Chapter 7 - THE BLACK BOX
Savannah called the detective.
She did not break into the house.
She had learned enough already to understand that evidence mattered more than rage.
Police obtained permission to retrieve Milo's school belongings while Janice was present.
Savannah went with them.
The kitchen had been cleaned.
No broken glass.
No juice.
No fallen chair.
The room looked normal again.
That bothered Savannah.
Violence could disappear frighteningly quickly once someone wiped the floor.
The garage was different.
Milo had described a black lockbox behind Derek's workbench.
It was gone.
Savannah looked at Janice.
“Where is it?”
Janice frowned.
“What?”
“The box.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
The detective noticed fresh scrape marks in the dust beneath the workbench.
Something heavy had recently been moved.
Savannah walked through the garage.
Then she saw Derek's old pickup through the side window.
It was parked behind the shed.
Police searched it under the conditions of Derek's protective-order investigation.
Behind the passenger seat sat the black box.
Inside were bank statements.
Savannah initially didn't understand why they mattered.
Then she saw Milo's name.
MILO HAYES BENEFIT TRUST.
Balance three years earlier:
$186,430.
Current balance:
$17,912.
Savannah's mouth went dry.
“What trust?”
Caleb answered later.
His mother—Milo's biological grandmother—had died when Milo was three.
She left him nearly two hundred thousand dollars.
Because Janice had sole custody, she had been appointed trustee.
The money could legally be used only for Milo's health, education and welfare.
The statements showed withdrawals.
Cash.
Transfers.
A truck purchase.
Mortgage payments.
A vacation.
Derek's failed contracting business.
Savannah looked at Caleb.
“So that's what Milo heard.”
“The money is almost gone.”
Caleb nodded.
Savannah thought about Derek striking Milo with the belt.
Janice watching.
Their terror when Caleb returned.
This was no longer only about an abusive stepfather.
May you like
If Caleb regained access to his son—
he would also see the accounts.
