Chapter 8
Detective Brooks took control immediately.
“Do not send anything else.”
He photographed the message.
Then he asked for my phone.
I handed it over.
Ryan paced near the bed.
“Private nurse?”
“I never knew Grandpa had one.”
Brooks looked at him.
“You were not living here?”
“No. I had an apartment downtown.”
“How often did you visit?”
“Every week.”
“And you never saw a nurse?”
“No.”
The phone buzzed in Brooks’s hand.
Another message.
I HAVE RECORDS.
Brooks typed a response.
THIS IS DETECTIVE AARON BROOKS WITH THE OAK PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT. CALL THIS NUMBER.
Less than ten seconds later, the phone rang.
Unknown number.
Brooks answered.
“Detective Brooks.”
A woman’s voice came through the speaker.
“Is Emma safe?”
Brooks looked at me.
“She’s with police.”
The woman exhaled.
“Thank God.”
“Are you Maria Santos?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m not saying over the phone.”
“Why did you contact Emma?”
“Because I heard Linda was trying to remove her from Walter’s trust.”
“How?”
“David Mercer.”
Ryan looked toward the door.
Brooks asked, “You’re in contact with him?”
“Not directly.”
“Then how did you know?”
A pause.
“Rachel told me years ago to watch what happened with Emma.”
Sophie’s mother.
The dead daughter.
Ryan whispered, “Everybody knew except me.”
Maria heard him.
“Ryan?”
He leaned toward the phone.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then Maria’s voice softened.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For leaving.”
Ryan looked confused.
“You didn’t know me.”
“I knew you.”
His face changed.
“What?”
“I cared for you when you were little.”
Ryan gripped the edge of the dresser.
“My mother said we never had a nanny.”
“I wasn’t your nanny.”
“What were you?”
Maria paused.
“I was your grandmother’s nurse first.”
David’s mother.
Walter’s wife.
“Then your grandfather hired me privately when his health began failing.”
Ryan looked at Detective Brooks.
“Why wouldn’t Mom tell me?”
Maria answered.
“Because I knew too much.”
Brooks asked, “About Walter’s death?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“I can’t do this on the phone.”
“Can you come to the station?”
“I can meet you somewhere public.”
Brooks gave instructions.
A police facility outside the neighborhood.
Thirty minutes.
Maria agreed.
Then she said, “Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Do not eat or drink anything Linda gives you.”
My blood went cold.
“Why?”
The line went quiet.
“Maria?”
“Because she did it before.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Ryan looked horrified.
“Did what?”
Brooks’s face had changed.
This was no longer a family dispute.
He walked toward the bedroom door.
“Both of you stay here.”
“No,” I said.
He stopped.
“I’m leaving this house.”
“That’s probably wise.”
“I’m going to a hotel.”
Ryan looked at me.
“Emma—”
“You’re not coming.”
His expression fell.
“I understand.”
That surprised me.
He reached into his pocket.
“Take the car.”
“I have my own.”
“Your keys are downstairs.”
I stopped.
My keys had been on the kitchen hook that morning.
Had Linda touched them?
Maria’s warning echoed in my head.
Do not eat or drink anything Linda gives you.
Suddenly I didn’t want to touch anything in the house.
Detective Brooks said, “An officer can escort you while you collect what you need.”
I nodded.
We went downstairs.
Linda sat at the dining table.
Victor sat across from her.
Their phones had been temporarily set aside while officers documented information.
David sat on the couch with Sophie.
The moment I came down, Linda looked at me.
“You’ve destroyed this family.”
I stopped.
“No.”
She laughed.
“You think David cares about you?”
“I don’t care what David thinks about me.”
“He wants my money.”
“Apparently you don’t have any.”
Her face tightened.
Victor leaned toward her.
“Linda.”
She ignored him.
“You have no idea what you’ve started.”
“I didn’t start it.”
“You should have kept your mouth shut.”
Ryan came down behind me.
“Mom.”
Linda looked at him.
“My own son.”
He said nothing.
“You’re letting strangers tear apart your grandfather’s house.”
“It isn’t your house.”
Her expression changed.
Those were my words from earlier.
Now they came from him.
Ryan continued.
“You forged my signature.”
She laughed.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“There’s a document upstairs.”
“David planted it.”
“You told me he was dead.”
“In every way that matters.”
“You told me Rachel ran away.”
“She did.”
“Sophie says you intercepted her letters.”
“That child has been brainwashed.”
“You locked her upstairs.”
“For her own protection!”
Sophie flinched.
David stood.
Officer Hernandez touched his arm.
“Don’t.”
Ryan stared at his mother.
“Did you know Rachel was dead?”
Linda said nothing.
“Mom.”
Silence.
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
David made a broken sound.
Sophie grabbed his hand.
Ryan closed his eyes.
“When?”
“A year ago.”
“You didn’t tell Uncle David?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he would have used it against me.”
David shouted, “My daughter died!”
Officer Hernandez stepped between them.
Linda remained cold.
“She made her choices.”
David tried to move around the officer.
Sophie held him.
“Grandpa, no.”
That word stopped him.
Grandpa.
David looked at Sophie.
All the fight went out of him.
Linda rolled her eyes.
“Touching.”
Ryan looked disgusted.
“How did Rachel die?”
Linda glanced at Victor.
That glance did not escape Detective Brooks.
He asked, “Mrs. Carter?”
Victor spoke.
“My client is not answering.”
Brooks nodded.
“That’s her right.”
Then he looked at Linda.
“But I suggest you stop volunteering information.”
She smiled.
“You people think you’re so clever.”
Victor whispered, “Linda.”
“No.”
She pushed back her chair.
“I have spent my entire life cleaning up after useless men.”
Her voice shook with anger.
“My father-in-law judged me.”
“Your brother-in-law accused me.”
“My husband left me with debts.”
“Rachel threatened me.”
“And now Emma comes into my home pretending she’s some innocent little victim.”
I stared at her.
“You put my face in a bucket.”
“You pushed me for months.”
“I asked you to knock before entering my bedroom.”
“You challenged me in my own house.”
“You lied about me.”
“Because you would never leave voluntarily.”
Ryan whispered, “Why did you need her gone so badly?”
Linda looked at him.
The rage faded.
For a second, I saw something else.
Fear.
“Because once September fifteenth arrives, she can request the audit.”
“So?”
Linda said nothing.
Ryan stepped closer.
“What would the audit find?”
Victor stood.
“This conversation is over.”
Ryan shouted, “WHAT WOULD IT FIND?”
Linda flinched.
Then she laughed.
A strange, exhausted laugh.
“You always were slow.”
Ryan went still.
Victor grabbed his briefcase.
“I am advising my client not to answer further questions.”
Detective Brooks blocked the front door.
“You’re free to leave unless otherwise detained, Mr. Hale. But your client may need to remain available.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“You have no grounds.”
“Maybe not yet.”
A second detective entered.
She whispered to Brooks.
He listened.
Then looked at Linda.
Everything changed in his expression.
“Mrs. Carter, stand up.”
Victor immediately moved toward her.
“Why?”
Brooks said, “We just confirmed the temporary order regarding Sophie’s detention.”
Linda’s face tightened.
“What order?”
“A judge has authorized us to secure this property while we investigate unlawful restraint of a minor and possible financial crimes.”
Victor started talking rapidly.
Brooks ignored him.
Linda stood.
The female detective approached with handcuffs.
Linda’s confidence finally cracked.
“No.”
“Place your hands behind your back.”
“No.”
“Mrs. Carter.”
“This is my house.”
“Hands behind your back.”
She looked at Ryan.
“Tell them.”
He stood motionless.
“Ryan!”
Nothing.
“I am your mother!”
Ryan’s eyes filled with tears.
“I know.”
“Then do something!”
He looked at me.
Then Sophie.
Then David.
Then back at Linda.
“No.”
Linda screamed.
She lunged toward him.
The detective caught her arm.
Linda fought.
Victor shouted.
Officers moved in.
For several chaotic seconds, Linda kicked and twisted and yelled that everyone was stealing from her.
Then the cuffs clicked shut.
She stopped.
Her eyes found mine.
The hatred in them was almost calm.
“You think you won?”
I said nothing.
She leaned toward me as officers held her.
“You still don’t know what Ryan did.”
Ryan went pale.
I looked at him.
“What did he do?”
Linda smiled.
“You should ask him why Walter changed the trust in the first place.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Mom, stop.”
“Ask him.”
“Stop.”
“Ask your husband why his grandfather put your name in that trust six days after Ryan tried to take his own father’s money.”
I stared at Ryan.
His face collapsed.
“What is she talking about?”
He didn’t answer.
Linda laughed as the officers led her toward the door.
“Tell her, sweetheart.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
May you like
Linda’s voice followed from the porch.
“Tell your wife what you stole before you ever married her.”
