Chapter 35
After Rivers updated Sean on Roman Grayson’s police report about stalking, Sean was eager for answers.
The Grayson family was in their room, the parents finally calm but looking tired. They had been in such a state of anxiety since their daughter vanished that the weight of it all was beginning to wear on them.
The heightened worry, the anxiety, the pain; none of it was sustainable, and it was clear that it was finally catching up with them.
The mother stood and walked to Sean with quiet strength, hands clenched tightly, holding onto air as if it would stop her from being sucked into the abyss. They were barely holding on.
“I don’t have any updates,” Sean said, quickly but calmly, to try to ease the mother’s worst fears. He understood that every time he approached them, it could potentially bring the greatest relief or the greatest pain. “But I do need to talk to you about the police report you filed last week.”
Judy Grayson frowned. “Police report?” She turned to her husband, fuming over the fact that Sean had outed him. “What is he talking about?”
Roman cleared his throat, trying to downplay the truth. “It was nothing.”
“You don’t file a police report over nothing,” Judy said, her voice straining with anger. “What happened?”
“I received some letters at work,” he said. “They were…saying some things.”
“What kind of things?” Judy asked.
Roman sighed. “We don’t have to get into this.”
“I’m afraid we do,” Sean said.
“How is this going to help?” Roman asked.
“I asked you if there was anything out of the ordinary happening lately,” Sean said. “Filing a police report for stalking qualifies as ‘out of the ordinary.’”
“It was nothing,” Roman said.
Judy no longer tried to hide her anger, and she walked over and slapped his arm. Then struck him again, repeatedly, each hit harder than the previous one.
Sean hung back, not wanting to interfere, but when it became clear the woman wasn’t going to stop, he gently separated them.
“You idiot! You arrogant prick! How could you not tell me?” Judy screamed, red-faced and on the verge of tears again.
“In my line of work, through buying and selling companies, I get threats all the time,” Roman said. “I don’t tell you about all of them because they never lead to anything. But, yes, I report them, because that’s company policy, and we’re insured for that sort of thing.”
“What did they say?” Judy asked stone-faced.
Sean looked at Roman, who clearly didn’t want to bring it up anymore, but Sean wasn’t going to let the moment slip past.
“What did they say?” she repeated, in a low growl.
“They were letters threatening to hurt Karla,” he said.
“Oh my God,” Judy said, and she retreated a few steps until the backs of her knees hit the side of the bed, and she sat down. She wasn’t angry anymore; her face was pale, and she covered her mouth.
“You have to understand that I followed all the correct protocols,” Roman said to Sean.
Judy remained silent, and Sean remained alert about what might happen next. Finally, she stood and calmly walked over to her husband, then, as quick as a snake, slapped him across the face. The harsh slap stunned both Roman and Sean.
“This is on you,” Judy said. “All of this is on you.”
The mother walked away and returned to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Sean and the father remained in the bedroom. The slap had left a near-perfect handprint on the man’s face, but he didn’t touch it.
“You should have told me about the letters,” Sean said.
“I didn’t think they were legitimate,” Roman said.
“The officers you spoke with told you differently,” Sean said.
Roman grunted with frustration. “Do you have any idea how many of those reports I’ve filed over the years? The things these anonymous people have said they would do to my family and me. After the first dozen, I just started to tune them out.”
“It was dumb not to bring that information up,” Sean said.
“And would it have done any good?” the father asked. “The police back home couldn’t make heads or tails of it, and they found nothing to link the person responsible.” He sighed and then rubbed his eyes. “Everything’s gone fucking sideways.”
Sean stepped closer, and he made one thing abundantly clear.
“If there is anything else that you need to tell me,” Sean said.
“Anything else that has slipped your mind, then now is the time to do it. Because the next time I have to find you and talk to you about something that you should have informed me about earlier, I’m going to put you in handcuffs for obstructing justice. ”
Roman, who had no doubt become accustomed to a life where no one told him what to do, bristled with defiance. “My life, my family, my work, is none of your concern,” Roman said. “All you have to do is find my little girl. So, do your job, Sheriff.”
Sean still couldn’t believe the father was being so defensive, but after everything he’d experienced so far, he shouldn’t have been surprised.
Rivers contacted Sean as he stepped out of the room, and then he cleared his throat before he answered.
“Hey,” Sean said. “Are you finished with the Graysons’ financial audit?”
“Just waiting to hear back from their banks,” Rivers answered. “But I found a connection between the Chicago gangster and the hotel.”
“Yeah?” Sean asked.
“Turns out that Roger, the hotel owner, did time with Marco Donovan,” Rivers said. “They weren’t cellmates, but they were at the same prison at the same time for about six months.”
Had it not been for the fact that Sean had found that receipt in the trash can in room 109, he wouldn’t have given that a second thought. But he had been doing this work long enough to know that cases rarely had coincidences.