Chapter 7 - the woman in room 306
The nursing facility stood behind high walls and iron gates.
Walter, Evelyn, and Naomi arrived shortly after sunrise.
A receptionist checked the records and frowned.
“There is no Jane Mercer here.”
Naomi placed the bank statement on the desk.
“Your facility accepted a payment for her last night.”
The receptionist’s expression changed.
“I need to speak with the director.”
Walter leaned forward.
“You need to tell me whether my wife is alive.”
The director arrived with two security guards.
He introduced himself as Dr. Landon Pierce.
“We cannot reveal patient information.”
Naomi presented a court order she had obtained through an emergency judge.
Pierce examined it.
“You work quickly.”
“So did whoever moved the patient.”
Walter’s voice sharpened.
“Moved her where?”
Pierce looked toward the receptionist.
“When did the transfer occur?”
“Thirty minutes ago.”
“Who authorized it?”
“A relative.”
“What relative?” Evelyn asked.
The receptionist opened the digital record.
“Her son.”
Walter and Evelyn exchanged a look.
“Trevor?” Walter asked.
The receptionist shook her head.
“The authorization was signed by Daniel Hale.”
Walter stepped back.
“I don’t have another son.”
Pierce led them upstairs.
Room 306 was empty.
The bed was still warm.
On the bedside table sat a glass of water and a paperback book.
Evelyn opened the book.
A sentence had been underlined.
The dead are safest when no one searches for them.
Naomi checked the wardrobe.
Inside hung several identical gray dresses.
A photograph had been taped to the back panel.
It showed Margaret much older, seated beside an unknown man.
Between them stood Trevor.
The photograph had been taken recently.
Walter’s hands shook.
“He knew.”
Evelyn turned toward him.
“Trevor knew Margaret was alive.”
“He paid for her care,” Naomi said. “But someone else had legal authority.”
“Daniel Hale,” Walter murmured.
Pierce stood near the door.
“Jane rarely spoke. She suffered memory loss after a serious injury.”
“Did Trevor visit?” Evelyn asked.
“Several times.”
“Did she recognize him?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did she ever mention Daniel?”
Pierce hesitated.
“She called every young man Daniel.”
Walter looked toward the empty bed.
“Did she say why?”
“No.”
A nurse appeared in the doorway.
“Doctor, the security office found something.”
They followed her downstairs.
Camera footage showed an ambulance entering through the rear gate.
Two men wheeled Margaret out on a stretcher.
Neither face was visible.
A woman followed behind them.
She turned briefly toward the camera.
Evelyn stopped the video.
The woman was older, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
Caroline.
Evelyn’s mother.
Walter lowered himself into a chair.
“She’s alive.”
Naomi enlarged the image.
“Or someone wants us to believe she is.”
Evelyn touched the screen.
She remembered almost nothing about her mother.
A lullaby.
The smell of lavender.
A silver necklace shaped like a star.
The woman in the footage wore that necklace.
“She’s alive,” Evelyn whispered.
Her phone rang.
Trevor.
She answered.
“Where are you?”
His breathing sounded uneven.
“You found the facility.”
“Yes.”
“You need to leave.”
“Did you know your mother was there?”
“I found her three years ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell Walter?”
“Because she begged me not to.”
“What is Daniel Hale?”
Trevor became silent.
“Trevor?”
“Where is Mia?”
“With someone safe.”
“You need to get her out of Bellmere.”
“Why?”
“The men who moved my mother know about the amendment.”
“What men?”
“I don’t know their names.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. But believe this. Adrian is not working for me.”
Evelyn looked at Naomi.
“Who is he working for?”
Trevor answered with a question.
“Did you bring the photograph from Margaret’s room?”
“Yes.”
“Look at the man beside my mother.”
Evelyn returned to the photograph.
The unknown man wore a ring bearing the Hale crest.
Walter saw it too.
“That ring belonged to my brother,” he said.
“You told me your brother died as a child,” Trevor replied.
Walter’s face became pale.
“He did.”
“No,” Trevor said. “He became Daniel.”
The call ended.
At that moment, every light in the facility went out.
An alarm began sounding.
Through the front window, Evelyn saw a dark vehicle stop outside.
May you like
Adrian Cole stepped from the passenger side.
And he was not alone.
