Chapter 4 - FOUR SERIAL NUMBERS
The next morning, Christmas decorations were still glowing in the living room when Susan spread copies of the pawn slips across Rachel’s dining table.
Nobody felt like Christmas.
Grant had left with his attorney after giving a preliminary statement.
The deputies did not arrest him immediately.
That frustrated Rachel.
Susan understood.
Investigations required more than fury.
So she did what she had done throughout her Army career.
She built a chain.
Instrument one:
Thomas Hale’s violin.
Pawned for $4,850.
Never redeemed.
Instrument two:
A German student cello assigned to Emily Carson, fourteen at the time.
Pawned for $2,200.
Instrument three:
A silver flute donated by Luke Hart’s grandmother.
Pawned for $1,100.
Instrument four:
A professional-grade trumpet used by Mason Reed.
Pawned for $1,650.
The slips spanned three years.
Different pawn shops.
Different counties.
Same customer.
Grant.
Then Rachel opened Second Movement’s current inventory files.
All four instruments remained listed.
Not sold.
Not missing.
In active loan.
Each child had apparently received a replacement.
Cheaper.
Similar-looking.
Just like Noah.
Susan leaned back.
“He swapped them.”
Rachel stared.
“Why not just mark them lost?”
“Because parents would ask questions.”
“And the kids?”
Susan looked toward the hallway where Noah slept on the sofa after refusing to go upstairs.
“Children doubt themselves before they doubt adults.”
May you like
Rachel closed her eyes.
That was exactly what Grant had counted on.
