The room spun. “What?” I whispered. “She wasn’t there,” he repeated. “No sign of her body, no blood, no indication she was inside when the car entered the water.” I stared at him, unable to understand. “That’s impossible. She left with him.”
“We know,” Marcus said quietly. “That’s why this is now a missing persons case, not simply an accident.” My hands trembled as I clutched the edge of the couch. “Then what happened?” Marcus opened the folder. “There’s more,” he said. He slid out photographs. The crumpled car. The seawater-soaked interior. The driver’s seat belt still fastened.
And then the detail that made my stomach drop. “Your husband wasn’t driving toward the hospital,” Marcus said. I blinked. “He was driving in the opposite direction. Toward Harbor Point.” My voice cracked. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he go there?” Marcus studied me carefully. “Did Daniel have any reason to be near the marina? Any friends, work contacts?”
I shook my head, panic rising. “No… not that I know of.” Then Marcus delivered the next blow. “Mrs. Carter… Daniel’s toxicology report came back.” My breath caught. “There were high levels of sedatives in his bloodstream.” I froze. “Sedatives?”
“He was likely drugged before the crash,” Marcus confirmed. I couldn’t process it. Drugged? Daniel never took medication. Marcus leaned forward. “This doesn’t look like an accident. It looks staged.” My throat tightened. “Are you saying someone… did this to him?” Marcus’s eyes were sharp. “We believe Daniel may have been incapacitated, then the car was driven into the water intentionally.”
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