Chương 4
Emily exhaled.
“He liked talking to her.”
“Did he hide the communication?”
“Some of it.”
“Did Ms. Reed ever threaten you or Noah before today?”
“No.”
“Any comments about the baby?”
Emily thought.
The answer should have been no.
Then she remembered dinner in Denver six weeks earlier.
Vanessa had watched Daniel carrying Noah through the restaurant after the baby became fussy.
She had smiled and said, “He has you trained.”
Daniel had laughed.
Emily had not.
At the time it had seemed petty.
Now every old sentence wanted to become evidence.
“I don’t know.”
Deputy Vega leaned back slightly.
“That’s a valid answer.”
Emily looked at Noah.
He was asleep.
His eyelashes were still wet.
The deputy asked whether Emily wanted medical assistance.
“Yes.”
“We have paramedics here. They can evaluate him, but because of his age they may recommend a hospital assessment.”
“That’s fine.”
When the interview ended, Emily found Daniel in the hall.
He was leaning against the wall with both hands in his coat pockets.
“How’d it go?”
“Fine.”
“They want to take Vanessa down to the station.”
Emily stopped.
“Is she under arrest?”
“They said they’re still sorting that out.”
“Where is she?”
“With security.”
Daniel’s mouth tightened.
“She keeps asking for me.”
Emily stared at him.
“And?”
“I haven’t spoken to her.”
“Do you want to?”
“No.”
He answered too quickly.
Emily looked away.
Daniel’s voice softened.
“No. I don’t.”
A paramedic examined Noah in another office.
The baby woke furious at being touched by a stranger and began kicking.
The paramedic smiled.
“That’s not the worst sign.”
Emily nearly cried again.
The man listened to Noah’s heart, checked his eyes, felt along his arms and legs, and asked whether he had struck anything.
“No.”
“Any vomiting?”
“No.”
“Loss of consciousness?”
“No.”
He recommended that they have Noah assessed at the nearest emergency department anyway because of his age and the sudden movement of the stroller.
Daniel had already found the route on his phone.
The highway over the pass was under a winter weather advisory, but the hospital was down-valley, not across the pass.
“I’ll drive.”
Emily shook her head.
“You’re shaking.”
Daniel looked at his hands.
He was.
“I can drive.”
“I’ll drive.”
“You’ve been crying.”
“I can still operate a car.”
He almost argued.
Then he held out the keys.
It was a tiny exchange.
Emily would remember it.
Not because it proved anything grand.
Because before Noah was born, Daniel would have insisted.
He always thought action was the same as usefulness.
They were preparing to leave when the desk manager approached.
“Mrs. Mercer?”
Emily turned.
“I’m sorry to bother you. The deputies asked that you remain available by phone. We’ve preserved the security footage, and we’ll provide it directly to them.”
“Okay.”
“The woman who witnessed the incident also gave a statement.”
Emily nodded.
The manager looked toward Noah.
“I’m glad he’s all right.”
“We don’t know yet.”
His expression changed.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Daniel opened the lobby doors.
Cold air swept inside.
Emily stepped through first.
Behind them, the fireplace continued burning.
For the first time since the stroller moved, Emily looked directly at it.
The hearth was only stone.
The fire was only fire.
What frightened her was the distance between where Noah had been and where he could have ended up.
It was short enough to cross in seconds.
The emergency department was quiet for a Saturday afternoon.
A nurse weighed Noah, checked his vitals, and gave him a plastic bracelet he immediately tried to chew.
Emily sat on the exam table with him in her lap.
Daniel stood near the door.
His phone rang twice.
He silenced it both times.
On the third call, Emily said, “Who is it?”
“My father.”
“You should answer.”
“I’ll call him later.”
“He’s expecting us at dinner.”
“I don’t care about dinner.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“Stop saying you don’t care about things you obviously have to deal with.”
He stared at her.
She bounced Noah gently.
“Your parents are at the lodge. Your sister is at the lodge. Half the weekend is there because your father is retiring. Vanessa is part of the design team renovating his next property. This affects things.”
“I know.”
“Then act like you know.”
His mouth tightened.
“You want me to call my dad and say what?”
“The truth.”
Daniel looked toward the floor.
Emily almost smiled, but there was nothing funny in it.
“The truth has been our problem for a while.”
A doctor came in before he could answer.
The examination took twenty minutes.
Noah protested every part of it.
By the end he was crawling across the paper-covered table, trying to steal the doctor’s penlight.
The doctor found no immediate signs of injury.
Because Noah had not fallen, struck his head, or shown neurological symptoms, she did not recommend imaging. She gave them a list of things to monitor overnight and told them to return if anything changed.
Emily read the discharge sheet twice.
Daniel read it three times.
Outside the hospital, darkness had settled over the valley.
Snow came down in fine diagonal lines.
Daniel stood beside the SUV while Emily strapped Noah into his car seat.
“We don’t have to go back.”
“Our bags are there.”
“I can get them.”
“And go where?”
“A hotel.”
Emily fastened the chest clip.
“We are at a hotel.”
“A different one.”
“Everything’s booked. It’s Saturday in ski season.”
“I’ll find something.”
“No.”
Daniel closed his mouth.
Emily rested one hand on the open car door.
“I’m not running out of the lodge because of her.”
“This isn’t about pride.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
“You shouldn’t have to see her.”
“Is she there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then find out.”
Daniel called the security officer.
Vanessa had left with deputies voluntarily for further questioning. Her room access had been suspended pending management review. Her belongings were still upstairs.
Daniel ended the call.
May you like
“She’s not there.”
“Then we go back.”
