But nothing went the way Patricia planned.
I came home early with a migraine. She never saw my car. It was parked beside the garage where I always park it, and she assumed I’d left it there that morning and gotten a ride to work.
She never saw me watching from the window.
Then Ethan took my car instead of me.
Daniel Ross was parked down the street, waiting. He saw my Subaru pull out of the driveway at 5:45. In the rain and the dusk, he must have assumed I was the one driving.
He followed the Subaru to the Exxon on Tunnel Road.
And then he watched Ethan get out of it.
Investigators believe that’s when Daniel Ross panicked.
He knew my car was evidence. If Ethan noticed something was wrong with the brakes, if he took it to a mechanic, or called the police, the whole plan would fall apart. And it would lead straight back to Patricia. And then to him.
So Daniel improvised.
When Ethan ran to help the man who collapsed, Daniel stole the car. Maybe he planned to dump it somewhere remote and set it on fire. Maybe he planned to drive it back to my house. Nobody will ever know.
Melissa went with him.
What neither of them knew was how badly Patricia had damaged that car.
They made it eleven miles.
A traffic camera on the Blue Ridge Parkway caught my Subaru heading uphill toward Craggy Gardens at 7:04 p.m. In the rain. Going fast.
Then the road started going downhill.
Daniel came into a sharp curve.
The brake lights never came on.
The skid marks showed he tried to turn hard. My Subaru crossed the center line, hit the guardrail, broke right through it, and disappeared down the wooded slope.
Daniel Ross and Melissa Crane died on impact.
When Detective Hale finished explaining all of it, I sat in his office for a long time without saying anything.
There was one question I couldn’t avoid any longer.
“Detective?”
He waited.
“Am I in trouble?”
“For what?”
I looked down at my hands.
“I saw Patricia do something to my car.”
“I know.”
“And then Ethan took the car.”
Detective Hale’s eyes narrowed just a little.
“You knew he was taking it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you warn him?”
“No.”
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
Sophia holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Toronto, where she developed her skills in news reporting, media ethics, and digital journalism. Her expertise lies in identifying key stories, crafting compelling narratives, and ensuring journalistic integrity in every piece she edits.
Known for her precision and dedication to the truth, Sophia thrives in the fast-paced world of news editing. At TheArchivists, she focuses on producing high-quality news content that keeps readers informed while maintaining a balanced and insightful perspective.
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