Chapter 9 - THE RABBIT ELISE SEWED
Daniel did not cut open Lily’s toy.
He explained why investigators wanted to examine it and let her decide whether to surrender it temporarily. Lily cried and said it still smelled like her mother, though Daniel knew no scent could last three years.
“Will they hurt him?” she asked.
“They’ll use an X-ray first.”
Lily placed the rabbit in an evidence box herself.
Imaging revealed a thin metal capsule inside one ear. Elise had opened the seam by hand and resewn it with blue thread. Technicians removed the capsule without damaging the fabric.
Inside was not the supplier ledger.
It held a small brass key and a note written on waterproof paper:
If Daniel finds this, ask why Harrison arrived before the ambulance.
Daniel read the sentence twice.
The crash report recorded the first emergency call at 8:42 p.m. Harrison’s toll records placed his car six miles away at 8:39. He had told Daniel he learned of the crash from police near midnight.
Harrison admitted receiving a panicked call from Elise minutes before the collision. She said someone was following her and asked him to meet at a storage facility. He drove toward her location, saw the wreck, and stopped.
“Why didn’t your name appear in the report?”
Harrison’s face tightened. “I left before officers took statements.”
“My wife was dying.”
“An off-duty paramedic was treating her. Lily was already in another car. I saw a North Coast vehicle near the trees. I thought whoever followed Elise might come back.”
“So you left.”
Harrison looked at the floor.
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The brass key bore the number 318 and the logo of Grand Central Terminal’s old private storage service.
The locker had been paid through the current year.
