Chương 4
Then twenty-nine, drunk at Mom’s funeral, asking me why I always acted like I knew what to do.
Now he was forty-two and standing beneath police-station lights with his marriage cracking open beside him.
“I didn’t know she was going to hit him,” he said.
I did not answer.
“I swear to God, Claire.”
My father turned his face away.
That hurt Daniel more than anything I could have said.
Hart stepped between us emotionally if not physically.
“Mr. Mercer, come with me.”
Daniel did not move.
Hart repeated his name.
He followed her through the secured door.
Vanessa watched him go.
Then she sat down.
The tissue in her hand had torn into damp pieces.
The paramedics started wheeling Dad toward the exit.
I walked beside him.
As we passed Vanessa, she said, “Claire.”
I kept moving.
“Claire, you need to understand something.”
That stopped me.
Not because I wanted to hear her.
Because guilty people often volunteered information when silence frightened them.
I turned.
She looked smaller without Daniel beside her.
Her mascara had collected beneath one eye.
“This family has been falling apart for years,” she said.
“That isn’t an explanation.”
“Your father pits you two against each other.”
Dad made a tired sound behind me.
Vanessa leaned forward.
“Daniel has spent his entire life being second place.”
I looked at her.
“To me?”
“To everyone.”
“Vanessa, don’t.”
Dad’s voice was weak but firm.
She ignored him.
“Claire gets the career.”
Her eyes stayed on mine.
“Claire gets the respect.”
“Stop.”
“Claire gets called when something goes wrong.”
My father shifted on the stretcher.
“Vanessa.”
“And Daniel gets what?”
I should have walked away.
Instead I said, “Apparently my father’s baseball bat.”
The cruelty of it hit the instant the words left my mouth.
Daniel was not there to hear it.
Dad was.
He closed his eyes.
I hated myself for the satisfaction I had felt for half a second.
Vanessa smiled faintly.
“There she is.”
The paramedic pushed the stretcher through the doors.
Cold night air struck my face.
I followed.
Dad opened his eyes again.
“You shouldn’t have said that.”
“I know.”
“She’s trying to make you angry.”
“I know.”
“You’re letting her.”
“I know.”
He looked at me for another second.
Then he sighed.
“You always were a terrible liar when you said you were fine.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
It came out wrong and turned into something dangerously close to crying.
Dad reached for my hand.
His fingers were cold.
I held them until the paramedics loaded him into the ambulance.
One of them asked whether I wanted to ride with him.
I looked back at the station.
Through the glass, Vanessa sat alone beneath the fluorescent lights.
Behind another door, my brother was deciding how much truth he could afford.
“I’ll follow,” I said.
Dad tightened his grip before letting go.
“Don’t stay here because of work.”
“I’m not.”
“Claire.”
“I’m coming.”
He studied my face as though deciding whether to believe me.
Then the doors closed.
I stood in the parking lot as the ambulance pulled away.
The officer who had searched Daniel’s SUV approached carrying a sealed evidence bag inside a rigid transport container.
He was careful not to bring it near me.
“Ma’am.”
I stepped aside.
He paused.
“I can’t discuss evidence with you.”
“I didn’t ask.”
He nodded.
Then he said, “Your brother consented to the search on body camera.”
“That was smart.”
The officer looked toward the station.
“I don’t know if smart is the word.”
He went inside.
I started toward my car.
My phone buzzed.
I expected a message from work or the hospital.
Instead it was Daniel.
Call me.
I stared at the screen.
A second message appeared.
Please.
Then a third.
She has Dad’s power of attorney.
I stopped walking.
The parking lot seemed to tilt beneath me.
I called him.
He answered on the first ring.
“What do you mean she has his power of attorney?”
His breathing sounded uneven.
“She made me witness it.”
“When?”
“Six weeks ago.”
“Dad signed it?”
“I thought he did.”
I shut my eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I never actually saw him sign.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Daniel, whose signature did you witness?”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“I don’t know.”
“That is not an acceptable answer.”
“I know.”
“Did you see Dad sign the document?”
“No.”
“Did you watch anyone else sign his name?”
“No.”
“Then what exactly happened?”
He exhaled shakily.
“Vanessa brought the papers home.”
“Whose home?”
“Ours.”
“And?”
“She said Dad had signed them with a mobile notary that afternoon.”
My skin went cold.
“And you signed as a witness?”
“Yes.”
“Without him present?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she said it was just backup paperwork.”
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
“Backup for what?”
“For helping with bills if he got sick.”
“And you believed that?”
He did not answer.
“Daniel.”
“I wanted to.”
There was something in his voice I had not heard all night.
Not shame.
Not fear.
Defeat.
I looked through the glass doors toward Vanessa.
She was no longer in the chair.
“Where is she?”
“What?”
“Vanessa.”
“She should be in the lobby.”
“She isn’t.”
I walked toward the entrance.
Daniel said something I did not catch.
The inner door opened before I reached it.
Lieutenant Hart came out fast.
“Ms. Mercer, did Vanessa leave with you?”
“No.”
Hart immediately turned to Davis.
“Back exit.”
Davis reached for his radio.
My phone was still against my ear.
Daniel said, “Claire?”
I looked across the parking lot.
Near the far end, a pair of headlights came on.
A white sedan pulled away from the curb.
I knew that car.
Vanessa’s sister drove it.
“Lieutenant.”
Hart turned.
I pointed.
“That may be her.”
Hart spoke into her radio.
The sedan stopped at the exit instead of accelerating.
For two seconds nobody moved.
Then the passenger door opened.
May you like
Vanessa stepped out.
She raised both hands before anyone reached her.
