Chapter 3 - THE PHARMACY PICKUP
Detective Laura Chen handled the investigation.
She warned Michael not to build conclusions from one bottle cap.
But she obtained the pharmacy records.
Natalie’s prescriptions had been filled monthly.
Antidepressant.
Anti-anxiety medication.
A medication used in substance-recovery treatment.
Someone picked them up.
Every month.
Authorization:
family caregiver.
Name:
Vanessa Carter.
Michael stared at the record.
“You told me you had no idea where Natalie was.”
Vanessa’s attorney answered for her.
Vanessa had picked up medication because Natalie periodically contacted her privately.
She claimed Natalie refused to disclose her location.
“Then how did the medication get under our floor?” Michael asked.
No answer.
The pharmacy also kept pickup signatures.
Vanessa.
Month after month.
Then Laura found a pattern.
The pickup dates aligned with nights Vanessa told Michael she was volunteering at a women’s support center.
Michael remembered.
Twice a month.
Sometimes weekly.
He admired her for it.
“You help people who don’t have anyone,” he once told her.
Vanessa smiled and said:
“Somebody has to.”
Now he felt sick remembering.
The support center confirmed something.
Vanessa had volunteered there.
But not for the past seven months.
She stopped shortly after Natalie “disappeared.”
Where had she been going instead?
Then Michael checked household card statements.
Convenience store purchases.
Bottled water.
Protein bars.
Electrolyte drinks.
Disposable wipes.
Cash withdrawals.
Always on the same nights.
Nothing dramatic alone.
Together, they looked like supplies.
Laura asked:
“Did you ever see Vanessa carrying bags into the living room?”
“No.”
“Basement?”
“No basement.”
“Garage?”
Michael stopped.
The service hatch was behind the dining cabinet.
The cabinet backed onto the hallway near the garage entrance.
Vanessa could bring things in while he was asleep.
Then a utility report revealed something stranger.
The old crawlspace had a tiny dehumidifier circuit.
Michael did not know it still worked.
May you like
Electricity usage on that circuit had spiked eight months earlier.
The same week Natalie vanished.
