{"id":1077,"date":"2026-10-04T14:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/?p=1077"},"modified":"2026-10-04T14:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:43:08","slug":"part-8-the-party-video-explained-why-laura-started-the-drive-but-the-missing-twelve-minutes-pointed-toward-someone-neither-of-them-mentioned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/?p=1077","title":{"rendered":"PART 8 \u2013 The Party Video Explained Why Laura Started the Drive, but the Missing Twelve Minutes Pointed Toward Someone Neither of Them Mentioned"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I asked Detective Ramirez one question three times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I see the video?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She gave me the same answer each time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The phone had been seized under a warrant. The recording belonged to an active criminal investigation. My relationship to the children did not give me access to raw evidence.<\/p>\n<p>I understood every word.<\/p>\n<p>I hated all of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDescribe it again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe clip begins outside the party house. Timestamp one twenty-eight a.m. Your ex-wife walks to the Mercedes with both boys. She puts Noah in the rear passenger side. Rick enters the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Brent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe appears approximately forty seconds later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrinking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has something in his hand. We can\u2019t confirm what\u2019s inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBottle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLaura enters the driver\u2019s seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrent passenger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCar leaves?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe clip ends before it moves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I rubbed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Rick could remember Brent driving later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy switch drivers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat phone recorded this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill working on ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer bothered me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have video from somebody\u2019s phone but don\u2019t know whose phone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe device was heavily damaged and apparently wiped. The memory card survived. Metadata is incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas the phone from the crash?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked through the glass toward the garage floor.<\/p>\n<p>Monday afternoon light cut across the concrete.<\/p>\n<p>The shop smelled of oil, metal dust, and burned coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Ordinary things.<\/p>\n<p>I wanted ordinary things back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe reconstruct the route.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraffic cameras. Private security systems. Cell-tower information if we obtain it. Witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you think Laura was driving during the crash?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think anything yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was careful to a degree that felt almost inhuman.<\/p>\n<p>But that discipline was probably why I trusted her.<\/p>\n<p>After we ended the call, I went back to work.<\/p>\n<p>A woman named Evelyn had been waiting two weeks for me to replace the water pump on her Buick.<\/p>\n<p>I had delayed her once because of Laura\u2019s Mercedes.<\/p>\n<p>Then again after the break-in.<\/p>\n<p>I refused to delay her a third time.<\/p>\n<p>There was something calming about a repair with no secrets.<\/p>\n<p>Coolant leaks here.<\/p>\n<p>Bearing fails here.<\/p>\n<p>Replace part.<\/p>\n<p>Bleed system.<\/p>\n<p>Test.<\/p>\n<p>Done.<\/p>\n<p>Human beings were never that cooperative.<\/p>\n<p>At three thirty, the school called.<\/p>\n<p>Rick had punched another child.<\/p>\n<p>I arrived fifteen minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>He sat in the principal\u2019s office with his arms folded, staring at a spot on the carpet.<\/p>\n<p>A boy in his class had apparently said Rick\u2019s mother was going to jail.<\/p>\n<p>Rick hit him once in the mouth.<\/p>\n<p>The principal spoke gently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has never behaved this way before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven what he\u2019s dealing with, we\u2019re treating this as a serious incident without pretending context doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rick said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>I signed paperwork.<\/p>\n<p>In the truck, we sat for nearly a minute before I started the engine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWant to tell me what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I put the key in the ignition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Mom\u2019s a criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Rick stared forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said his dad read it online.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnline?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said everybody knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach sank.<\/p>\n<p>I opened my phone.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>A local community page had posted photographs of police vehicles outside the Harlow lake property.<\/p>\n<p>The caption mentioned an investigation connected to a suspected hit-and-run.<\/p>\n<p>Comments filled the screen.<\/p>\n<p>People guessed.<\/p>\n<p>People invented.<\/p>\n<p>People recognized the Harlow name.<\/p>\n<p>Some mentioned Brent.<\/p>\n<p>One comment mentioned Laura.<\/p>\n<p>No children were named.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>Small towns complete unfinished stories quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Mom a criminal?\u201d Rick asked.<\/p>\n<p>I put the phone away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s for police and courts to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe lied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told me to lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo is she bad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That question was harder than anything Detective Ramirez had asked me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople can do bad things without every part of them being bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrent is bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost said yes.<\/p>\n<p>Instead I started the truck.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrent made choices that put you and Noah in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat means bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe children understood certain things more cleanly because they had not yet learned how adults complicate guilt.<\/p>\n<p>At home, Noah wanted macaroni shaped like dinosaurs.<\/p>\n<p>Rick refused dinner.<\/p>\n<p>At seven, the court-approved supervisor brought Laura for her first visit.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting took place at a family-services center.<\/p>\n<p>I waited in another room.<\/p>\n<p>Through a narrow interior window, I saw Laura kneel when the boys entered.<\/p>\n<p>Noah ran to her.<\/p>\n<p>Rick did not.<\/p>\n<p>Laura hugged Noah so hard that he squirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Then she opened her arms to Rick.<\/p>\n<p>He stood three feet away.<\/p>\n<p>I looked down.<\/p>\n<p>The visit lasted one hour.<\/p>\n<p>When the boys returned, Noah carried a new dinosaur.<\/p>\n<p>Rick carried nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Laura appeared behind the supervisor.<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes found mine.<\/p>\n<p>For a second I expected accusation.<\/p>\n<p>Instead she said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The supervisor immediately stepped between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease keep communication to parenting logistics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Laura nodded.<\/p>\n<p>I led the boys out.<\/p>\n<p>In the parking lot Rick stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom asked if I remembered who was driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every nerve in my body lit up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat exactly did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said, \u2018You remember Brent was driving, right?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked back toward the building.<\/p>\n<p>The supervisor was still inside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you answer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she say anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said sometimes memories get mixed up when people are scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I crouched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn\u2019t do anything wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas she trying to make me change it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did.<\/p>\n<p>But I would not put the conclusion in his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>I called Denise from the parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>Then Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>Then the family-services supervisor contacted her own agency.<\/p>\n<p>By nine that night Laura\u2019s visitation privileges were suspended pending review.<\/p>\n<p>The decision made Noah cry.<\/p>\n<p>That was the cruelty of consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Adults could deserve them while children still suffered from them.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday morning brought another problem.<\/p>\n<p>The bank declined my business card.<\/p>\n<p>I called immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The balance had reached its limit after the Mercedes parts and ordinary shop expenses.<\/p>\n<p>My supplier wanted payment.<\/p>\n<p>Payroll was due Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The repair bill Brent refused to pay had moved from insult to threat.<\/p>\n<p>Seven thousand dollars meant very little to a man with multiple dealerships.<\/p>\n<p>To me it could mean missing payroll.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus found me staring at the business account.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow bad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManageable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said manageable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou only say manageable when something is terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I shut the laptop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll cover payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy savings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have savings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked angry.<\/p>\n<p>Not at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI live with my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might need a lawyer for custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already need a lawyer for custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis shop doesn\u2019t survive by making employees finance my problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marcus crossed his arms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen send Brent to collections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLien the car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenise is checking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His eyes brightened slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was the first thing all morning that made me smile.<\/p>\n<p>At noon, Denise called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can pursue the repair debt, but we need to be strategic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Brent\u2019s attorney is already claiming the work was defective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what\u2019s strategic about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey want a civil fight because civil noise can muddy the criminal narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.<\/p>\n<p>Brent wanted the public story to become two angry men arguing about a repair bill.<\/p>\n<p>Not a drunk driver and a concealed crash involving children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I file a mechanic\u2019s lien?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn a vehicle titled to Laura, yes, subject to procedural requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019ll say she never authorized seven thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have texts?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I searched my phone.<\/p>\n<p>There were messages from Laura before the repair.<\/p>\n<p>Need it Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Order whatever you need.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t bother me with every part, just fix it.<\/p>\n<p>I read them aloud.<\/p>\n<p>Denise laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes people create excellent evidence because they assume they\u2019ll never need to explain themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We began preparing the lien notice.<\/p>\n<p>At 2:20 Detective Ramirez called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found the phone owner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned back in my chair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCynthia Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The name meant nothing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA guest at the party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriend of Laura?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMostly of Brent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to her phone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says she lost it that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the Mercedes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy was it in Laura\u2019s garage?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one of several questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the clock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Cynthia remember them leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Laura driving?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Brent was too intoxicated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That should have simplified everything.<\/p>\n<p>Instead Ramirez continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCynthia says Laura insisted on driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately ten minutes after they left, Cynthia received a call from Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat straighter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe asked whether Brent had left his wallet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCynthia says Laura sounded angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Brent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wouldn\u2019t explain. Then the call ended.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I tried to construct the route in my mind.<\/p>\n<p>Party house.<\/p>\n<p>Laura driving.<\/p>\n<p>Brent passenger.<\/p>\n<p>Children back seat.<\/p>\n<p>Argument.<\/p>\n<p>Somewhere they stop.<\/p>\n<p>Brent takes over.<\/p>\n<p>Crash.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat time was the call?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thirty-nine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My skin prickled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe crash was one forty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree minutes later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t leave time to switch drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went silent.<\/p>\n<p>If Cynthia\u2019s memory and phone record were right, Laura had been driving at 1:39.<\/p>\n<p>The Mercedes crashed at 1:42.<\/p>\n<p>Rick remembered Brent behind the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>Both things could not be true unless the switch happened almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere was the call made?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have tower data but not exact location yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Ramirez told me why she had called.<\/p>\n<p>A business camera two miles from the party house captured the Mercedes at 1:31.<\/p>\n<p>Laura was driving.<\/p>\n<p>A convenience-store camera captured the same vehicle at 1:34.<\/p>\n<p>Still Laura.<\/p>\n<p>Then nothing.<\/p>\n<p>The next confirmed event was the crash at 1:42.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have eight minutes missing,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwelve, depending on which timeline point we use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat road connects the cameras to Lakeshore?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo any require them to stop?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why would they switch drivers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That phrase again.<\/p>\n<p>I stood and walked toward the office door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRick said Brent was driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe Rick remembers what he saw.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Cynthia says Laura was driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Laura asked Rick yesterday if he remembers Brent driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The thought landed slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wasn\u2019t trying to convince him Brent drove.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was checking whether he remembered the switch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>A cold feeling spread through me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened during those missing minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That evening, after the boys were asleep, I opened the box where I had stored old divorce documents.<\/p>\n<p>I wasn\u2019t sure what I was looking for.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe proof that the past had always contained clues I refused to see.<\/p>\n<p>Near the bottom was a photograph from one of Rick\u2019s school fundraisers three years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Laura stood beside me.<\/p>\n<p>Brent was in the background.<\/p>\n<p>I had forgotten he attended.<\/p>\n<p>Beside Brent stood another man.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>Gray hair.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized him only because I had seen his face recently on a dealership website.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Harlow.<\/p>\n<p>Brent\u2019s father.<\/p>\n<p>Founder of Harlow Automotive Group.<\/p>\n<p>The man who had supposedly retired two years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>Then I remembered something Rick had said during the diner conversation.<\/p>\n<p>A detail I had barely registered because everything else had been worse.<\/p>\n<p>After the crash, before they went home, Rick said they \u201cwaited for another car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had assumed he meant a tow arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>Now I called Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>She answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI forgot something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated the sentence as soon as I said it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRick said they waited for another car after the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he identify who came?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Thomas Harlow\u2019s face in the old photograph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRamirez, did anybody call Brent\u2019s father that night?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe subpoenaed several records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t discuss everything yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat means yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn\u2019t need to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I heard her exhale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCraig, let us do our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before hanging up, she added one thing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep tomorrow afternoon open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRick\u2019s second interview is at two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe missing time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked down the hallway toward the room where my sons slept.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you think he remembers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At two the next afternoon, Rick sat in a quiet interview room with a child specialist while I watched from behind one-way glass.<\/p>\n<p>She did not mention Thomas Harlow.<\/p>\n<p>She did not mention another vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>She simply asked Rick to tell the story again, starting when they left the party.<\/p>\n<p>This time he added a detail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom was driving first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My breath stopped.<\/p>\n<p>The specialist stayed calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom and Brent were yelling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy the boat place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>She was already writing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrent got out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid anyone else get out?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you and Noah do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStayed in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened outside?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t hear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid anyone else come?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rick nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA black truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez\u2019s pen stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rick stared at the tabletop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa Tom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Harlow.<\/p>\n<p>The missing person nobody had mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>The specialist asked one final question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened after Grandpa Tom came?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rick looked toward the mirrored wall without knowing I was behind it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave Brent something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rick swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandpa Tom told Mom, \u2018If Craig ever finds out about tonight, all of you are finished.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/?p=1078\">Click here to continue reading: PART 9: Thomas Harlow\u2019s Midnight Arrival Explained the Missing Minutes, but the Object He Handed Brent Opened an Even Darker Question<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I asked Detective Ramirez one question three times. \u201cCan I see the video?\u201d She gave me the same answer each time. \u201cNo.\u201d The phone had been seized under a warrant. &hellip; 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