Chapter 6 - The Sister
Marissa Brooks was a pharmacy technician.
That fact had never mattered before.
Now it mattered so much I felt sick.
Detective Ortiz sent patrol officers to the house. I stayed at the hospital because Nia begged me not to leave.
Twenty-two minutes later, Ortiz returned.
“They found the back door open.”
“Marissa?”
“Gone.”
“The bottle?”
“Gone too.”
I pressed my fists into my eyes.
“We have the camera footage.”
“Maybe.”
My head snapped up.
“What do you mean, maybe?”
“The file stopped recording twelve seconds after the pantry opened.”
“That doesn’t happen.”
“Someone disabled the system remotely.”
I thought of Caleb’s phone.
The deleted message.
Marissa warning him.
Nia called from the bed.
“Mom.”
I went back to her.
She looked pale but more alert.
“Was Aunt Marissa at the house?”
I nodded.
Nia stared at the blanket.
“She gave me the first bottle.”
The room seemed to contract.
“When?”
“March. She said Caleb told her I was tired all the time.”
Dr. Hale stepped closer.
“Did she ever give you anything else?”
Nia’s eyes moved toward me.
“A drink.”
“What kind?”
“Purple. In a little bottle. She said it was a vitamin shot.”
My stomach turned.
“When?”
“Last month.”
Detective Ortiz asked, “Where?”
“At her apartment.”
I stared at Nia.
“You went to Marissa’s apartment?”
“Caleb took me. You were working.”
Of course I was.
Always working.
Always trusting.
Nia saw my face.
“Mom, stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Blaming yourself.”
My throat closed.
Then Dr. Hale’s phone rang.
He listened, asked two questions, and looked at Nia.
“We need to move you upstairs.”
“Why?”
“Your clotting numbers improved a little, but your hemoglobin dropped.”
I stood. “What does that mean?”
“It can mean bleeding.”
“Where?”
“We’re getting a CT now.”
Nia grabbed my sleeve.
The transport team arrived.
As they wheeled her toward imaging, Detective Ortiz walked beside me.
“We got something else from your house.”
“What?”
She held up an evidence bag.
Inside was a half-burned envelope pulled from our outdoor fire pit.
I could still read the top line.
BENEFICIARY CHANGE REQUEST.
My name was crossed out.
May you like
Under it, in black ink, was Caleb Brooks.
But the signature at the bottom was supposed to be mine.
