Chapter 2 - The Missing Nanny)
Her name was Lauren Pike.
Rachel learned that much the following morning.
Marjorie refused to discuss the subject inside the house, so they spoke behind the greenhouse while Elara slept in a stroller beneath a shade canopy.
"Lauren worked here for six weeks," Marjorie said. "Good girl. Quiet. Careful."
"What happened?"
"She started asking questions."
"About Victoria?"
"About Mrs. Kensington."
Rachel frowned.
"Amelia?"
Marjorie nodded.
"The accident."
The wind moved through the oak branches overhead.
Rachel looked toward the estate.
"What kind of questions?"
"Why Amelia had canceled a trip two hours before she died. Why the car was still on the highway. Why Victoria knew where Amelia was going when nobody else did."
Rachel stared at her.
"Are you saying Victoria had something to do with the accident?"
"I'm saying Lauren thought something wasn't right."
"And then she disappeared?"
Marjorie shook her head quickly.
"Not disappeared like that. Police weren't looking for her. She sent Nathan a resignation email."
"So why didn't she collect her suitcase?"
"Because she never wrote the email."
Rachel felt cold despite the warm morning.
"How do you know?"
"She called me the night before. Said she had found something and needed to speak to Nathan personally. The next morning, Victoria told us Lauren had resigned."
"Did Nathan talk to her?"
"He said he received the email."
Rachel looked at sleeping Elara.
"Where is Lauren now?"
"I don't know."
Rachel did what any sensible person would have done.
She told herself not to get involved.
For almost four hours, it worked.
Then she discovered the bruise.
Elara was sitting on the nursery rug after lunch when Rachel noticed a faint purplish mark near her upper arm.
Rachel examined it carefully.
It looked like finger pressure.
Not necessarily deliberate.
Babies bruised themselves.
But something bothered her.
She photographed it for the child's care log, entered the time, and checked the previous notes.
No injury had been reported.
At three fifteen, Nathan called.
A meeting in Richmond would keep him away until the next morning.
Rachel said nothing about her suspicions, only that she had documented a small bruise.
"Send me the photo."
She did.
Twenty minutes later, Victoria appeared.
"You reported a bruise."
Rachel looked up from the play mat.
"Yes."
"You made it sound serious."
"I documented it."
Victoria closed the nursery door.
"Do you know how easily allegations become problems in families like ours?"
Rachel's voice cooled.
"I didn't make an allegation."
"Good."
Victoria walked to the crib.
Her hand rested on the black iron rail.
"Because children bruise."
"Yes."
"And sometimes employees misunderstand things."
Rachel stood.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
Elara made a soft sound between them.
Victoria looked down at the baby.
Then she smiled again.
"Nothing at all."
That night Rachel checked the nursery security footage.
Every room used for childcare had cameras, Nathan had explained. The recordings were stored locally for thirty days.
Rachel had access because part of her job was maintaining Elara's care records.
She searched the previous twenty-four hours.
The bruise did not appear in the morning.
Then she found a gap.
From 10:42 to 11:07, the nursery camera recording was unavailable.
Rachel checked the system log.
Manual restart.
User credentials: ADMIN-VL.
She stared at the screen.
VL.
Victoria Langford.
At 11:10, the camera resumed.
Elara was already bruised.
Rachel copied the log entry.
Then she searched backward.
There were seventeen manual camera interruptions during the previous two months.
All used the same credentials.
Rachel heard a floorboard outside the office.
She closed the system immediately.
Victoria passed the open doorway.
She did not look inside.
Rachel waited until she was gone.
Then she called the phone number Marjorie had quietly slipped into her pocket that morning.
Lauren Pike answered on the fifth ring.
"Hello?"
Rachel lowered her voice.
"My name is Rachel Monroe. I'm working at Kensington Estate."
Silence.
Then Lauren said, "You shouldn't have called me from there."
Rachel's pulse quickened.
"Why?"
"Because she checks phone records."
"Victoria?"
Lauren did not answer.
Rachel moved away from the window.
"I need to know why you left."
"You need to leave."
"I found camera gaps."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
Lauren whispered, "How many?"
"Seventeen."
"Oh God."
"What did you find?"
Lauren breathed shakily.
"A file Amelia made before she died."
Rachel gripped the phone.
"What file?"
"I never opened it."
"Then how do you know?"
"Because Amelia hid it where Victoria couldn't find it."
"Where?"
May you like
Lauren's answer came so quietly Rachel nearly missed it.
"Inside Elara's crib."
