Page 67 of Rest In Peace

"I know where. You live on our street, don't you?"

The doctor’s polite smile faltered for a fraction of a second, an imperceptible shift to anyone not scrutinizing as closely as Sarah was at that moment.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," he confirmed with a nod, regaining his composure. "Just a few doors down, close to the beach."

"Right," Sarah murmured, a sense of surreal familiarity washing over her. The handsome doctor, whom she had only known in the context of her daughter's illness, was suddenly cast in the mundane light of neighborhood normalcy. It was an odd thing, one that left her feeling momentarily adrift.

"Small world," she added, though the sentiment felt hollow against the backdrop of their current conversation. A small world, indeed, but one that seemed all too vast when filled with the echoing silence of unanswerable questions about her daughter's future.

"Big place, then?" Sarah's voice was light, but her mind churned with the implications of his proximity.

"Quite," the doctor said, the corners of his mouth ticking up in a muted smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "The view of the water is rather calming."

"Sarah, we should go." Steven's hand closed gently on her elbow, a subtle yet firm reminder of their purpose. She glanced at him, reading the urgency in his posture, the slight crease between his brows.

"Of course," she complied, the word barely audible. Her gaze lingered on the doctor, tracing his jawline, searching for something undefinable in his expression.

"Thank you again," she managed, though her voice sounded distant to her own ears.

"Anytime, Mrs. Chapman," the doctor replied, his tone professional yet not without warmth.

Steven led her from the office, the click of the door shutting behind them echoing like a period at the end of a sentence. Their footsteps were muffled against the plush carpet of the hallway.

As they reached the exit, the warm air outside slapped against Sarah's cheeks, a bracing reminder of reality. She blinked rapidly as if waking from a trance. The world outside the doctor's office felt different, heavier somehow, laden with truths she couldn't unlearn.

"Home?" Steven's question hung between them, filled with everything left unsaid.

"Home," Sarah confirmed, her voice steady despite the tremor she felt within. They moved together toward the car, each lost in their own reflections.

Chapter 51

Tires screeched against the hot Florida pavement as I swerved around a slow-moving sedan, the Atlantic air whipping through my cracked open window. Cape Canaveral blurred past, a mosaic of sun-drenched storefronts and palm trees swaying with indifference to the urgency clenching at my chest. My fingers fumbled for my phone, the screen's glow a beacon of hope in the dimming light.

"Come on; come on," I muttered, tapping Detective Ryan's contact as if speed dialing could hasten his answer.

The line clicked, then buzzed—a voice called out. "Ryan."

"Detective, it's Agent Thomas." My voice was breathless, mirroring the pace of my heart. "Listen, I?—"

"What do you want, Thomas?" His words cut through the static, sharp with annoyance.

"Something's come up," I pressed, steering with one hand, the other gripping the phone like a lifeline. "We need to talk about the Chapman case."

“Absolutely not. I’m done talking to you.”

"Ryan, I spoke to Victoria, Sarah's kid," I blurted out, the words tumbling over themselves. "She heard someone in the house that night."

There was a pause, long enough for me to hear the distant sound of seagulls mingling with my pounding pulse.

"And?" Ryan's voice was a mix of impatience and disinterest.

"Adam," I said, my grip tightening on the wheel. "Victoria heard Adam's voice before her mom got there."

"Thomas, you're grasping at straws." The detective's retort was swift, dismissive. "You can't just?—"

"Grasping? She identified him by voice, Ryan!" My insistence bordered on desperation, the revelation too significant to ignore. “And there’s something else”

"Look, Thomas," he sighed, the sound crackling over the line. "Adam's been through hell, lost his wife, and now you want to pin this on him?"

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