“She recorded her?”
“Smart kid. Knew something was off when Tracy started calling with money offers and threats. Documented all of it.” Chris taps the folder. His expression is grim. “We’ve got Tracy dead to rights on witness tampering.”
I flip to the next document. The paper feels thin under my fingers, but the weight of what it says is crushing. Another police report, different woman, same pattern. Complaint filed, Tracy’s calls in the logs, complaint withdrawn.
“How many women?”
“Six confirmed. Probably more that didn’t report.” Chris sips his coffee.
Six.My jaw clenches. Six women Alice will never know about. Six times Tracy chose Lance over doing the right thing.
“Three are willing to talk now. Off the record for now.”
“What did Tracy say to them?”
“Depends. Jennifer got offered five grand to drop it and find a new job. When that didn’t work fast enough, Tracy started talking about how small Pine Hollows is. How hard it’d be for Jennifer to find work anywhere in the county if the Carlstons put out the word she was ‘difficult.’”
My jaw clenches. “Witness tampering.”
“That's not all. Tracy didn't just silence victims. She helped them relocate. Found them new jobs out of town if they agreed to drop their complaints and disappear quietly.”
“How?”
“Contacted companies out of town, got the victims jobs far away from Pine Hollows. Bank records show the Carlstons paid Tracy a five-thousand-dollar 'bonus' every time a complaint disappeared.”
I stare at the financial records. The numbers blur. Five thousand dollars to help a predator keep hunting. Tracy wasn’t just protecting her job. She was getting paid to be Lance’s fixer.
“There’s more. Remember the GPS tracker? Lance bought three online.”
My chest tightens.Three.
“Sarah Martinez, works at a law office. Found one on her car two years ago, didn’t know what it was. Rebecca Foster, elementary school teacher. Reported feeling followed but couldn’t prove anything.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Both women got calls from someone claiming to be from a ‘community safety group.’ Asked them not to spread rumors that might hurt local businesses.”
“Tracy.”
“Tracy.” Chris closes the folder. “She’s been running interference for Lance for years. Every time he escalated, every time someone tried to hold him accountable, Tracy made it disappear.”
I lean back, processing it all. Tracy isn’t just an unsupportive mother. She’s been actively enabling Lance’s abuse of multiple women for years.
And Alice never knew. She thought her mother just didn't believe her. She had no idea Tracy knew exactly what Lance was and helped him anyway.
“The complaint she filed against me?”
“Filed the same day Lance was arrested. Didn’t even wait to see how things played out.”
“You think the Carlstons told her to?”
“I think she’s been their problem solver so long, she filed it automatically. That’s just what she does. Protects Lance, discredits his victims.”
The waitress refills our coffee. We wait until she’s gone.
“This is big,” I say.
“Question is, what do you want to do with it?”
