Chapter 7: The Doctor’s Letter
Daniel stared at Detective Harris.
“What evidence?””
Harris looked at the laboratory report in his gloved hand.
“That’s what we need to determine.””
“You said Dr. Hayes sent a package.””
“He did.””
“Then open it.””
“It was archived after an initial review because the information wasn’t enough to establish a crime.””
Daniel’s face hardened.
“My father died.””
“I understand.””
“No, you don’t.””
“Daniel,” I said softly.
He looked at me, then lowered his voice.
“When can we see it?””
Harris hesitated.
“I can request it today.””
“Today?””
“Yes.””
“I’m coming.””
“You’re not going anywhere,” I said.
Daniel turned.
“Claire—”
“I mean me.””
I rested both hands over my belly.
“You go.””
His expression softened.
“You sure?””
“No. But our son has already had enough excitement.””
Rachel offered to drive me home.
Daniel immediately said, “Absolutely not.””
I agreed.
I still couldn’t stand near Rachel without remembering her hands hitting my back.
Harris arranged for an officer to drive me home while Daniel went with him.
Before leaving, Daniel crouched beside me.
“I’ll call you.””
“Don’t confront your mother.””
“I won’t.””
“Promise.””
He looked into my eyes.
“I promise.””
At home, I locked every door.
For the first time, silence frightened me.
I avoided the staircase.
Instead, I sat in the living room with a blanket over my legs and counted every movement our baby made.
One.
Two.
Three.
At six movements, I finally relaxed.
Then the doorbell rang.
My whole body stiffened.
I checked the camera.
Margaret.
I didn’t open the door.
“Claire,” she called.
I stayed silent.
“I know you’re home.””
I picked up my phone and called Daniel.
No answer.
Then Harris.
Voicemail.
Margaret knocked again.
“I just want to talk.””
“You need to leave,” I shouted through the door.
“I need to explain.””
“You can explain to the police.””
“Please.””
That word sounded strange coming from her.
I opened the security app and started recording.
“What do you want?””
“To save my family.””
“You should have thought about that before helping Rachel steal from Daniel.””
“I never told her to hurt you.””
“But you knew she did.””
Silence.
“You defended her.””
“She’s my daughter.””
“And Daniel?””
Another silence.
I almost pitied her.
Almost.
“Did you kill Thomas?””
Her answer came immediately.
“No.””
“Did you know he thought someone was making him sick?””
The porch went quiet.
Too quiet.
“Margaret?””
“Who told you that?””
My skin prickled.
“You need to leave.””
“Claire, listen to me.””
The doorknob moved.
I stepped backward.
“Do not touch that door.””
“Thomas was sick.””
“He wrote that he felt dizzy after dinner.””
“He had heart problems.””
“Then why was he seeing Dr. Hayes?””
Margaret stopped.
I heard her breathing through the door.
Then she whispered, “You found the storage unit.””
Not a question.
I didn’t answer.
Margaret suddenly struck the door with her palm.
“Claire!””
I jumped.
“Whatever you found, you need to give it to me.””
“No.””
“You don’t understand what Thomas was doing!””
“What was he doing?””
“He was destroying us!””
“How?””
“He wanted to confess everything.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Everything about Evelyn?””
“Not just Evelyn.””
My heart started pounding.
“What else?””
Margaret lowered her voice.
“Ask your husband why his father really bought this house.””
“What?””
“You think this is about Daniel’s inheritance?””
“What is it about?””
“Evelyn’s father.””
Before she could continue, another car pulled into the driveway.
Margaret turned.
Daniel.
He jumped out before the car had fully stopped.
“What are you doing here?””
Margaret stepped away from the door.
“Daniel—”
“I told you to stay away from Claire.””
“She called me.””
I opened the door.
“No, I didn’t.””
Daniel’s face changed.
Margaret backed down the porch steps.
“Don’t come here again.””
“You need to hear me.””
“I heard enough.””
“You haven’t heard anything!””
Daniel stopped.
Margaret looked from him to me.
Then she said, “Thomas didn’t buy this house from Evelyn’s father.””
Daniel frowned.
“The records say he did.””
“The records are false.””
“Then what happened?””
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
“Thomas took it.””
Daniel stared at her.
“How do you take a house?””
“By convincing a dying man to sign something he didn’t understand.””
The accusation hung between us.
Daniel’s face went pale.
“My father wouldn’t do that.””
“You didn’t know your father.””
“And apparently I never knew you.””
Margaret flinched.
Daniel stepped onto the porch.
“What did Dr. Hayes know?””
Her fear returned instantly.
“Nothing.””
“Wrong.””
He pulled a photocopied letter from his jacket.
“The police found his package.””
Margaret stared at it.
“What does it say?”” I asked.
Daniel didn’t look away from her.
“Dr. Hayes treated Dad the week before he died.””
Margaret’s lips parted.
“He ordered toxicology testing because Dad’s symptoms didn’t match his heart condition.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did the test find?””
Daniel finally looked at me.
“A prescription sedative.””
Margaret shook her head rapidly.
“No.””
“Dad wasn’t prescribed one.””
“No.””
“The level in his blood was high enough that Hayes wanted him hospitalized.””
“No!””
“Then Dad disappeared from the clinic before they could admit him.””
Margaret began backing toward her car.
Daniel followed.
“Mom.””
“Stay away from me.””
“Who gave Dad the pills?””
“I don’t know.””
“Who cooked dinner the night before he died?””
Margaret’s face crumpled.
“Stop.””
Daniel’s voice broke.
“Was it you?””
“No!””
She opened her car door.
Then Daniel said something that froze her.
“Dr. Hayes kept a second sample.””
Margaret slowly turned.
“He did?””
Daniel stared at her.
That was when I realized something.
He had lied.
There was no second sample.
Margaret’s reaction told him exactly what he wanted to know.
Her eyes widened.
Her breathing stopped.
And then she whispered—
“That sample was destroyed.””
Daniel went completely still.
“How would you know?””
Margaret realized too late what she had said.
She got into her car.
“Mom!””
The tires screamed as she reversed from the driveway.
Daniel didn’t chase her.
He simply stood there, staring after her.
Then he looked down at Dr. Hayes’s letter.
“There’s another name in this.””
“Whose?””
He handed me the final page.
At the bottom, Hayes had written:
May you like
If Thomas Bennett dies unexpectedly, contact Evelyn Hart immediately.
She knows who has been administering the medication.
