Chương 12
Claire’s anger sharpened.
“So what, you gave him coffee and sent him home?”
“No.”
“He is currently being interviewed with counsel present.”
“What counsel?”
“A criminal defense attorney.”
Claire laughed without humor.
“Fast.”
“Very.”
“Who called the attorney?”
“We’re not sure yet.”
That answer landed heavily.
“You think Hale did.”
“I think someone arranged representation unusually quickly.”
Claire’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“What did Dad say about Ethan?”
“That he hasn’t seen him.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about Chloe?”
“He says he barely knows her.”
“That’s absurd.”
“Yes.”
Claire almost smiled at Daniel’s refusal to soften it.
“Did Dad know she had documents?”
“He denied knowing anything about documents.”
“He’s lying.”
“Maybe.”
“Likely.”
Daniel paused.
“Likely.”
Claire leaned back.
“What happens with the box?”
“We’re seeking legal authority to preserve and examine its contents.”
“How long?”
“I’m not predicting.”
“Because procedure.”
“Because judges dislike being rushed by impatient federal agents.”
“Do judges like impatient postpartum women?”
“Less than you’d hope.”
Maya covered a laugh.
Claire looked through the small window in the consultation room door.
A NICU nurse walked past carrying folded blankets.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“If Chloe was running from Ethan, why was his car in Red Hook?”
“We’re working on that.”
“Were there cameras?”
“Some.”
“Some?”
“Industrial area, mixed coverage.”
“Anything useful?”
“Possibly.”
Claire groaned.
He continued before she could object.
“One camera shows Ethan’s car entering the area at 2:14 a.m.”
“And leaving?”
“It didn’t.”
“Who was driving?”
“We can’t tell.”
“Anyone get out?”
“Two figures.”
“Man and woman?”
“Likely.”
Claire ignored the word this time.
“Then?”
“They walked out of frame toward a warehouse corridor.”
“And nobody comes back?”
“One person returns.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“Which one?”
“We can’t identify the person from that angle.”
“Time?”
“2:31.”
“Seventeen minutes.”
“Yes.”
“Then the car stays there?”
“Yes.”
“Until police find it?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to the person who came back?”
“They walked away.”
“Direction?”
“Toward Van Brunt Street.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Blood in the car.”
“Yes.”
“Could it have been there before they arrived?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any reason to think it was?”
“No.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“Was there blood outside the car?”
“We found a small amount near the passenger side.”
“Trail?”
“No.”
“Anything in the warehouse corridor?”
“Teams are searching.”
Maya watched Claire’s face.
Claire could see she hated every answer.
“What about the broken phone?”
Daniel said, “It belonged to Chloe.”
Maya swore.
Claire said nothing.
The consultation room suddenly felt too warm.
“Was the blood hers?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Claire stared at the floor.
Chloe asking if the baby was alive.
Chloe whispering through the phone.
Chloe saying Ethan knew she had the documents.
“Find her.”
“We are.”
“Find her before he does.”
Daniel was silent.
Then he said, “Claire, there’s something else.”
She closed her eyes.
“There’s always something else.”
“The phone wasn’t just broken.”
“What does that mean?”
“The SIM tray had been removed.”
Claire frowned.
“So?”
“The SIM card was gone.”
“Ethan took it?”
“We don’t know.”
“Could Chloe have removed it?”
“Yes.”
“Why would she?”
“To prevent easy identification, to move it to another device, to preserve something, or for reasons we haven’t established.”
Claire’s mind started working despite the exhaustion.
“If she moved the SIM.”
“She may have another phone.”
“Can you trace it?”
“If it connects.”
“Has it?”
“No.”
Claire looked at Maya.
Maya was already thinking the same thing.
“Her sister.”
“What about her?” Daniel asked.
“If Chloe planned to leave Ethan, she may have arranged a second phone through her sister.”
“We already asked.”
“And?”
“The sister says no.”
Claire studied Maya.
Maya shook her head.
“She could be lying.”
“Why?”
“To protect Chloe.”
Daniel said, “We considered that.”
“Then consider harder.”
“I’ll notify the team that Claire Morgan has authorized additional consideration.”
Despite everything, Maya laughed.
Claire almost did too.
Then Daniel’s tone changed.
“Wait.”
Claire heard someone speaking to him in the background.
He answered with a short yes.
Another pause.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“They found someone.”
Her body went cold.
“Who?”
“Female.”
“Alive?”
Daniel did not answer fast enough.
Claire’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Claire exhaled so hard it hurt her incision.
“Is it Chloe?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Where?”
“In a service passage behind one of the warehouses.”
“Conscious?”
“No.”
“Is she hurt?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of injuries?”
“I don’t have details.”
Claire pressed her palm against her forehead.
“Is she breathing?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they taking her?”
Daniel answered carefully.
“To a hospital.”
“Which?”
“Methodist.”
Claire looked at Maya.
“Go.”
Maya blinked.
“What?”
“Go to her.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m in a hospital surrounded by nurses.”
“You just had surgery.”
“Chloe may wake up alone.”
Maya hesitated.
Claire saw the conflict.
“Please.”
Maya stood slowly.
“You call me if anything changes.”
“With the baby.”
“Yes.”
“With you.”
“Yes.”
“With Daniel being annoying.”
Daniel said through the phone, “I’m still here.”
Maya leaned toward it.
“I know.”
She grabbed her coat.
At the door, she turned back.
Claire expected reassurance.
Instead Maya said, “You look terrible.”
Claire stared at her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Then she left.
Claire sat alone in the small room.
Daniel remained on the line.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Finally Claire said, “If it’s Chloe, Ethan did this.”
“We don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice was firm.
“You suspect it.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“You’re going to make me hate evidence.”
“Evidence doesn’t care.”
“Neither do you.”
“That isn’t true.”
The answer came too quickly.
Claire opened her eyes.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“We just can’t afford to decide the story before the facts arrive.”
Claire looked through the window toward the NICU.
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
Her phone vibrated against her palm.
A new message appeared from an unknown number.
Claire stared at it.
Daniel heard her silence.
“What?”
She read the message once.
Then again.
“Claire?”
May you like
Her mouth went dry.
“It says, ‘Your sister-in-law is alive because I allowed it.’”
