Chapter 8 - The Locked Room)
David called his attorney before opening the door.
Daniel Reed told him not to touch anything more than necessary.
"Call the police if you believe your child was confined there."
"I don't know that."
"You found part of his clothing outside a locked room."
David looked at the button in his hand.
"Yes."
"Then stop playing detective."
David did not argue.
Two officers arrived thirty minutes later.
Officer Grant inspected the door.
"Do you own the property?"
"Yes."
"Do you consent to us opening this room?"
"Yes."
The lock was old.
A locksmith opened it in less than a minute.
The door swung inward.
The room was small.
Concrete walls.
Wooden shelves.
Old wine boxes.
A broken floor lamp.
Nothing immediately looked unusual.
David almost felt relief.
Then Officer Grant turned on his flashlight.
Near the far wall sat a baby blanket.
Pale blue.
David recognized it.
Leo's.
Beside it was an empty bottle.
A pack of wipes.
And a plastic ring from one of his toys.
David could not move.
Officer Grant looked at him.
"These belong to your son?"
"Yes."
"Would there be a normal reason for them to be here?"
"No."
David stepped into the doorway.
There were scratches on the bottom of the door.
Small.
Irregular.
Not from Leo.
Probably old.
But suddenly every mark looked sinister.
Officer Grant photographed the room.
A second officer found something beneath a shelf.
A phone charger.
David stared at it.
"What kind?"
"Older iPhone."
Sarah's backup phone used that connector.
David called her.
She answered.
"What happened?"
"Police are here."
Sarah became silent.
"We opened the storage room."
"And?"
"Leo's blanket is inside."
Sarah whispered something David could not hear.
"We also found a phone charger."
"My charger?"
"Maybe."
"David, I never put anything down there."
"I know."
"Do you?"
He looked at the blue blanket.
"Yes."
For the first time, he did.
Not partially.
Not cautiously.
Completely.
Sarah had been telling the truth.
One of the officers called from the hallway.
"Mr. Mercer?"
David turned.
"We found a camera."
His heart stopped.
It was not one of the house security cameras.
It was a tiny black device attached beneath a shelf.
The memory card had been removed.
"Who installed that?" David asked.
Officer Grant shook his head.
"We'll find out if we can."
The discovery complicated everything.
Had Valerie installed it?
Had Sarah?
Had someone else?
David felt the uncertainty return.
Then Sarah said over the phone.
"Check the power cable."
"What?"
"If it's a cheap camera, the cable might have a purchase label."
David repeated the suggestion.
The officer examined it.
A small white tag was wrapped around the cable.
A barcode.
A store number.
Officer Grant photographed it.
David asked Sarah, "How did you know?"
"I bought a similar one years ago for my mother's porch."
"Did you buy this one?"
"No."
David believed her.
Later that evening, the officers left with the camera, the charger, and several items from the room.
David remained in the empty mansion.
He stood in Leo's nursery.
Without his son, the house felt dead.
His phone rang.
Sarah.
"I remembered something."
"What?"
"The second phone had automatic cloud upload."
David sat down.
"Are you sure?"
"I set it when I used it at my mother's house."
"Then the recording might exist."
"Maybe."
"Can you access the account?"
"Yes."
David held his breath.
Sarah entered the password.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
"Sarah?"
"I'm looking."
He heard her breathing.
Then.
"Oh my God."
David stood.
"What?"
"The file is here."
"Play it."
"No."
He froze.
"Why?"
Her voice shook.
"Because you should hear it with the police."
"What is on it?"
"I only heard the first minute."
"What happened?"
Silence.
Sarah finally answered.
"Valerie was talking to someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"About Leo?"
"About me."
David's hand tightened around the phone.
"What did she say?"
Sarah swallowed.
"She said the bracelet didn't work."
David closed his eyes.
Sarah continued.
"And then the man asked her if she wanted him to make sure I never worked in childcare again."
David opened his eyes.
"What man?"
"I don't know."
"Keep listening."
"No."
"Sarah."
"I'm serious. We give it to the police untouched."
David knew she was right.
"Make a copy."
"I already did."
"Send it to Daniel."
"I will."
Then Sarah became quiet.
"David."
"Yes?"
"There's one more thing."
"What?"
"At the beginning of the recording, before Valerie starts talking, you can hear Leo."
David's stomach tightened.
"What is he doing?"
"Crying."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Sarah."
"He's not upstairs."
David stopped breathing.
"How do you know?"
"Because Valerie says something."
"What?"
Sarah looked at the waveform on her screen.
Her voice dropped.
"She says, Keep him downstairs until David stops asking questions."
David's face went numb.
"Who was she talking to?"
"I don't know."
The unknown device in the security logs returned to his mind.
Someone else had accessed the nursery camera.
Someone else had been inside his house.
Someone else had helped Valerie.
The story was no longer about one cruel woman hiding what she did when her husband left.
May you like
There was another person.
And whoever he was, Valerie believed he could destroy Sarah's life with a phone call.
