Chapter 2 - The Photograph on the Wall
For nearly a minute, Emily could hear nothing but the hum of the small office refrigerator.
Not the kitchen outside.
Not chairs scraping the dining-room floor.
Not police radios.
Just that mechanical hum.
“You’re saying he did this before?”
Officer Ruiz sat again.
“I’m saying another woman sought legal protection from a man with Trevor Hayes’s name.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Emily heard herself speaking faster.
“He told me his last relationship ended because she cheated.”
Mason’s mouth tightened.
“What was her name?”
“Carrie.”
Ruiz and Mason exchanged a look.
Emily noticed.
“What?”
Ruiz said, “Kara’s full name is Kara Caroline Mills.”
Emily felt sick.
“He called her Carrie?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“He said she stole money from him.”
Mason looked down.
“Kara arrived at Safe Harbor with nineteen dollars.”
Emily stared at him.
“And a fractured wrist.”
The room tilted.
Emily gripped the chair.
“No.”
Mason continued carefully.
“She never stayed at the shelter itself. That address is confidential. Safe Harbor operates an outreach office downtown, though. That’s where I saw him.”
“You work there?”
“Volunteer.”
Emily glanced at his vest.
Mason understood.
“The Wolves raise money for the program. Repairs. Emergency transportation. Security improvements. Whatever they need.”
Emily almost laughed from disbelief.
“You?”
“Me.”
“I thought…”
“That we robbed banks?”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Something like that.”
“Some probably think worse.”
Ruiz’s radio crackled.
She stepped outside to answer.
Emily looked at Mason.
“Why did Trevor go there?”
“He wanted Kara’s location.”
“And they told him?”
“No.”
“What did he do?”
“He smiled.”
The word chilled her because Emily understood exactly what Mason meant.
“Very polite. Very reasonable. Said Kara had a mental-health crisis and stole from him. Said her family was terrified. Said he only wanted to know she was safe.”
Emily whispered, “That sounds like him.”
“The receptionist refused to confirm whether Kara had ever contacted them.”
“What happened?”
“He waited outside.”
Mason leaned back.
“Three hours.”
Emily’s hands became cold.
“Then what?”
“When one of the volunteers left, he followed her.”
Emily stared.
“Police stopped him two blocks later.”
“Was he arrested?”
“No. He said he was headed the same direction.”
“And they believed him?”
“They couldn’t prove otherwise.”
Emily thought of all the times Trevor had followed her into rooms during arguments.
All the times he had stood outside bathroom doors.
All the times he somehow appeared at places she had not mentioned visiting.
Mason reached into his vest.
Emily tensed.
He noticed and stopped.
“Phone.”
She nodded.
He slowly removed it.
After several taps, he turned the screen toward her.
A photograph showed Trevor standing in a parking lot.
Different clothes.
Same smile.
Same expensive watch.
Same cold eyes.
The picture appeared to have been captured from a security camera.
A date sat in the bottom corner.
Six weeks earlier.
Emily’s stomach turned.
“Safe Harbor circulated this among volunteers,” Mason said. “We were told not to approach him. Just call police if he returned.”
“So when you saw him today…”
“I knew him.”
Emily looked at Mason.
“Why didn’t you call police immediately?”
“Because I didn’t know whether he was there because of the shelter, and I didn’t know your situation.”
“But then I made the signal.”
“Yes.”
Emily looked at her own hand.
The hand she had almost been too frightened to raise.
A knock sounded.
Officer Ruiz returned with a younger detective wearing plain clothes.
“This is Detective Nolan Price.”
Price pulled out a chair.
“Ms. Carter, I understand you’ve had a difficult afternoon. I need to ask some questions about Mr. Hayes’s behavior.”
Emily glanced at Mason.
Price noticed.
“He can stay if you want.”
“Yes.”
Price nodded.
“Mr. Hayes has been detained for suspected assault and obstruction while officers complete the investigation. We also have probable cause to examine certain items visible inside his vehicle.”
Emily’s stomach tightened.
“What items?”
Price hesitated.
“A suitcase.”
Emily frowned.
“Mine?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“What does it look like?”
“Black. Hard-shell. Red luggage tag.”
Emily stopped breathing.
“That’s mine.”
“The one you packed two weeks ago?”
“Yes.”
Mason leaned forward.
“You sure?”
“My initials are on the tag. E.C.”
Price wrote something.
“Did you give Trevor permission to take it today?”
“No.”
“Did you pack it today?”
“No.”
“Did you know it was in his vehicle?”
“No.”
Price nodded slowly.
“Anything else missing from home?”
Emily tried thinking.
“My passport.”
She suddenly looked up.
“I couldn’t find it this morning.”
“Where do you normally keep it?”
“Desk drawer.”
“Did Trevor have permission to take it?”
“No.”
Price’s expression remained professional, but Emily saw concern.
“What else?”
“My grandmother’s necklace.”
“You mentioned taking that when you tried leaving.”
Emily nodded.
“It disappeared afterward. Trevor said maybe I lost it.”
Price stood.
“I’ll be back.”
When he left, Emily turned toward Mason.
“He packed my suitcase.”
Mason didn’t answer.
“He was taking me somewhere.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
“Yes, we do.”
Her voice rose.
“He told my manager there was a family emergency. He packed my suitcase. He came here after drinking.”
She stood suddenly.
“What if I had left with him?”
Mason stood too.
“Emily.”
“What if you hadn’t been here?”
Her voice broke.
“What if I never saw that stupid poster?”
Mason said nothing.
“What was he going to do?”
“No one knows.”
“I do.”
Emily began crying.
“I know Trevor.”
And she did.
That was the worst part.
She knew exactly how dangerous his calmness could become.
Mason kept several feet between them.
“Sit down before you fall.”
Emily shook her head.
“I don’t want to sit.”
“Then don’t.”
That answer surprised her.
Trevor would have ordered.
Mason simply stayed nearby.
After several minutes, Detective Price returned carrying a clear evidence bag.
Inside was Emily’s passport.
Her knees nearly gave out.
“We found this in the suitcase.”
He placed another photograph on the desk.
The open suitcase contained clothes.
Emily recognized them.
Jeans.
Sweaters.
Underwear.
Her toiletries.
All packed by someone else.
At the bottom was her grandmother’s necklace.
Beside it sat an envelope.
Price pushed a photocopy across the desk.
The document was titled:
VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION.
Emily stared.
It was addressed to Seaside Landing Café.
It claimed she was resigning immediately because she and Trevor were relocating out of state.
At the bottom was her name.
Emily Carter.
Signed.
Except Emily had never signed it.
“That isn’t mine.”
Price nodded.
“We suspected.”
“He forged my signature.”
“It appears so.”
Emily’s eyes scanned the page again.
Relocating out of state.
A shiver moved through her.
“Where?”
Price didn’t answer.
Emily looked up.
“You found something.”
“Trevor’s GPS had a destination entered.”
Mason’s expression hardened.
“Where?”
“A rental cabin near Boone, North Carolina.”
Emily stared.
“I don’t know anyone in North Carolina.”
“Does Trevor?”
“Not that I know.”
Price lowered his voice.
“We’re requesting a warrant for additional searches.”
Emily pressed both palms against the desk.
“Was he kidnapping me?”
“We’re not making that conclusion yet.”
“But you’re thinking it.”
Price didn’t reply.
That was an answer.
A knock came at the door.
Mark entered.
His face looked pale.
“Emily, there’s someone asking for you.”
She stiffened.
“Who?”
“Your sister.”
“Rachel?”
Mark nodded.
“She saw police cars when she came through the marina.”
Emily nearly ran.
Rachel was standing near the hostess station.
The moment she saw Emily, her face crumpled.
“Em?”
Emily crossed the room.
Rachel grabbed her.
For several seconds, neither woman could speak.
Rachel pulled back and saw the bruise on Emily’s arm.
“Oh my God.”
“I’m okay.”
“Don’t say that.”
Rachel’s voice shook.
“Please don’t say you’re okay just because you’re still standing.”
Emily began crying again.
Rachel held her.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I lied to you.”
“I know.”
“I told you everything was fine.”
“I know.”
“I blocked you.”
“I know.”
Rachel cupped Emily’s face.
“And I came every time you called anyway.”
Emily collapsed against her.
Behind them, Mason quietly stepped toward the exit.
Emily noticed.
“Where are you going?”
He turned.
“Giving you some room.”
“No.”
He stopped.
Rachel looked at him.
Then at Emily.
“Who’s that?”
“The man who saw me.”
Mason lowered his eyes.
Rachel walked across the restaurant.
For one second, Mason seemed more uncomfortable than he had standing in front of Trevor.
Rachel wrapped both arms around him.
He froze.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Mason awkwardly raised one hand and patted her shoulder.
“You’re welcome.”
Officer Ruiz approached.
“Emily, Trevor is being transported for booking.”
Emily turned.
Through the window, she could see him outside.
Hands cuffed behind his back.
For a moment, satisfaction moved through her.
Then Trevor turned his head.
He found her through the glass.
And smiled.
Not a normal smile.
A promise.
Emily shivered.
Mason saw it.
“He wants you scared.”
“I am scared.”
“That doesn’t mean he wins.”
Detective Price approached with a folder.
“There’s one more thing.”
Emily almost laughed.
“How can there possibly be one more thing?”
Price looked grim.
“When officers searched Trevor for identification, we found two driver’s licenses.”
Rachel frowned.
“Fake?”
“One appears legitimate.”
“And the other?”
Price opened the folder.
A copied license showed Trevor’s photograph.
But the name beneath it was different.
TRAVIS HAYES HARLAN.
Emily stared.
“That’s not his name.”
Price looked at her.
May you like
“We’re beginning to wonder which one is.”
And three hours after Emily had silently asked a stranger for help, she realized she might have been living with a man she had never truly known at all.
