Chương 8
She nodded as though he had.
“I thought I was protecting the process,” she said. “The court petition. The audit. I wanted it done correctly.”
“You should have told me.”
“Yes.”
“You could have been killed.”
“Yes.”
The agreement removed some of his anger and left only fear.
Emily watched his jaw work.
“Do you love me?” she asked.
He looked offended by the question.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“Yes.”
“Do you love the version of me who doesn’t know enough to leave?”
His face changed.
She had found the wound.
Vincent looked at Noah.
“I don’t know,” he said.
It was the first honest answer that gave her hope and the first one that made her cry.
The confirmatory toxicology report arrived the next morning.
The substance in Emily’s blood, Noah’s blood, the prepared formula, and residue inside the tea mug was the same prescription sedative. The dosage in the bottle had been diluted but remained medically dangerous for a newborn. The amount found in Emily suggested she had consumed more than one dose.
Robert’s tablets were the same medication and strength.
Still, the report did not prove who had crushed them.
Quinn and Ellis searched Robert’s vehicle. In the rear storage compartment, they found grocery receipts, a portable pill grinder, and a packet of disposable formula funnels. The grinder contained powder residue, but Robert’s attorney argued that he used it for pain medication because he had difficulty swallowing.
Diane’s phone contained several deleted messages that forensic technicians began attempting to recover.
Robert’s phone had been remotely wiped six minutes after police seized it.
That changed the investigation.
The wipe request came from a laptop registered to Robert’s consulting company. The laptop was missing from his home office.
Quinn requested another warrant.
Robert’s attorney claimed the laptop had been stolen weeks earlier.
The company’s insurance carrier had no theft claim.
Diane called Emily from an unlisted number shortly before noon.
Emily stared at the screen.
Vincent stood beside the window while Noah slept against Emily’s chest for the first time since the poisoning. Dr. Hart had allowed skin-to-skin contact under supervision. The baby’s cheek rested beneath Emily’s collarbone.
The phone rang again.
“Don’t answer,” Vincent said.
Emily picked it up.
Diane spoke before she could say hello.
“I didn’t know he put it in the bottle.”
Emily closed her eyes.
Vincent moved closer.
“Where are you?” Emily asked.
“I can’t say.”
“Then I’m hanging up.”
“No. Please. Robert said it would help you sleep. He said the baby would sleep too.”
“Did you give me the tea?”
“I thought it was one pill.”
“You thought?”
“He told me you were unraveling.”
“I was tired.”
“You hadn’t slept.”
“I had a newborn.”
“You said you heard voices.”
Emily’s brow tightened. “I said I could hear the upstairs neighbor’s television through the vent.”
“He said you were paranoid.”
“And you believed him?”
“I believed you needed rest.”
“You left us on the floor.”
“I came back.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I tried.”
Vincent held out his hand for the phone.
Emily shook her head.
Diane began crying. This time the crying sounded less controlled.
“Robert wouldn’t let me call an ambulance. He said Vincent would think we did it on purpose.”
“You did do it on purpose.”
“Not Noah.”
“Who fed him?”
Silence.
“Diane.”
“He was screaming.”
Emily’s hand tightened protectively around Noah’s back.
“What did you give him?”
“I don’t know. Robert prepared it.”
“You held the bottle?”
“I just wanted him to stop crying.”
The sound that came from Emily was not a sob. It was smaller and more wounded.
Noah stirred.
Vincent put one hand beneath the baby’s feet, steadying him without touching Emily.
“Go to the police,” Emily said.
“I can’t.”
“Then never call me again.”
“Robert said Vincent would kill us.”
Emily looked up at her husband.
Vincent’s face gave Diane no reason to doubt the fear.
“If you’re afraid,” Emily said, “go where there are cameras, officers, and locked doors.”
“He has people everywhere.”
“So does Vincent.”
The line went quiet.
Emily regretted the words as soon as she heard them.
Diane whispered, “That’s what I mean.”
The call ended.
Quinn was furious when Emily reported it.
“You needed to keep her talking.”
“My son was in my arms.”
“You could have signaled a nurse.”
“I was trying not to shake.”
“Did the number display?”
“No.”
“Did you record it?”
“No.”
Vincent stood against the wall, silent.
Quinn turned on him. “Your turn. Did you trace it?”
“No.”
“Can you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
She studied him.
“Why not?”
“Because if I trace her, you will assume I intend to find her.”
“You do intend to find her.”
“I intend for you to find her first.”
“That sounds cooperative.”
“It is as cooperative as I know how to be.”
Quinn paced once across the room.
“Diane just made a partial admission. She implicated Robert and herself. We need her in a controlled interview before she changes her story.”
“Then find her.”
“People around you are following every vehicle Robert owns.”
Vincent looked at her.
“That was not a question,” Quinn said. “Traffic cameras caught two of them.”
“I ordered my people to stay away.”
“Your people have a flexible understanding of orders.”
“So do yours. The press knew my name before my wife woke up.”
Quinn stopped.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
“You think I leaked it?” she asked.
“I think someone wanted pressure on me.”
“You generate your own pressure.”
“I generate fear. Pressure is what careless people do with it.”
Emily said, “Both of you stop.”
Quinn looked at her.
Emily’s face had gone pale.
Dr. Hart entered, checked the monitor, and took Noah from her arms with practiced calm.
“That is enough questioning for now.”
“I need five more minutes,” Quinn said.
“You had them yesterday.”
“This is a criminal investigation.”
“This is a patient with unstable blood pressure.”
Quinn closed her notebook.
May you like
At the door, she turned to Vincent.
“If you locate Diane before we do, call me.”
