Chapter 4 - The Woman With the Badge
Emily stepped between Dana and the living room.
"Our son is safe."
Dana's expression stayed gentle but firm.
"I understand you're upset. I still need to assess the home."
Daniel showed her the police report from the night before. He showed her the broken window, the brick, the threatening note, and Marcus's legal papers.
Dana listened without interrupting.
Then she asked to speak with Noah.
"With us in the room," Emily said immediately.
"That's fine."
Noah sat at the kitchen table with his legs dangling from the chair.
Dana smiled. "Hi, Noah. Do you know why I'm here?"
He nodded seriously.
"Paperwork."
Daniel coughed to hide a laugh.
Dana smiled. "Something like that. Do you feel safe with Mommy and Daddy?"
Noah looked offended.
"Yes. Daddy checks monsters. Mommy makes pancakes."
"Does anyone hit you?"
"No."
"Does anyone yell a lot?"
Noah thought about it.
"Daddy yells when football is bad."
Emily covered her mouth.
Daniel stared at the ceiling.
Dana made a note.
"Does anybody come to your house who scares you?"
This time Noah stopped swinging his legs.
"Uncle Marcus."
Daniel and Emily both looked at him.
Dana leaned forward. "Why does Uncle Marcus scare you?"
Noah lowered his voice.
"He said Daddy stole Grandpa's house."
Daniel froze.
"When did he say that?"
Noah pointed vaguely toward the window.
"At Grandma's. When there was cake."
Emily remembered Ruth's birthday two months earlier. Adults in the backyard. Kids chasing bubbles. Marcus drinking too much bourbon.
"Did he say anything else?" Dana asked.
Noah nodded.
"He said Daddy would be sorry."
Silence filled the kitchen.
Dana closed her notebook.
"I'm not removing your son. Based on what I've seen today, I don't have grounds to do that. But I do need to keep the case open briefly while we verify the police report."
Emily's knees nearly gave out from relief.
After Dana left, Daniel locked the door and leaned against it.
"He made a false report."
"We don't know it was Marcus," Emily said.
Daniel looked at her.
She sighed. "Fine. We know. We just can't prove it yet."
Noah ran into the hall carrying his stuffed dinosaur.
"Can we have pancakes now?"
Emily picked him up.
"Absolutely."
Daniel walked toward the basement to get the folding table they used when the kitchen felt crowded.
He stopped halfway down the stairs.
The basement door at the bottom was open.
He had locked it the night before.
The old brass padlock lay on the concrete floor.
Cut clean through.
And from the metal cabinet in the corner, one thing was missing.
May you like
His father's original blue document file.
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