Chapter 10: The Key Beneath Emily’s Floorboard
Detective Brooks took the brass key from the evidence bag and held it beneath the room's fluorescent light.
"Mr. Carter, are you certain this belongs to your house?""
"Yes. It opens the cabinet where I kept Emily's medical records.""
"Who knew about that cabinet?""
"My brother. Vanessa may have learned about it from him.""
"And Andrew Price?""
"I don't know.""
She placed the key back inside the bag.
"Then we won't be going anywhere alone.""
I looked at Sophie, who was sitting beside a uniformed officer with her stuffed rabbit in her lap.
The note had been written in block letters.
The truth is in the house. Come alone if you want to find it.
Someone wanted me to return to my home. Someone knew about Emily's cabinet. And someone had removed the photograph linking Vanessa to Andrew.
I wasn't going to follow instructions from a person who might be involved in my wife's death.
But I couldn't ignore the possibility that the missing records contained the answers we'd been searching for.
"Can the house be searched legally?"" I asked.
Detective Brooks nodded.
"We can begin by securing the property and documenting what is visible. If we find evidence supporting a broader investigation, we'll determine the appropriate next steps.""
"Then let's go.""
She glanced toward Sophie.
"Your daughter stays with a trusted officer until we establish that the house is safe.""
I knelt beside Sophie.
"I need to go somewhere with Detective Brooks. You'll stay here with Officer Reynolds, and I'll call you as soon as I can.""
She grabbed my hand.
"Are you going to find Mommy's papers?""
"That's what I'm going to try to do.""
"Will you come back?""
I kissed her forehead.
"Always.""
The word came out before I could think about it.
For years, I'd believed that being a good father meant providing stability, paying the bills, and making sure Sophie never went without anything she needed.
Now I understood that sometimes it meant admitting when the world wasn't safe and doing everything possible to keep her from facing it alone.
The drive to my house took twenty-five minutes.
Two police vehicles followed us. Detective Brooks sat beside me in the lead car, reviewing the information gathered so far.
"One thing concerns me," she said.
"Andrew Price seems to know details about your family that he shouldn't know.""
"He was inside my house.""
"Possibly. But the messages suggest someone has been monitoring your activities.""
I looked out the window.
"Vanessa knew when I was traveling. She knew about the insurance policy. She knew about the guardianship paperwork.""
"And she may have had assistance.""
I thought about Michael's confession.
My brother had lied, accepted money, concealed evidence, and failed to tell me what he'd witnessed at the hospital.
But had he helped someone harm Emily?
I couldn't answer that question.
When we arrived, the front door was locked.
Nothing appeared disturbed from the street. The porch light was still working, and the flowerpots Sophie had painted last summer sat beside the steps.
It looked like home.
That was the most unsettling part.
Detective Brooks and another officer entered first. They checked the ground floor, then called for us to follow.
I walked into the living room.
Emily's photograph still sat on the mantel.
Sophie's school backpack hung beside the kitchen door. A half-finished puzzle covered the coffee table.
Everything looked ordinary.
Then I noticed the cabinet in my study.
The door stood slightly open.
I approached it but stopped when Detective Brooks raised her hand.
"Don't touch anything.""
She photographed the cabinet, the surrounding desk, and the lock. An officer examined the area while another checked the room for signs of forced entry.
"The lock doesn't appear damaged," he said.
I swallowed.
"Someone had a key.""
Detective Brooks nodded.
"Or another way to open it.""
The cabinet contained old tax returns, insurance documents, and several medical folders. Emily's file was missing.
I checked the shelf above it.
Nothing.
Then I remembered the small brass key.
"There's another place I used to keep important things," I said.
Detective Brooks turned toward me.
"Where?""
"Under a loose floorboard in the upstairs hallway. Emily used to joke that our house had a secret compartment.""
We went upstairs.
The floorboard was beneath a narrow runner near Sophie's old nursery. I hadn't lifted it in years.
An officer carefully removed the board.
Beneath it sat a flat metal box.
My hands trembled when I saw the initials engraved on the lid.
E.C.
Emily Carter.
Detective Brooks photographed the box before allowing me to examine it.
It wasn't locked.
Inside were several envelopes, a flash drive, and a folded hospital document bearing Emily's signature.
The first envelope was addressed to me.
Daniel, if you're reading this, then something has happened that I was afraid to tell you about.
I sat on the stairs and unfolded the letter.
I don't want you to think I'm losing my mind. I know how this sounds. Someone has accessed my prescription records, and I've discovered discrepancies in the medication I received. The hospital says there may have been an administrative error, but I don't believe that's the whole story.
My throat tightened.
The letter continued.
Michael knows more than he's telling you. He came to see me tonight, and I asked him to keep a copy of the medication label. I don't know whether I can trust him with everything, but I believe he wants to protect you.
I stopped reading.
That was different from what I'd expected.
Emily hadn't accused Michael of harming her.
She'd written that she believed he wanted to protect me.
Detective Brooks read the next paragraph over my shoulder.
If anything happens to me, look at the dispensing records for March 14. The original prescription was changed after my doctor signed it. I don't know who authorized the change.
March 14.
The date two days before Emily died.
I reached for the next envelope.
Inside was a printed pharmacy record and a handwritten name.
Andrew Price.
Beside his name was a note.
He was working the evening shift when my prescription was changed.
Detective Brooks photographed the document.
"This gives us a specific lead," she said.
"We'll need to verify these records independently.""
I picked up the flash drive.
"What do you think is on this?""
"We won't know until it's examined.""
I looked inside the metal box again.
There was one final item at the bottom: a photograph of Emily standing outside a pharmacy, holding Sophie's hand.
On the back, she'd written a sentence.
The person who changed my prescription wasn't working alone.
Before I could say anything, an officer called from the downstairs hallway.
"Detective! You need to see this.""
We hurried down.
He stood beside the kitchen table, holding a clear evidence bag containing a folded sheet of paper.
It had been pushed beneath the edge of a placemat.
Detective Brooks opened the bag and examined the page.
Her expression hardened.
It was a list of names, dates, and payment amounts.
One name appeared beside the date Emily's prescription had been changed.
Andrew Price.
Another appeared beside a transfer of twenty thousand dollars.
Michael Carter.
My brother's name.
May you like
And beneath it was a final handwritten instruction.
If Daniel discovers the records, make sure he never reaches the police.
