Chapter 1 - the woman on the garage floor)
By the time the first police cruiser stopped outside the house, Daniel had wrapped Lily in three blankets.
He refused to leave her side.
Paramedics entered the garage carrying medical equipment while two officers separated Daniel from Lydia.
Lydia said almost nothing.
She sat upright against the wall beside the red toolbox, one hand pressed against her swelling cheek.
Officer Nolan Mercer asked what had happened.
Daniel pointed at the freezer.
"My daughter was inside."
Mercer looked at Lily.
Then at Lydia.
"Who put her there?"
Lily's small voice answered before Daniel could.
"Grandma."
For the first time that night, Lydia reacted.
"She is confused."
Daniel nearly crossed the garage again.
An officer stepped between them.
Lydia continued calmly.
"The child has been experiencing emotional problems since her mother's death."
"My mother's not dead."
Everyone turned toward Lily.
Even the paramedic stopped moving.
Daniel knelt beside his daughter.
"Lily."
She stared at the floor.
"Grandma said she would stay dead if I told you."
Daniel felt the room tilt.
"What does that mean?"
Lily shook her head.
"I don't know."
Lydia spoke from across the garage.
"Children say things."
Daniel looked at her.
"You locked her inside a freezer."
"That has nothing to do with Mara."
"Then why did you tell her Mara would stay dead?"
"I never said that."
Lily started crying.
Daniel moved closer to her.
"Okay. You don't have to talk anymore."
The paramedic told Daniel that Lily needed immediate treatment for hypothermia.
Daniel rode with her to the hospital.
Before he left, he turned toward Officer Mercer.
"The keys."
Mercer glanced at the ring lying inside an evidence bag.
"What about them?"
"There's a brass one marked B17."
Mercer nodded.
"I saw it."
"My daughter says my wife had that key."
Mercer's expression changed slightly.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"My wife disappeared eighteen months ago."
"Disappeared?"
"Her car went into Lake Marrow during a storm. They recovered the vehicle but never recovered her body."
"And she was declared dead?"
"Six months later."
Mercer looked through the open garage door at Lydia, who was being led toward another cruiser.
"Who is that woman?"
"Mara's mother."
Mercer looked back at Daniel.
Neither man said anything else.
At the hospital Lily was placed beneath warming blankets.
Daniel sat beside her bed holding her hand.
She slept for nearly two hours.
When she finally opened her eyes, the first question she asked was not about Lydia.
It was about the key.
"Did they take Mommy's key?"
"The police have it."
Lily looked worried.
"Grandma wanted it."
"Why?"
Lily swallowed.
"Because Mommy said if anything happened to her, I was supposed to remember the number."
Daniel's pulse quickened.
"What number?"
"B17."
Daniel tried not to show how frightened he had become.
"When did Mommy tell you that?"
"The rainy night."
Daniel knew immediately which night she meant.
The night Mara vanished.
He leaned closer.
"Lily, you were five years old. Do you remember seeing Mommy that night?"
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"She was fighting with Grandma."
Daniel froze.
The official police report said Mara had left the house alone.
There had never been any mention of Lydia being there.
"What were they fighting about?"
"I don't remember."
"Did Grandma leave before Mommy?"
Lily shook her head.
"No."
Daniel's heartbeat became louder.
"What happened?"
Lily pulled the blanket toward her chin.
"I saw Mommy put something under my pillow."
Daniel stared at her.
"What?"
"A little silver bird."
Daniel's entire body became still.
Mara had worn a silver bird pendant for almost ten years.
It had belonged to her father.
Police believed she had been wearing it when her car went into the lake.
Daniel remembered identifying it in photographs.
The necklace had never been recovered.
"Lily, where is the bird now?"
She looked confused.
"I hid it."
"Where?"
"In the place Mommy told me."
"What place?"
Lily looked toward the hospital door as though someone might be listening.
Then she whispered.
"The wall behind the moon."
Daniel did not understand.
But someone else apparently did.
At that exact moment his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Daniel opened the message.
There was only one sentence.
STOP ASKING LILY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NIGHT MARA DIED.
Daniel stared at the screen.
A second message arrived.
OR NEXT TIME YOU WILL NOT OPEN THE FREEZER IN TIME.
Daniel immediately stood.
He looked through the window of Lily's hospital room.
A man wearing a dark jacket disappeared around the corner at the far end of the corridor.
May you like
Daniel ran after him.
By the time he reached the corner, the hallway was empty.
