Chapter 12: The Second Bottle
Detective Hayes read the message twice before showing it to my father.
He looked as though he'd aged ten years in a single minute.
“What second bottle?”” he whispered.
Nobody answered.
The detective immediately called the number again. This time, the phone was switched off.
“Can you locate her?”” Dad asked.
“We'll try. But I can't promise she'll be found quickly.””
“She's a witness in an investigation involving my wife's death!””
“I understand, Mr. Carter. That's why we're treating this seriously.””
She turned toward Daniel.
“Do you know anything about a second bottle?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. I only knew about the medication Nicole brought into the hospital.””
Olivia folded her arms.
“Then why would Patricia tell Richard to explain it?””
Daniel looked at Dad.
“Because someone wants him to look guilty.””
I glanced at my father.
“Dad, is there anything you remember about a second bottle?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“I remember taking one prescription from the pharmacy. I remember Nicole meeting me outside. I remember driving back to the hospital.””
He paused.
“But I don't remember what happened to the medication after we arrived.””
Detective Hayes wrote something down.
“Did you hand it to anyone?””
“I might have given it to a nurse.””
“Which nurse?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you enter Isabelle's room with it?””
Dad stared at the floor.
“I think so.””
The words landed like stones.
I felt my chest tighten.
“You think so?””
He looked at me, his eyes full of anguish.
“I was exhausted, Maya. Your mother had been sick for weeks. I was trying to keep my business running, take care of you, and make sure she received the treatment she needed.
I remember standing beside her bed. I remember asking whether she'd taken her medication.””
He swallowed.
“But I don't remember seeing her swallow a pill.””
Detective Hayes closed her notebook.
“That's something we'll need to clarify through the medical records.””
She instructed us to remain available while officers attempted to locate Patricia Wells.
Then she asked my father to accompany her to another room for a more detailed interview.
Before he left, Dad touched my shoulder.
“I know you're frightened.””
I nodded.
“I'm frightened, too,” he admitted.
“But I'm not going to run away from this.””
He followed the detective down the corridor.
Olivia sat beside me in the waiting area.
After several minutes, she spoke.
“My mother used to tell me that the worst lies were the ones people told themselves.””
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
“She said people could do terrible things and still believe they were good people. They could steal, betray, even hurt someone, and convince themselves they had no choice.””
She stared at the floor.
“I used to think she was talking about the family who raised me. Now I wonder whether she was talking about herself.””
I didn't know what to say.
Olivia had spent years searching for Nicole, hoping to find a missing piece of her identity. Instead, she'd found a woman who appeared to have built her entire life around hiding from the past.
And I'd spent eight years trying to earn the love of someone who might have helped destroy my mother.
A uniformed officer approached us.
“Miss Carter? Detective Hayes would like you to review something.””
I followed him into a small conference room.
On the table lay a photocopy of a pharmacy transaction record.
The original had been retrieved from the pharmacy's archived system.
Two purchases had been made that evening.
The first was the prescription my father had collected for Isabelle.
The second was a nonprescription product purchased by Nicole several minutes earlier.
The product name had been partially obscured by a damaged line on the printout.
But the quantity was clear.
Two bottles.
I stared at the page.
“Why would she buy two?””
Detective Hayes sat across from me.
“We don't know yet. The pharmacist remembers selling Nicole a product that was available without a prescription, but she doesn't remember the brand. We're working to identify it.””
“Could it have been something harmless?””
“Yes.””
“Could it have been dangerous?””
“Depending on the product and the circumstances, possibly. But we won't speculate until we have the original transaction data and medical records.””
I nodded, trying to steady my breathing.
Then I noticed another line.
The purchase had been made using a loyalty account registered to Nicole's mother.
“Why would Nicole use her mother's account?””
Detective Hayes examined the page.
“That is a useful question.””
She made a note.
“Did Nicole have a close relationship with her parents?””
“Not according to what she told us,” I replied.
“She said they disowned her years ago.””
The detective nodded slowly.
“People sometimes give different accounts of family relationships. We'll verify this independently.””
She slid another document across the table.
It was a list of phone calls made from Nicole's mobile account on the night my mother died.
One number appeared repeatedly.
A number belonging to a private medical transport company.
I looked up.
“Why would she call a transport company?””
“We don't know. The company is still operating, and we've requested their archived records.””
I felt a chill move down my arms.
“Could they have taken my mother somewhere?””
“That's one possibility. But we need evidence before drawing conclusions.””
When I returned to the waiting area, Daniel was standing near the window, speaking quietly to Olivia.
He stopped when he saw me.
“What did they show you?””
“The pharmacy records. Nicole bought two bottles that night.””
His expression changed.
“I knew there was something else.””
“What?””
Daniel rubbed his hands together.
“Nicole once told me Isabelle had refused her medication. She said Richard had become so upset that he threw a bottle against the wall.””
I stared at him.
“Did that happen?””
“I don't know. I wasn't there.””
“Then why are you telling me?””
“Because Nicole told me to remember it that way if anyone ever questioned us.””
My stomach twisted.
“She wanted you to lie?””
Daniel nodded.
“She said people would ask why Isabelle's medication had been changed. She told me to say Richard had become confused and accidentally given her the wrong bottle.””
I backed away from him.
“You were going to let Dad take the blame?””
Daniel looked devastated.
“I was afraid. I thought if I repeated what she said, she'd leave me alone.””
“You keep saying that.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't.”” My voice shook.
“You keep acting as though fear explains everything. Mom was dying. Dad was trying to save her.
I was nine years old. And you and Nicole were planning what story to tell afterward.””
Daniel lowered his head.
“I deserve your anger.””
“You deserve more than that.””
I walked away before he could answer.
An hour later, Detective Hayes gathered us in the conference room.
She had received a call from the hospital's records department.
The original medication log had been located in an archived file.
According to the record, Isabelle had received a medication that was not listed on her active prescription chart. The entry had been made shortly before her condition deteriorated.
But the administration record contained an important detail.
The medication had been signed out under the name of a nurse who had not been assigned to Isabelle's ward that evening.
Patricia Wells.
Detective Hayes looked at my father.
“Mr. Carter, this doesn't establish that you administered anything. But it does raise questions about why a medication was given without a corresponding physician's order.””
Dad's face was pale.
“Could Patricia have given it?””
“Possibly. We need to speak with her again.””
Olivia leaned forward.
“And the second bottle?””
“We're still identifying the product.””
Daniel looked at the table.
Then he whispered, “Nicole once told me Patricia owed her a favor.””
Detective Hayes's head snapped up.
“What kind of favor?””
“I don't know. Nicole said Patricia would do what she asked because she had something on her.””
The detective immediately wrote it down.
“Why didn't you tell us this earlier?””
“Because I didn't think it mattered.””
“Mr. Carter, it may matter a great deal.””
Daniel nodded, ashamed.
Just then, an officer hurried into the room.
“Detective, we located Patricia Wells.””
Hayes stood.
“Where?””
“At a motel outside the city. She's agreed to speak with us, but she says she won't come to the station.””
“Why not?””
The officer hesitated.
“She claims someone has been threatening her family.””
Dad gripped the edge of the table.
“Who?””
The officer looked at us.
“She says Nicole Bennett has been sending messages to her daughter.””
My father closed his eyes.
Detective Hayes picked up her coat.
“We're going to speak with Patricia in person.””
As she left, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
*Maya, if you want to know what happened to your mother, stop trusting your father. He knows what was in the second bottle.*
A second message arrived before I could respond.
It contained a photograph.
My father stood beside a hospital bed, holding a small white bottle.
The date stamp read October 14.
And in the reflection of the glass behind him, I could see someone standing in the doorway.
Someone wearing Nicole's wedding ring.
Someone holding a second bottle.
*The photograph was real.*
But the person who had sent it knew something the police didn't.
They knew where the original photograph had been hidden.
May you like
And beneath the image was a final message.
*Ask Richard why he kept this from you for eight years.*
