By morning, Anna and Clare had transformed the dining table into an evidence station. They sorted screenshots by date, matched names against public information, and created a timeline of Dererick’s movements.
The pattern became clearer with every hour.
Dererick identified people during vulnerable periods: grief, exhaustion, loneliness, financial strain. He approached gradually, offering assistance that looked generous until the recipient began relying on him.
Then his notes changed tone.
He recorded which boundaries could be pushed, which objections could be reframed as ingratitude, and which fears made a person easier to isolate.
Anna recognized pieces of her marriage everywhere.
Dererick had once seemed extraordinarily attentive because he remembered everything. Now she saw another possibility. He remembered because he recorded.
The files included logs of late-night visits and substances tested in small quantities. Some entries documented headaches, confusion, sleep duration, and memory loss.
Anna searched for her own name.
She found it.
Her record was longer than most.
It began years earlier.
She could not read the entire file at once. Clare sat beside her while she absorbed the realization that Dererick had documented arguments, illnesses, family disagreements, and private insecurities throughout their relationship.
The marriage Anna remembered as shared history existed on his computer as accumulated leverage.
Clare wanted to take everything directly to police.
Anna agreed they needed law enforcement but feared an immediate confrontation without corroboration. Dererick’s public reputation was excellent, and the files could be challenged unless investigators verified their origin.
They contacted Detective Morales through a hospital connection Clare trusted and sent a carefully selected packet.
Meanwhile, Mr. Peterson began writing down Dererick’s arrivals and departures.
Anna quietly spoke with several people whose names appeared in the records. She avoided accusations and asked only whether they remembered unusual encounters.
The answers were disturbing.
One woman remembered unexplained grogginess after accepting a drink at a gathering. Another recalled Dererick repeatedly appearing near her workplace after she had mentioned feeling lonely. A third described anonymous messages that seemed to know details about her schedule.
Individually, none of the stories proved much.
Together, they resembled Dererick’s notes too closely to dismiss.
Anna documented each account and stopped trying to persuade anyone who hesitated. She needed witnesses, not rumors.
Then she discovered correspondence in an archived folder.
The messages were between Dererick and an unidentified person who discussed his methods as though reviewing professional work. The correspondent criticized some of his approaches, recommended greater subtlety, and asked questions about particular subjects.
Anna reread the exchange.
Dererick was not merely keeping private records.
He was sharing them.
Clare traced references to several anonymous accounts, while Anna searched receipts for matching dates. Some communications coincided with hotel bookings and supply deliveries.
The possibility of accomplices changed their safety plan immediately.
Evidence was distributed to additional secure locations. Anna stopped sleeping at home. Clare changed passwords and warned hospital security not to disclose her schedule.
Peterson photographed an unfamiliar car that had appeared repeatedly near the block.
Then Anna received a message from an unknown number.
It contained only a few words.
The sender knew she had found something she was not supposed to see.
Anna showed Clare the screen.
Someone besides Dererick might already know they were investigating.
