Chapter 8 - A Call Without Words
Caroline heard Rosa cry out, then Luke’s voice, too muffled to understand. The speaking pipe went silent.
She searched the chamber for another exit. The old plan showed a coal chute leading to the courtyard, but server cabinets covered the wall. She pushed the nearest tower and found it bolted down.
Minutes passed. Sweat dampened her dress. The baby kicked in sharp, agitated bursts.
Then the iron door opened.
Luke stood aside. “Come upstairs.”
“Where is Rosa?”
“She became hysterical. I sent her home.”
Caroline stepped into the passage. Luke took the camera from her and removed its memory card.
“You’re ill,” he said. “I should have recognized it sooner.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I protected our family.”
“From what?”
“From your mother’s mistakes.”
He guided her upstairs with one hand at the back of her neck. In the nursery, he unlocked her phone and placed it in her palm.
“Call Helen. Tell her you changed your mind about leaving.”
“No.”
His hand tightened.
“Call her.”
Helen answered on the first ring.
Caroline looked at the hidden grille in the nursery wall, then at the blue roses painted along the baseboard.
“Helen,” she said, “I’m sorry. I panicked. Luke and I talked. We’re going to the coast house.”
Luke watched her eyes.
“Caroline, are you alone?” Helen asked.
“Luke is here.”
“Do you want police?”
Caroline could not say yes.
“The blue roses need winter,” she said.
Luke frowned, but the words meant nothing to him.
Helen’s breathing changed. Daniel had told her the emergency phrase. “I understand.”
“Tell Mara not to worry.”
“I’ll handle everything.”
When the call ended, Luke took the phone.
“What did that mean?”
“Something my mother used to say.”
He searched the nursery, but he did not find the microphone behind the carved molding. Downstairs, the hidden indicator turned blue. Caroline had activated recording but not the police call. She still needed to repeat the phrase within ten minutes, and Luke did not let her out of his sight.
At minute eight, he forced her to drink water in the kitchen. At minute nine, he received a call from Adrian Cole, his attorney. At minute ten, the light reset.
The opportunity vanished.
Helen did not call police immediately. That was part of the plan. If Caroline used the phrase only once, Helen was to notify Detective Dana Ruiz, a domestic violence investigator Priya trusted, and wait for confirmation. The second phrase would mean immediate danger.
Luke drove Caroline to the coast house the next morning, but they never arrived. Twenty miles from the city, an unmarked police car stopped them for a broken taillight that was not broken.
Detective Ruiz approached Luke’s window. She wore plain clothes and a badge at her belt.
“License and registration.”
Luke handed them over. “Is there a problem?”
“Routine traffic safety operation.” Ruiz looked at Caroline. “Ma’am, would you step out so I can verify the passenger restraint?”
Luke’s smile held. “My wife is pregnant. She should remain seated.”
“She can decide that.”
Caroline opened the door.
Ruiz walked her behind the car, beyond Luke’s view. “Helen told me you were confined. Do you want him arrested?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have an injury?”
“He slapped me yesterday.” The mark had already faded beneath makeup Luke insisted she wear.
“Will you make a statement?”
“Yes.”
Ruiz searched her face. “You do not need to collect a perfect case. You need to live long enough to make one.”
The words broke something open. Caroline began to cry.
Ruiz called a second unit. Luke was ordered out of the vehicle. He did not resist. He called Adrian, and within four hours a judge released him pending review because the confinement had occurred in a shared residence and there was no visible lock when officers inspected the nursery. Luke denied striking her. Rosa could not be located.
Caroline obtained a temporary protection order and moved to Helen’s home. Bellweather’s gates were coded to exclude Luke. Daniel changed every security credential.
For nine days, Caroline slept safely.
Then Helen’s car was found against a concrete barrier before dawn. The driver’s door was open. Blood marked the airbag, but Helen was gone.
On the passenger seat lay Caroline’s stuffed rabbit from the nursery.
May you like
Luke called before the police did.
“Come home,” he said. “Or they will never find her.”
