Chapter 2 - Someone Had Been Watching)
Sophie was cleared by the emergency department two hours later.
No sedative was found in her blood.
The kibble she had eaten had not been contaminated.
The fragment beneath Milo's bowl had probably fallen there from somewhere else.
That should have reassured Evan.
It did not.
Claire remained unconscious.
Doctors confirmed that she had a powerful prescription sedative in her system.
The amount was dangerous.
Not necessarily fatal for a healthy adult, but enough to slow breathing and make waking extremely difficult.
The emergency physician, Dr. Lawson, met Evan outside the intensive care unit.
"She is stable for now."
"For now?"
"We expect her to recover."
Evan gripped the back of a plastic chair.
"Then why is she still unconscious?"
"Different people metabolize these medications differently. The amount in her system was significant."
"Could she have taken it herself?"
Dr. Lawson hesitated.
"It is possible."
"But?"
"We found bruising inside her mouth."
Evan stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It can happen if pills are forced against the teeth or gums."
The hallway seemed to tilt.
"Someone forced her to swallow them."
"I am not saying that. I am saying the injuries are consistent with several possibilities."
Evan understood caution.
The doctor did not want to make an accusation.
Detective Vance had no such hesitation when she arrived forty minutes later.
"We found the bottle."
Evan stood.
"And?"
"The pharmacy label was removed, but the identification code on the pills belongs to a prescription sleep medication."
"Whose prescription?"
"We're working on it."
"What about the camera?"
Vance sat across from him.
"That is more complicated."
Evan handed Sophie to his sister Lauren, who had arrived to help.
"What do you mean?"
"The device was connected to your home network."
Evan frowned.
"We don't have hidden cameras."
"I assumed not."
"Who installed it?"
"We'll need a digital forensic team to answer that."
"How long was it there?"
"Possibly weeks."
Evan looked through the glass doors toward Claire's room.
Someone had watched his family.
Someone had seen Sophie.
Seen Claire.
Possibly seen him.
A sickening thought occurred to him.
"Our regular security system has cameras outside."
"We checked."
"And?"
"Someone disabled them between 10:18 and 1:56."
"Can you see who?"
"The system says the request came from inside the home."
Evan pressed his palms against his eyes.
"Claire could have turned them off."
"Did she know the administrator password?"
"Yes."
"Who else?"
"Me."
"Anyone else?"
"No."
Vance said nothing.
Evan lowered his hands.
"You think I did it."
"I think someone with access did it."
"I was at work."
"We're verifying that."
"Verify everything."
His voice rose.
"I don't care. Check my phone, my office badge, every camera in the building."
Vance remained calm.
"We will."
Evan looked away.
Detective Vance opened a folder.
"Do you know a company called Crest River Capital?"
Evan froze.
"Say that again."
"Crest River Capital."
CRC.
He thought of the silver key.
"That is what the letters mean."
Vance nodded.
"You know the company?"
"Not personally."
"But you've heard of it."
"Yes."
"How?"
Evan leaned back.
"Crest River Capital invested in several Whitmore Development projects."
"Your employer."
"Yes."
"Did Claire know that?"
"Probably. She knew most of our major investors."
Vance opened another page.
"Crest River Capital doesn't appear to exist."
"What?"
"It exists on paper. Delaware registration. Mailing address in Boston. But the address is a private mailbox."
Evan felt a chill.
"What was Claire investigating?"
"That's what I hoped you could tell me."
"I can't."
"Can you access her computer?"
"Probably."
"Do not."
He looked at her.
"We need to preserve it exactly as it is."
"Then take it."
"We already did."
Evan stood quickly.
"You searched my house?"
"We have your consent form."
He remembered signing papers outside the ambulance.
He had barely read them.
"I want to know what happened."
"You will."
"Someone nearly killed my wife."
Vance leaned forward.
"And someone apparently installed surveillance equipment in your home before they did it."
Evan looked toward Sophie.
His daughter was asleep against Lauren's shoulder.
"What does any of this have to do with my baby eating dog food?"
"We don't know yet."
Later that evening, Lauren took Sophie home with her.
Evan refused to leave the hospital.
At 11:16, he sat alone beside Claire's bed.
Machines whispered and beeped.
He held her hand.
"I'm sorry."
He did not know exactly what he was apologizing for.
Working too much.
Not asking enough questions.
Not coming home earlier.
Not noticing that his wife was scared.
Because now that he looked back, she had been scared.
Three nights earlier, Claire had checked the front lock twice.
Last weekend, she had asked Evan whether his company conducted background checks on outside investors.
On Tuesday, she had asked if he trusted his boss.
Evan had laughed.
"Depends which day you ask."
Claire had not laughed.
Why had he forgotten that?
At midnight, her fingers moved.
Evan stood.
"Claire?"
Her eyelids fluttered.
"Claire, it's me."
She opened her eyes.
Confusion crossed her face.
Then fear.
Her hand tightened around his.
"Evan."
"I'm here."
"Where is Sophie?"
"She's safe."
Claire began breathing faster.
"Where is she?"
"With Lauren. She's safe."
Tears appeared in Claire's eyes.
"Did they take it?"
Evan frowned.
"Take what?"
Claire stared at him.
"The ledger."
"What ledger?"
Her eyes widened.
"You don't know."
"No."
She tried to sit up.
Pain crossed her face.
"Claire, stay down."
She grabbed his wrist.
"Listen to me."
"What?"
"You cannot trust anyone from Whitmore."
Evan stared.
"Claire."
"Not your boss. Not security. Not accounting. Nobody."
"Why?"
She looked toward the hospital room door.
Then whispered four words.
"Because Whitmore doesn't exist."
Evan almost laughed from confusion.
"I work there."
"No."
Claire's voice trembled.
"You work for the shell."
Before Evan could ask what she meant, someone walked past the hospital room window.
Claire saw the person.
Every trace of color left her face.
She released Evan's wrist.
"Get down."
"What?"
May you like
"Get down now."
A gunshot shattered the glass.
