

I laughed. “Ethan’s stomach is sensitive. He never drinks oily soup at night. You’re his mother—you should know that.”

Susan’s eyes went red. “You’ve hated me for a long time, haven’t you? Ethan married you, and now he doesn’t even come home. Brian was sick and needed money—you two made excuses. Nora Hayes, you call yourself my daughter-in-law, but your heart is harder than stone.”

The security booth staff all peeked out at the commotion.

Wendy seized the moment, tears falling. “Nora, Ethan already agreed to a divorce. He wanted to give you the house and a cash settlement. Why are you dragging this out?”

I turned to her. “Divorce?”

Wendy bit her lip. “He didn’t want to say it publicly.”

Brian pulled out a document. “Here’s the draft agreement. Take the money and walk away. It’s better for everyone.”

He threw it at me.

I glanced at it. Five million dollars. Waive all claims to NorthRiver shares. Waive all marital property rights. The date left blank.

I picked it up and slowly tore it in half.

“Brian, do you know which stroke your brother always gets wrong when he signs his name?”

He blinked.

I slapped the torn paper against his chest. “Before you forged his signature, you should have known that the last horizontal stroke in his name always curves upward. The signature on this paper? Flat like a dead man’s EKG.”

Detective Vance grabbed the pieces. “Bag it.”

Wendy’s tears froze.

I kept going. “And you—you said Ethan was negotiating divorce with me. Last month, he just put me down as the second-in-command decision-maker for NorthRiver. Two days ago, he had our lawyer file a marital property confirmation. You’re trying to paint yourself as the victim without even checking the facts.”

Wendy’s lips went white. “Ethan and I are clean!”

“Clean enough to show up at 3 AM with his mother and brother to block the cops?”

I said coldly, “Don’t treat me like an idiot, Wendy.”

Detective Vance had already requested the internal surveillance footage. Minutes later, the tech came out frowning.

“Detective, Unit 7’s external camera is missing footage from 10:30 PM to 2:40 AM.”

“Reason?”

“System shows a maintenance request.”

I looked at Brian. “You said Unit 7 was under maintenance.”

Detective Vance picked up the thread. “Who requested it?”

The tech checked. “Applicant: Wendy Miller.”

Wendy’s head snapped up. “I did it on Ethan’s orders!”

“Evidence?”

She panicked, looking at Brian.

Brian’s face was ugly. “My brother told us verbally.”

Detective Vance laughed coldly. “Another verbal order.”

He waved his hand. “Let’s go. Unit 7.”

Unit 7 was in the back building. The whole way, Susan kept cursing me.

“This family is cursed! Ethan married you, and look what happened. You won’t stop until you’ve torn the Brooks family apart!”

I didn’t look back. There was only one voice in my head.

Ethan, hold on.

If they trapped you, I’ll break the door down. If they hurt you, I’ll put every single one of them away. If you—

I cut the thought off.

When we reached Unit 7, the alarm light was off. The door was secured with three new padlocks. White mist seeped through the cracks.

Old Song whispered, “Unit 7 never has locks on it.”

Detective Vance heard it.

Brian snapped at him. “Shut up! What does a security guard know?”

Old Song flinched and backed off.

I stepped forward. The locks were brand new. There was still adhesive residue from the stickers on the metal. I touched the edge of the door.

Wet. And a faint smell of bleach.

I looked at Detective Vance. “Open it.”

Brian charged at me. “Nora Hayes! Unit 7 has client pharmaceuticals in there. If the temperature changes, the losses could reach millions. Are you willing to take responsibility?”

I stared him down. “I’ll be responsible for it. Get out of my way.”