Chapter 9 - The Wedding Trap)
Grant did not cancel the wedding.
Claire thought he should.
David insisted he should not.
"If they know we understand the plan, they disappear."
"Good," Grant said.
"No. They disappear with enough stolen money to stay gone."
Grant stared at him.
David continued.
"And we still won't know whether they were involved in Evelyn's death."
That decided it.
Grant kept the wedding alive.
Invitations went out.
Flowers arrived.
A string quartet was booked.
Vanessa became happier each day.
Claire watched her walk through rooms Evelyn had decorated as though she already owned them.
The anger was difficult to contain.
One afternoon Vanessa found Claire polishing silver.
"I've decided you'll work during the wedding."
Claire looked up.
"I assumed I would."
"I mean personally."
Vanessa placed a handwritten schedule on the table.
"You'll serve my bridal suite, supervise Noah, and handle the pool reception."
Claire read the list.
Every task put her near Noah.
Every task put her near the pool.
Claire looked at Vanessa.
"That's a lot."
"You said you were useful."
Claire smiled faintly.
"I'll manage."
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
She had wanted resistance.
Claire gave her none.
That evening Claire showed the schedule to Grant and David.
David photographed it.
"She's placing you exactly where she needs you."
Claire nodded.
Grant looked angry.
"We end this now."
David shook his head.
"We still need an act connected to intent."
Grant slammed his hand onto the table.
"My son is not evidence."
"No one is suggesting we allow Noah to be harmed."
Claire looked at the schedule again.
"Use a decoy."
Grant stared at her.
"What?"
"Vanessa believes Noah will be in the stroller during the reception."
Claire continued.
"We let her think he is."
David understood.
"Weighted blanket. Baby monitor audio."
Grant shook his head immediately.
"No."
"Grant."
"No."
Claire looked at him.
"Then how are you going to catch her?"
"I'll find another way."
But there was no other way.
For the next week, David built the plan.
Noah would never be left unattended.
Two security agents would remain inside the house.
A concealed camera would be placed beneath the stroller handle.
The device would record continuously and transmit to a hidden receiver.
Claire would carry a panic transmitter.
Grant would remain within thirty seconds of the patio.
Everything would be controlled.
At least that was the idea.
Three days before the wedding, Julian changed the situation.
He returned to Mercer House openly.
Vanessa greeted him in the foyer.
Grant pretended to be surprised.
"London?"
"Finished early."
Julian smiled.
"I wouldn't miss your wedding."
Grant shook his hand.
Claire watched from the stairs.
Julian looked at her.
His smile did not reach his eyes.
That night Claire found a note beneath her door.
Leave tomorrow and take the money.
Twenty thousand dollars in cash sat beside it.
Claire stared at the bills.
Vanessa appeared at the end of the corridor.
"This is your last chance."
Claire looked at her.
"You're bribing me?"
"I'm helping you."
"By paying me to disappear."
Vanessa stepped closer.
"Take it."
"No."
"Claire."
"No."
Vanessa's expression hardened.
"You think Grant will protect you when this is over?"
Claire said nothing.
Vanessa laughed.
"Women like you always make the same mistake."
"What mistake?"
"You think proximity means importance."
Claire looked at the cash.
Then back at Vanessa.
"I don't care whether I'm important to Grant."
Vanessa's smile returned.
"You should."
"I care whether Noah lives long enough to know what kind of woman his mother tried to protect him from."
Vanessa froze.
Claire saw fear.
Real fear.
"You don't know anything about Evelyn."
"I know she stopped trusting you."
Vanessa's voice became low.
"Be very careful."
Claire stepped closer.
"You first."
Vanessa walked away.
Claire immediately took the money to David.
The bills were photographed and secured.
Grant was furious when he learned Vanessa had threatened Claire.
Claire was more concerned about something else.
"She knows we found something."
David agreed.
"She may change the plan."
Grant looked toward the patio.
"Then we cancel."
Before anyone could answer, Claire's phone rang.
It was Martin Hale, the former house manager.
Claire had not spoken to him since Grant replaced several staff members.
She answered.
"Claire?"
Martin sounded frightened.
"Where are you?"
"At the house."
"You need to listen to me."
"What happened?"
"I found something from the night Evelyn died."
Claire stood.
"What?"
"A garage access card."
"Whose?"
Martin breathed hard.
"Vanessa's."
A second voice sounded in the background.
Martin stopped speaking.
"Martin?"
Silence.
Then a crash.
The call ended.
Grant grabbed his phone.
David was already moving toward the door.
Claire stared at the dead screen.
Ten minutes later police were sent to Martin's apartment.
He was gone.
There were signs of a struggle.
On the floor, officers found an old Mercer House security card.
May you like
The name printed on it belonged to Vanessa Hart.
And the access log attached to the card showed that Vanessa had entered the mansion garage forty three minutes before Evelyn drove away for the last time.
