Chapter 4 - THE FIRST LIE
Rachel obtained the parents’ pre-interview recordings through a preservation demand.
Linda told producers:
“I was nineteen.”
False.
She had been twenty-seven.
Robert:
“We were homeless.”
False.
They had rented an apartment.
Linda:
“We left her somewhere safe.”
False.
Robert:
“We spent years trying to find her.”
Unknown.
Emily ordered a copy of the original investigation file.
The detective assigned in 2001 had interviewed motel staff.
A housekeeper found Emily at 5:40 a.m.
She had been wrapped in:
a yellow hotel towel,
a gray sweatshirt,
and a receiving blanket.
The sweatshirt had a local union logo.
Police traced it to Robert’s workplace.
That was new.
Emily stared.
The original police file noted:
POSSIBLE PARENTAL CONNECTION TO TURNER PACKAGING UNION LOCAL 188.
Robert worked there.
Police interviewed twelve employees.
Robert was on the list.
His interview summary:
DENIES KNOWLEDGE OF INFANT.
STATES NO CHILDREN.
Emily stopped breathing.
“He was interviewed?”
Rachel nodded slowly.
“He knew police were looking for the parents.”
Emily looked at the date.
Four days after she was found.
Robert had been asked directly.
He lied.
That destroyed the story of parents who lost track of where she went.
They knew exactly what investigation was happening.
Then the file showed:
Linda had been living with Robert at the time.
No interview.
Police never connected her.
Then one note:
Anonymous caller reports infant may belong to “Bob T.” and girlfriend Linda.
Tip not substantiated.
No callback number.
Emily stared.
Someone almost told the truth.
Then Robert’s old union records produced another clue.
He missed two workdays around Emily’s birth.
Reason:
FAMILY EMERGENCY.
Rachel said:
“They didn’t lose you.”
Emily answered:
“They hid.”
Then she turned the page.
A handwritten detective note read:
SUBJECT ROBERT TURNER? NAME DISCREPANCY.
Emily frowned.
“Turner?”
Robert’s legal surname in 2001 had not been Carter.
It had been Turner.
He changed it six years later.
Linda changed hers too.
Why?
The answer came from county court records.
They had not changed names for marriage.
May you like
They changed names after being sued.
And the lawsuit involved another child.
