Derek told him that the papers in the case belonged to Ryan.
That they had been misplaced.
That when Ethan reached the storage unit, he needed to put them back inside his father’s boxes.
The forged evidence was supposed to be planted by my own nine-year-old son.
Someday, perhaps that same day or weeks later, I would discover the papers myself.
And believe my husband had been a criminal.
The camera outside our house made sense too.
Derek could watch our movements.
He could confirm the case had arrived.
He could know when we left for the storage unit.
He had thought through almost everything.
Almost.
He hadn’t anticipated a barber named Marcus noticing something strange behind Ethan’s ear.
And he hadn’t anticipated that Ryan had already left the real truth behind.
The police decided to use Monday.
That was the day Derek expected to meet Ethan near school.