Chapter 2 - Eleven Minutes Missing
Officer Daniel Reyes asked his questions while Oliver slept.
Emily sat beside the hospital bed, still holding her son's hand.
Nathan had been taken to a consultation room down the hall.
Helen had been separated from him.
That seemed to bother Helen more than anything else.
"Mrs. Moore," Reyes said softly, "I need you to tell me exactly what you saw when you arrived."
Emily explained everything.
The empty chair.
The private room.
Nathan saying Oliver was outside.
Her son against the wall.
The cold skin.
The ambulance.
Reyes wrote without interrupting.
His partner, Officer Claire Han, stood by the door.
"When did your son leave your care?" Reyes asked.
"Six forty-two. Nathan picked him up."
"And you arrived at the restaurant at seven oh-three?"
"Yes."
Reyes looked at Han.
Something passed silently between them.
Emily noticed.
"What?"
Reyes closed his notebook.
"The restaurant manager gave us preliminary security footage."
Emily's stomach tightened.
"And?"
"Mr. Moore arrived at six fifty-one."
"Okay."
"Oliver was escorted outside at seven twelve."
Emily stared at him.
"But I found him around seven twenty-three."
Reyes nodded.
"Approximately eleven minutes."
Emily blinked.
Eleven minutes.
It did not sound long enough.
Yet Oliver's core temperature had fallen dangerously low.
Dr. Bennett had said children lost heat rapidly.
Still...
"Something isn't right."
Reyes leaned forward.
"What makes you say that?"
"His coat was wet."
"Snow?"
"No."
Emily remembered the fabric pressed against her face.
The back of Oliver's coat had been soaked through.
Not dusted with snow.
Soaked.
"The snow wasn't heavy enough yet."
Reyes's eyes sharpened.
Emily continued.
"And his gloves were missing."
"Was he wearing them when he left with Nathan?"
"Yes. Red gloves. I bought them last week."
Reyes wrote again.
"What about a hat?"
"Gray knitted hat."
"Did you see it outside?"
"No."
Officer Han opened the door.
"Daniel."
Reyes stepped into the hallway.
They spoke quietly.
Emily could not hear everything.
But she heard two words.
"Dumpster."
"Found."
Reyes returned carrying a clear evidence bag.
Inside were Oliver's red gloves.
Wet.
Emily stood.
"Where did you get those?"
"The restaurant dumpster."
Her stomach dropped.
"Why would they be there?"
"We don't know."
Dr. Bennett entered.
"He's waking up."
Emily rushed to the bed.
Oliver's eyes opened.
His color had improved slightly.
"Mommy?"
"I'm here."
He looked around.
"Where's Daddy?"
Emily hesitated.
"Talking to someone."
Oliver's lower lip trembled.
"Is he mad?"
"No."
"He said I ruined dinner."
Emily swallowed.
"Why?"
Oliver looked toward the door.
Then whispered.
"Because I saw Grandma put something in Daddy's drink."
Emily went still.
"What?"
Officer Reyes stopped writing.
Oliver continued.
"She had a little bottle."
Nathan had been drinking whiskey when Emily entered the restaurant.
Helen had sat beside him.
"What kind of bottle?"
"I don't know."
"Did you say something?"
Oliver nodded.
"I told Daddy."
"And then what happened?"
"Grandma said I was making stories."
His eyes filled.
"Then she took me to the bathroom."
Emily squeezed his hand.
"What happened there?"
Oliver's breathing changed.
He looked frightened.
"She poured water on my coat."
Silence filled the room.
Emily felt as though the floor had shifted beneath her.
Officer Reyes stepped closer.
"Oliver, did Grandma pour water on you before you went outside?"
Oliver nodded.
"She said if I wanted to act like a baby, I could be cold like one."
Emily covered her mouth.
Dr. Bennett's face hardened.
"That's enough for now."
But Oliver grabbed Emily's sleeve.
"Mommy."
"Yes?"
"Grandma took my gloves because I touched the bottle."
Emily looked at Reyes.
His expression had changed completely.
This was no longer neglect caused by a cruel punishment.
Someone had deliberately made a six-year-old child colder before putting him outside.
Reyes's phone buzzed.
He checked the message.
Then looked at Emily.
"We searched the restaurant restroom."
"And?"
"No bottle."
Nathan suddenly shouted from somewhere down the hallway.
"You can't keep me here!"
Officer Han's voice followed.
"Sit down, Mr. Moore."
Emily looked toward the door.
Dr. Bennett pulled the blanket higher over Oliver.
Reyes lowered his voice.
"There's another problem."
"What?"
"The restaurant's internal camera shows Mrs. Moore taking Oliver toward the restroom."
Emily waited.
"But the camera covering the corridor outside the restroom goes black for eleven minutes."
The exact eleven minutes before Oliver was put outside.
"Technical failure?" Emily asked.
Reyes shook his head.
"We don't think so."
"Why?"
"Because somebody manually disabled it."
Emily stared at him.
"Who had access?"
Reyes looked toward the hallway where Helen waited.
"According to the restaurant manager, only senior staff."
He paused.
"And one outside security consultant."
"Who?"
Reyes did not answer immediately.
May you like
Then he said the name.
"Nathan Moore."
