Ethan Found a Frozen Backpack Hidden in the Garage — Then His Mother Saw the Name on the Travel Card
Chapter 7 — The Last Train
The card had been used at Central Station at 10:41 PM.
The night Julia vanished.
Security footage showed her entering alone.
She wore the same coat described in the missing-person report.
She walked toward the lockers.
Then purchased a train ticket using cash.
Destination:
ROSEMONT.
A city nearly two hours away.
Detective Ortiz contacted police there.
They found no record of Julia checking into a hotel.
No hospital visit.
No rental car.
Then Ethan noticed something while viewing the station footage.
“Who’s that?”
A man appeared several yards behind Julia.
Dark jacket.
Baseball cap.
He followed her toward the train platform.
Claire leaned closer.
“That’s Peter.”
Peter Lane.
Havenbrook’s operations manager.
Detective Ortiz froze the video.
Peter had told police he was home that night.
The station camera proved otherwise.
Investigators questioned him again.
This time Peter’s story changed.
He claimed Martin told him Julia was stealing confidential client records.
Martin instructed him to follow her and recover the documents.
“Did you?” Ortiz asked.
Peter shook his head.
“I followed her onto the train.”
“Then?”
“She saw me.”
“What happened?”
Peter looked terrified.
“She got off at the next stop.”
“And you?”
“I stayed on.”
“Why?”
Peter swallowed.
“Because she told me police already had copies.”
That was a lie.
At that point police had nothing.
Julia had been bluffing.
But the bluff apparently worked.
Investigators checked the next station.
Julia appeared on camera again.
She left the platform.
Then entered a taxi.
And finally, after six days, police had a new trail.
