The officer pulled the pontoon against the dock and secured it before anyone else could touch it. Daniel stood behind the yellow tape Hale had quickly stretched across the entrance, staring at the blue backpack caught against the hull. Evan had owned it since spring. Claire had bought it after their son complained that every other backpack at school looked identical. A faded white patch shaped like a mountain was sewn onto the front pocket. Daniel could see it clearly from where he stood.
“Evan is sixteen?” Hale asked.
Daniel nodded.
“Where is he?”
“I thought he was at home.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Daniel turned toward her. “What does that mean?”
She didn't answer.
“Claire.”
“He left.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“You told me he was sleeping.”
“I thought he was.”
Hale stepped closer. “Mrs. Mercer, when did you last see your son?”
Claire looked toward the lake. “Around nine.”
“And what was he doing?”
“Eating breakfast.”
“Did he say where he was going?”
“No.”
Daniel's voice became sharper. “You knew he left.”
“I knew he went outside.”
“You told me he was asleep.”
“I didn't want you worrying before your meeting.”
“My meeting?”
“You were already stressed.”
Daniel stared at her. “Our son is missing, and you decided not to tell me?”
“I didn't know he was missing.”
“Then why were you afraid to tell me?”
Claire opened her mouth but stopped.
Hale noticed.
“Let's get somewhere quieter,” he said.
They went inside the house.
The kitchen still smelled faintly of coffee and toast. Grocery bags sat unopened on the counter. Daniel walked past them without looking. His mind was racing through the morning. At eight thirty, he had been on a conference call. At nine fifteen, he had gone into the garage. At ten, he had left for the marina office. He remembered seeing Evan's bedroom door closed.
He had not checked inside.
Hale sat at the kitchen table. “Tell me everything you know about this morning.”
Daniel did.
Claire listened.
When he finished, Hale looked at her.
“Your turn.”
Claire folded her hands together. “Evan and I argued last night.”
Daniel looked up.
“About what?”
“He wanted to go out on the lake.”
“He has his boating license.”
“I know.”
“So why did you argue?”
“Because he wanted to take the boat alone.”
Daniel frowned. “He has done that before.”
“Not this week.”
“Why?”
Claire hesitated.
“Because he was upset.”
“About what?”
She looked toward the window.
“His father.”
Daniel stared at her.
Hale's pen stopped moving.
“What about me?”
Claire's voice was barely audible. “He heard us talking.”
“About what?”
She shook her head.
Daniel stood. “Claire, stop protecting me from something I don't even know about.”
“I wasn't protecting you.”
“Then tell me.”
Before she could answer, Hale's radio crackled.
“Unit Three, we have a possible match on the phone recovered from the boat.”
Hale stood.
“Who?”
The voice on the radio answered, but the signal broke apart.
Hale walked toward the door.
Daniel followed. “Was it Evan?”
“I'll tell you when I know.”
Outside, more officers had arrived.
The crowd had doubled.
Someone had apparently posted about the missing boat online, and now strangers were gathering near the marina entrance. Daniel could hear fragments of conversation.
“Teenager…”
“Something happened on the water…”
“Police found a phone…”
Claire remained on the deck.
Daniel looked back at her.
She was staring at the grocery bags.
“Claire?”
She didn't respond.
He walked back inside.
“What are you looking at?”
“The receipt.”
Daniel picked it up.
The receipt was from the grocery store Claire had mentioned.
The time printed at the top was 11:58 a.m.
Daniel frowned.
“You said you left the store around eleven thirty.”
“I don't remember exactly.”
“You said you came straight home.”
“I stopped for gas.”
“After the store.”
“Yes.”
He looked at the receipt again.
Then at the bags.
“Why is there a second receipt?”
Claire's face tightened.
Daniel pulled a folded piece of paper from beneath the bread.
It wasn't a receipt.
It was a handwritten note.
Three words were written across it.
DON'T TRUST HIM.
Daniel's stomach dropped.
Hale came back through the doorway.
“What did you find?”
Daniel handed him the note.
Claire whispered, “I didn't write that.”
Hale examined the paper without touching it directly.
“Do you recognize the handwriting?”
Daniel shook his head.
Claire did not.
Then Daniel noticed something.
The ink.
Blue.
Evan always used blue ink.
Hale looked toward Claire. “Where did you get the groceries?”
“The supermarket.”
“Did anyone give you this?”
“No.”
“Was it inside one of the bags?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel stared at his wife.
“You didn't notice?”
“There were people everywhere.”
“Claire.”
“I was trying to get home.”
Hale looked between them. “Did Evan ever write notes like this?”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Whenever he was angry.”
Daniel picked up the paper.
“You know what this means.”
“No,” she whispered.
“You know.”
She shook her head.
Then a patrol officer called from outside.
“Hale!”
They all turned.
The officer was holding a plastic evidence bag.
Inside it was a second phone.
Daniel recognized the case.
It belonged to Evan.
His heart seemed to stop.
“Where did you find that?” he asked.
“In the boat.”
Daniel stepped forward.
Hale held up his arm.
“Don't touch it.”
Daniel stared through the plastic.
The screen was cracked, but one notification remained visible.
A message had arrived at 10:47 a.m.
Daniel could read only the first line.
MEET ME WHERE THE OLD DOCK ENDS.
Below it was a sender name.
MOM.
Daniel slowly turned toward Claire.
She had stopped breathing.
“That wasn't me,” she said.
Daniel's face hardened.
Hale looked at her.
“Mrs. Mercer, did you send your son that message?”
“No.”
“Then someone has access to your phone.”
Claire reached into her pocket.
Her phone was gone.
She searched the other pocket.
Nothing.
Then she looked toward the grocery bags.
One of the officers opened the front door of the house.
“Officer Hale,” he called. “You need to see this.”
Hale entered.
Daniel followed.
Claire remained frozen on the deck.
Inside Evan's bedroom, the window was open.
On the floor beneath it was a muddy footprint.
And beside the footprint lay the spare key to the pontoon boat.
Click Here to continue read next: PART3: The Muddy Footprint Led Police Toward a Secret Evan Had Hidden for Weeks, and Daniel Began to Wonder Whether His Son Had Planned Everything
Claire Came Home Carrying Grocery Bags, but Daniel Was Already Calling the Police About Something He Could Not Explain
Part 2 of 16
