Chapter 6 - The Vanishing Evidence
While Sarah gave her sworn deposition to the Assistant District Attorney, my phone buzzed on the bedside table.
It was an alert from my home security application.
Front Door Camera: Motion Detected.
Back Door Camera: Offline.
Living Room Sensor: Tamper Alarm Activated.
I opened the live video feed.
The screen flickered. The front porch camera had been spray-painted with black enamel, but the microphone was still live. Through the speaker came the distinct sound of wood splintering, followed by the heavy thud of work boots walking across our living room hardwood.
They were in the house.
"Ethan?" Sarah asked, noticing the blood draining from my face.
"They're cleaning the crime scene," I said, showing the phone screen to Deputy Miller. "Someone just kicked my back door in."
"Marlene’s private security detail," Miller cursed under his breath, reaching for his radio. "Dispatch, this is Unit Four. I need two patrol units dispatched code-three to 814 Sycamore Drive. Breaking and entering in progress."
"Unit Four," the dispatcher’s voice crackled back with frustrating static. "All north-sector units are currently committed to a multi-vehicle fuel tanker spill on Interstate 64. Nearest available backup is twenty-two minutes out."
"Twenty-two minutes?" Miller barked. "That’s unacceptable!"
"They don't need twenty-two minutes," I said, my pulse racing. "They need five. They’re looking for the amber bottle, the yellow spoon, and the lavender mug."
"Ethan, wait," Sarah reached out, her fingers brushing my sleeve. "The mug... Lily said Marlene rinsed it."
"She rinsed the inside," I said, my mind snapping into sharp, practical clarity. "Marlene was wearing her silk driving gloves when she arrived this morning. But when she made that tea, she took her gloves off because the clasp on her diamond bracelet was snagged. She held that mug with her bare hands. The outside of that ceramic mug has her latent fingerprints all over it. And the drain trap beneath the kitchen sink... oleandrin doesn't wash away with cold tap water in an unvented PVC pipe."
Miller drew his sidearm, checking the chamber. "My cruiser is in the lower garage. Let's go."
"No," I stopped him. "You stay here. You protect Sarah and Lily. Bradley Sterling has friends in this building, and I won't leave them unguarded for a second."
"You can't go into that house alone, Ethan," Miller warned. "Those aren't just neighborhood burglars. Marlene uses off-duty private contractors from Apex Tactical. They’re armed."
"This is my home, Deputy," I said, picking up my keys from the counter. "And nobody runs me out of my own house twice in one day."
I leaned down, kissed Sarah’s forehead, and knelt beside Lily.
"Stay with Deputy Miller, sweet girl," I whispered. "Keep Mommy safe until I get back."
Lily unzipped the small pocket of her unicorn coat, pulled out a small, shiny brass key on a pink hair ribbon, and pressed it into my hand.
"The attic, Daddy," Lily said quietly. "Mommy gave this to me yesterday before she went to sleep. She said if anything happened, the blue metal box behind the water heater had the papers Grandpa left her."
I looked at the key. Sarah nodded faintly from the bed.
May you like
"Be careful, Ethan," Sarah whispered.
I closed my fist around the brass key, slipped through the ICU doors, and sprinted down the fire stairs into the gathering dusk.
