Chapter 19 - Why Rachel left that afternoon
The question haunted me.
Why was Rachel gone when I found Emily?
Had she abandoned her?
Not exactly.
Rachel had driven to her mother’s house because Cole told her:
“Get Mom to say Emily can stay with her for a while.”
Their emerging plan was not to disappear Emily.
It was to move her.
Rachel wanted Emily to stay with her grandmother for the final night of my trip.
Then Rachel intended to dismantle the kennel setup, retrieve what could be retrieved from the pool, and bring Emily home before I returned.
She believed if she could get through one day without Emily calling me, she could confess the theft in a controlled way while hiding the confinement.
Cole wanted to keep the theft hidden longer.
That was why the black bags went into the pool.
Different secrets.
Same cover-up.
Rachel left Emily with Cole for what she said would be forty-five minutes.
She claimed she ordered him to keep Emily inside the house.
Cole said Emily tried to run again, so he used the kennel.
Emily said Rachel knew the padlock was there before leaving.
Investigators could not prove every minute.
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But Rachel had already participated in earlier confinement.
One disputed hour did not change the larger picture.
