Chapter 2 - The First Lie
After Ethan found the bottle in Marlene’s purse, he did not chase her.
Every instinct told him to.
But Lily was shaking so badly that her teeth had begun to chatter.
His daughter came first.
Always.
He locked the front door.
Then the back.
Then he called 911.
“My mother-in-law assaulted my daughter,” he told the dispatcher. “And I believe I found evidence connected to my wife being hospitalized.”
The dispatcher asked whether the suspect was still inside the house.
“No.”
“Did she take anything?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do not touch or move additional items.”
Ethan looked at the desk.
Too late.
He had already emptied the purse.
But he stopped handling anything else.
Lily sat on her bed gripping the stuffed unicorn Marlene had stepped on.
Ethan crouched in front of her.
“Are you hurt?”
“My arm.”
He examined it.
Red fingerprints were beginning to form above her elbow.
His anger surged so sharply he had to look away.
“Anywhere else?”
She shook her head.
“Lily, when the police come, they’re going to ask what happened.”
Her eyes filled.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“Grandma said they’d take me away.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“She said if I told you, the police would think I poisoned Mom.”
He felt something cold move through his chest.
“Why would she say that?”
Lily stared down at the unicorn.
“Because I carried Mom’s drink.”
Ethan remembered.
Rachel had been working at the kitchen island that afternoon.
Lily had brought her the lemonade.
A normal little act.
A daughter helping her mother.
Marlene had turned it into a threat.
“What did you see?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tell me what you remember.”
Lily took a breath.
“Grandma came over before you came back from the store.”
That was new.
Marlene had claimed she arrived at the hospital only after Ethan called her.
“What time?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s okay.”
“Mom was upstairs.”
“What was Grandma doing?”
“She said she needed water.”
Lily’s voice became quieter.
“She opened her purse.”
Ethan waited.
“She had a little bottle.”
The police arrived six minutes later.
Two officers separated Ethan and Lily.
A female officer named Torres sat with Lily while another man photographed the room.
Ethan watched them place Marlene’s purse and everything from inside it into evidence bags.
The prescription bottle.
The hospital paperwork.
The expired security badge.
The small transparent bag.
Inside that bag was a metal key.
Not a house key.
Not a car key.
A small flat key stamped with a number.
1187.
Officer Torres eventually came downstairs.
“She did well.”
“What did she tell you?”
“I can’t go into the full interview yet.”
“She’s nine. I’m her father.”
“I understand. But we have protocols.”
Ethan rubbed both hands over his face.
“Is she saying Marlene poisoned Rachel?”
“She’s describing something she witnessed.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Torres softened.
“But I can tell you this. We’re taking it seriously.”
Another officer entered the kitchen carrying the lemonade pitcher inside a sealed evidence container.
Ethan stared at it.
“You think it’s in there.”
“We’re testing everything.”
His phone rang.
St. Matthew’s Hospital.
Ethan answered immediately.
“This is Ethan.”
A woman spoke.
“Mr. Carter, this is Dr. Nolan from neurology. Your wife is awake.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Relief hit him so violently his knees weakened.
“She’s awake?”
“Yes.”
“Is she okay?”
There was a pause.
“She’s responsive.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
His relief vanished.
“What’s wrong?”
“We need you here.”
Ethan looked toward the stairs.
Lily appeared at the top with Officer Torres.
“I’m bringing my daughter.”
“That’s your decision. But Mr. Carter...”
Another pause.
“Rachel is experiencing significant memory disruption.”
“How significant?”
“She knows her name.”
Ethan waited.
“She knows the year.”
He waited.
“She remembers her job.”
“Does she remember me?”
The silence answered before the doctor did.
“I think you should come in.”
Forty minutes later, Ethan stood at the door of Room 417.
Rachel was sitting upright.
Her eyes moved toward him.
He smiled carefully.
“Hey.”
She looked at Lily.
Recognition flickered.
“Lily?”
Lily ran to her.
“Mom!”
Rachel hugged her.
She cried.
For several seconds Ethan believed everything would be all right.
Then Rachel looked over Lily’s shoulder at him.
Her expression became guarded.
“Who are you?”
Ethan could not breathe.
Lily pulled back.
“Mom?”
Rachel looked embarrassed.
“I’m sorry.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Rachel. It’s Ethan.”
Nothing.
“Your husband.”
Her face emptied.
Dr. Nolan stood near the window.
Rachel looked at the wedding ring on her own hand.
Then back at Ethan.
“I’m married?”
Ethan swallowed.
“For eleven years.”
Rachel stared at him.
“I don’t remember you.”
Behind Ethan, someone dropped a clipboard.
He turned.
A nurse stood in the doorway.
Older.
Late fifties.
Her face had gone white.
She was staring at the sealed evidence bag Officer Torres carried.
More specifically, she was staring at the expired hospital badge inside it.
Officer Torres noticed.
“You recognize something?”
The nurse hesitated.
Then pointed at the photograph.
“I recognize her.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who is she?”
The nurse looked at him.
“That’s Claire Whitaker.”
“Marlene’s sister?”
“I don’t know who Marlene is.”
The nurse’s voice dropped.
“But Claire Whitaker worked here nineteen years ago.”
“What happened to her?”
May you like
The nurse swallowed.
“She died.”
