Chương 4
My mother’s threat returned.
Kidnapping.
Breaking and entering.
Losing Noah.
I pressed my palms flat against the table.
“If they say I kidnapped her?”
“Then you tell the truth about what happened.”
“That sounds simple when you say it.”
“It isn’t simple.”
For the first time, Denise’s professional distance softened.
“But you have a call log, photographs, a hospital record, and witnesses to what your mother said here.”
Adam asked, “Witnesses?”
“Staff heard her threaten to report Natalie for kidnapping and connect that threat to Natalie’s custody of her own child.”
I looked at Denise.
“Did you write it down?”
“Yes.”
A small breath escaped me.
I had not realized how badly I needed to hear that.
Adam leaned back.
His eyes were bloodshot.
“What about our son?”
Denise looked between us.
“Is he safe right now?”
“Yes.”
“With whom?”
“My sister.”
“Any reason to believe your parents have access to him?”
“No.”
I hesitated.
“They know where we live.”
Adam looked at me.
“We’re changing that.”
“Changing what?”
“The code.”
Our front door keypad.
My parents had the code because they used to pick Noah up from school on Thursdays.
The thought of Gloria standing in our kitchen without knocking had always annoyed Adam.
I had defended it.
They’re family.
The sentence made me feel stupid now.
Denise said, “That would be reasonable.”
I looked at Adam.
“My mother has a key too.”
His mouth tightened.
“Of course she does.”
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You said it with your face.”
“I’m allowed to have a face, Natalie.”
The sharpness in his voice surprised both of us.
He rubbed his forehead immediately.
“Sorry.”
I wanted to apologize too.
Instead I said, “You wanted me to take the key back.”
“Yes.”
“And I didn’t.”
“No.”
“Because I didn’t think—”
“I know why.”
His tone softened, which somehow made me more defensive.
“You don’t have to act like you saw this coming.”
“I didn’t.”
“You hated how involved they were.”
“I hated that your mother reorganized our pantry without asking.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I know.”
“Then stop looking at me like it is.”
Denise sat very still.
Adam stared at the table.
“I’m looking at you because I’m scared.”
That shut me up.
He rubbed his thumb over a scratch in the tabletop.
“I’m scared for Lizzy.”
His voice dropped.
“I’m scared your parents are going to come after us.”
He swallowed.
“And I’m scared Noah is going to wake up and ask why we’re not home.”
The anger went out of me.
I reached across the table.
He took my hand.
Denise gave us a minute.
Then she said, “There’s something else.”
Neither of us let go.
“Lizzy’s physical findings need further evaluation.”
My throat tightened.
“What findings?”
“Dr. Patel will explain the medical details.”
“What aren’t you saying?”
Denise looked at the closed door.
“There are bruises in different stages of healing.”
Adam’s fingers tightened around mine.
“How many?”
“I’m not going to characterize them before the physician documents them.”
“Where?”
“Her arms, upper legs, and back.”
I stared at her.
My brain rejected the last word.
“Her back?”
Denise nodded.
I saw Lizzy at my parents’ Fourth of July barbecue six weeks earlier, wearing a long-sleeved shirt despite the heat.
I had teased Gloria for keeping the air-conditioning too cold.
Gloria had said Lizzy liked sleeves.
I had accepted that.
The memory made bile rise into my throat.
“I should have seen it.”
Denise said nothing.
That was better than reassurance.
I looked at Adam.
“I was there.”
“So was I.”
“I’m her aunt.”
“And I’m her uncle.”
“She called me.”
“Tonight.”
“She called me because I should have known.”
“Natalie.”
“I kept asking why she was thin, and every time my mother gave me some answer, I let her.”
“You challenged her.”
“Not enough.”
“What would enough have looked like?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
I pulled my hand away.
“I don’t need you to fix it.”
“I’m not fixing it.”
“You’re doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“Turning everything into something reasonable.”
His face changed.
“I’m trying not to fall apart in a hospital consultation room at two in the morning.”
That stopped me.
He stood.
“I’m going to call Megan and check on Noah.”
He opened the door.
Then he looked back.
“And I’m changing the code.”
I almost told him not to.
The impulse was automatic.
Don’t provoke Mom.
Don’t make this worse.
Don’t draw a line you might have to defend.
I felt the old reflex rise and then collapse under the image of a metal latch.
“Do it,” I said.
He nodded once and left.
Denise watched the door close.
“Your husband seems supportive.”
“He is.”
“You sounded surprised by that.”
“I’m surprised by everything tonight.”
She accepted that.
A few minutes later, someone knocked.
A police officer stood outside.
My first thought was that Gloria had done exactly what she promised.
The officer introduced herself as Officer Bennett.
She was maybe forty, with damp shoulders on her uniform from the rain.
“Natalie Carter?”
“Yes.”
“I need to speak with you about an incident at a residence on Birch Lane.”
My mouth went dry.
Denise remained beside me.
Officer Bennett said, “Your mother reported that you forced entry into her home and removed a minor child without permission.”
There it was.
The words sounded different in an official voice.
Cleaner.
Worse.
“I did break the window.”
“Did you take Elizabeth Mercer from the residence?”
“Yes.”
“Without the guardians’ permission?”
“Yes.”
Denise glanced at me, but I kept going.
“She called me from inside a closet that was latched from the outside.”
Officer Bennett’s pen stopped.
“She called you?”
I showed her the call log.
Then the photographs.
She studied the picture of the latch for several seconds.
“Where are the guardians now?”
Denise pointed toward the waiting room.
Officer Bennett looked through the glass panel in the door.
May you like
My mother was watching us.
Even from across the room, I could tell she was trying to read my face.
