Chapter 4 - The Detective Who Knew the House
Detective Jonah Reed arrived at the Mercer property two days later wearing the expression of a man who had already learned not to trust beautiful homes.
Ryan met him in the front hall.
Maya watched from the staircase.
Evelyn remained in the living room, speaking quietly with the family attorney.
“Detective,” Ryan said, “Dr. Shah told me you had questions about Oliver’s medication.”
“I do.”
“Was there actually a sedative in his blood?”
“Yes.”
Ryan’s face tightened.
“Could it have come from accidental exposure?”
“It’s possible.”
Maya descended the stairs.
“It wasn’t accidental.”
Ryan looked at her.
They had barely spoken since the confrontation in Oliver’s bedroom.
He had slept in the guest room.
Maya had kept Oliver beside her every night.
Evelyn had behaved as though nothing unusual had happened.
Jonah turned to Maya.
“Mrs. Mercer, Dr. Shah said you found pills in your home.”
“Yes.”
“Where are they now?”
“I gave one to the clinic. The rest disappeared.”
“Who had access to the room?”
“Everyone. There are cameras and electronic locks throughout the house.”
Ryan frowned.
“The locks are for security.”
Jonah glanced at the control panel near the door.
“This system records access history.”
Evelyn entered.
“That information is private.”
Jonah studied her.
“Mrs. Evelyn Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve met before.”
The room became still.
Ryan looked at him.
“When?”
Jonah did not answer immediately.
Evelyn did.
“After my husband’s death.”
Jonah’s gaze remained on her.
“That was one occasion.”
Ryan turned to his mother.
“What was the other?”
Evelyn’s face revealed nothing.
Jonah removed a small notebook.
“Four years ago, I investigated a missing-person report connected to St. Catherine’s Hospital.”
Maya felt a chill.
Oliver had been born at St. Catherine’s.
“Who was missing?” she asked.
“A maternity nurse named Anna Vale.”
Evelyn crossed her arms.
“What does that have to do with us?”
“She disappeared the night Oliver was born.”
Ryan stared at Jonah.
“Why have I never heard about this?”
“The case was sealed after evidence suggested she left the country.”
“Did she?”
“No.”
Evelyn’s attorney stepped forward.
“Detective, unless you have a warrant, this conversation is over.”
Jonah ignored him.
He looked at Maya.
“Did anyone give you a message recently?”
Maya thought of the note beneath Oliver’s mattress.
CHECK THE INHALER.
She glanced at Evelyn.
“No.”
Jonah recognized the lie.
He closed his notebook.
“I’d like to inspect Oliver’s medication.”
Ryan retrieved the inhaler.
Jonah placed it in an evidence bag.
As he did, Evelyn said, “That device has been handled by everyone in this house.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Are you accusing me of something?”
“I haven’t accused anyone.”
“You’re implying.”
“I’m observing.”
Ryan escorted Jonah toward the door.
Maya followed.
Before leaving, Jonah handed her a folded piece of paper.
It looked like a receipt.
She waited until she was upstairs to open it.
The message was handwritten.
DO NOT TRUST THE HOUSE NETWORK.
COME TO 18 WHITMORE STREET AT 7 P.M.
TELL NO ONE.
Maya hid the note in her sleeve.
At six forty-five, she told Ryan she needed air.
He barely looked up from his computer.
Evelyn watched from across the living room.
“Where are you going?”
“For a drive.”
“You shouldn’t be alone.”
Maya forced herself to smile.
“I’ll survive.”
The address led to an abandoned photography studio on the edge of the city.
Jonah was waiting inside.
So was Dr. Lena Shah.
Maya closed the door.
“What is this?”
Jonah placed a file on the table.
“Anna Vale did not disappear voluntarily.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she contacted me yesterday.”
Maya’s heart stopped.
“Where is she?”
“We don’t know. She sent an encrypted message from an untraceable account.”
Lena opened the file.
Inside was a photograph of Evelyn standing beside a hospital crib.
The baby inside wore a bracelet reading OLIVER MERCER.
Maya looked closer.
The timestamp was two hours before Oliver had officially been born.
“That’s impossible.”
Jonah nodded.
“Your labor records say you were still in surgery.”
Maya turned the photograph over.
A message was written on the back.
May you like
THE FIRST CHILD DID NOT SURVIVE.
THE SECOND CHILD WAS NEVER THEIRS.
