Chương 9
Claire’s eyes went to the upper windows again.
Daniel continued.
“I looked.”
“And?”
“No one.”
“That’s it?”
“No.”
His voice dropped.
“The bedroom door shut.”
Ethan frowned.
“On its own?”
Daniel looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
“Was a window open?”
“No.”
“HVAC running?”
“Yes.”
“So a pressure change could have moved it.”
Daniel gave him a hard look.
“Maybe.”
Claire almost clung to that explanation.
Air pressure.
A loose hinge.
A child with nightmares.
A tired husband seeing shapes.
For half a second, the world arranged itself into something survivable.
Then Lily spoke.
“She left footprints.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire looked down.
“What footprints?”
“Wet ones.”
Sarah’s face changed.
Claire noticed.
“You know about that.”
Sarah did not answer immediately.
“Sarah.”
“I saw them.”
“Where?”
“Upstairs.”
“When?”
“When I came here today.”
Claire stared at her.
“You were inside before we arrived.”
“Yes.”
“How did you get in?”
Sarah looked uncomfortable.
“I still had Dad’s old spare key.”
Daniel’s head snapped up.
“What?”
“It was on his ring.”
“That key should not work.”
Sarah looked at him.
“It did.”
Claire looked between them.
Daniel’s expression had shifted from anger to confusion.
“You changed the locks.”
“I did.”
“When?”
“After your purse was stolen last year.”
Claire remembered.
The locksmith.
The new keys.
Daniel handing one to her with a blue rubber cap.
The old spare should have been useless.
“You’re sure you used Dad’s key?”
Sarah pulled a small ring from her pocket.
Three keys hung from it.
One was brass and worn nearly smooth.
Claire recognized the faded strip of red tape her father had wrapped around it years ago.
“Yes.”
Daniel took one step toward her.
“Give me that.”
Sarah closed her hand.
“No.”
“Give it to me.”
Claire moved between them.
“Why are you so interested in the key?”
“Because it shouldn’t open my house.”
“Then maybe someone changed the lock again.”
“I didn’t.”
“Did your mother?”
Daniel looked at Melina.
She stiffened.
“No.”
Claire saw the delay.
It was tiny.
Enough.
“Melina.”
“I said no.”
“When was the last time you had a copy made?”
“I didn’t.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“You lost your key two months ago.”
Melina’s expression hardened.
“I found it.”
“You told me you found it.”
“I did.”
“Where?”
“In my car.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Daniel took another step.
“Did you make a copy before you ‘found’ it?”
Melina’s face changed.
Claire saw the answer.
“So you did.”
“I made one.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Why?”
“In case I lost it again.”
“Who made it?”
“A hardware store.”
“Which one?”
Melina folded her arms.
“I don’t remember.”
“You remember every receipt you’ve ever paid.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“Who else got a copy?”
“No one.”
Sarah said, “That’s a lie.”
Melina turned.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Sarah lifted her phone again.
“I saw someone leave this house this morning.”
Claire’s pulse spiked.
“Who?”
Sarah looked at Melina.
“A woman.”
Daniel went rigid.
“What woman?”
“She came out the front door at seven twelve.”
“How do you know the time?”
“I took a picture.”
Claire stared at her.
“You took a picture?”
“I was parked across the street.”
“That is not helping your credibility.”
“I know.”
Sarah unlocked her phone.
“I came here because Daniel stopped answering me.”
Daniel scoffed.
“You mean after I told you to stop harassing us.”
Sarah ignored him.
“I saw Melina’s car in the driveway.”
Claire looked at Melina.
“You were here at seven?”
Melina said nothing.
Sarah continued.
“Then another woman came out.”
Claire’s stomach tightened.
“Show me.”
Sarah walked closer but stopped a few feet away.
She held the phone out.
Claire took it.
The photograph was grainy through a windshield.
A woman stood at the curb beside a dark sedan.
Blonde hair.
Medium height.
Blue fabric visible beneath a gray coat.
Her face was turned away.
Claire zoomed in.
The image blurred.
Daniel came closer.
“That could be anyone.”
Claire looked at the sedan.
“Do you know the car?”
“No.”
Melina spoke too quickly.
“It belongs to a neighbor.”
Everyone looked at her.
Claire felt something settle into place.
Not the truth.
A direction.
“Which neighbor?”
Melina’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Daniel stared at her.
“Mom.”
“I thought I recognized it.”
“You just said it belongs to a neighbor.”
“I may be mistaken.”
Claire handed the phone back to Sarah.
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
Claire looked at Melina.
“You do.”
“No.”
“Then explain why you’re scared.”
Melina laughed.
“I am not scared.”
Her hands were trembling.
Claire saw them.
Daniel saw them too.
His voice softened.
“Mom.”
Melina looked at him.
Something passed between them.
A plea.
Maybe an old habit of rescue.
Daniel did not move toward her.
That seemed to frighten her more.
Claire said, “Did you let someone into this house?”
Melina pressed her lips together.
“No.”
“Did you give someone a key?”
“No.”
“Did someone ask you for one?”
Silence.
Claire’s anger rose again.
“Answer me.”
Melina’s shoulders dropped a fraction.
“She said she needed access.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Who?”
Melina looked at Claire.
Not Daniel.
Claire felt the answer before she heard it.
“A nurse.”
Claire almost laughed.
“What nurse?”
“The one from your treatment center.”
Claire’s skin went cold.
Daniel stepped toward his mother.
“What are you talking about?”
“She contacted me.”
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“She said there had been a problem.”
Claire’s mouth went dry.
“What problem?”
Melina glanced at Lily.
Claire saw it.
“Say it.”
“She said you had been asking to leave.”
“I was asking to leave.”
“She said you were confused.”
“I was medicated.”
“She said you were becoming suspicious.”
“Of what?”
Melina looked down.
“Your husband.”
Daniel swore under his breath.
Claire stared at her.
“And you believed this stranger.”
“She knew things.”
“What things?”
“Your room number.”
Claire felt her pulse pound behind her eyes.
May you like
“She knew your medication schedule.”
Daniel’s face changed.
