Chapter 4 - The Lake Erie Alibi
Helen walked back into the main house, her body numb with shock as she placed the black ledger beside the golden logos on the kitchen table.
She picked up her cell phone, staring at the clock on the wall, which now read 10:14 PM.
Robert had sent her a text message at 5:00 PM claiming the reception at the fishing cabin was spotty and that he was going to bed early.
She opened their family mobile account app, navigating to the shared family GPS tracking service they had set up years ago for road trips.
Robert had told her he had turned his phone off to save battery, but the billing location update showed his device pinging a cellular tower in Cleveland, Ohio.
Not at a rustic fishing cabin near the lake, but three blocks from the downtown casino district.
Helen dialed Wade’s home phone number, the mechanic from the garage who had supposedly accompanied Robert on the trip.
The phone rang four times before Wade’s sleepy wife, Donna, picked up the receiver.
"Hello? Helen? Is everything okay? It's after ten."
"Donna, I'm so sorry to wake you," Helen said, fighting to keep her voice level.
"Robert forgot his blood pressure medication on the counter, and I was trying to reach him at the cabin. Is Wade with him?"
Donna sounded confused for a moment.
"Cabin? Helen, Wade isn't at any cabin. He's sleeping right beside me in bed. He worked a double shift at the shop today."
Helen gripped the kitchen counter until her fingernails turned white.
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"Oh... Robert told me Wade went with him."
"No, honey," Donna said gently. "Robert took a long weekend off to go to a boat show in Cleveland with that young receptionist from the front desk, Amber."
