Chapter 12 - The Nursery
Ramirez sent a patrol car to the house before I could leave the hospital.
Claire refused to let me go alone.
"You're staying here," I said.
"It's my house too."
"You're having contractions."
"And someone broke into my baby's room."
Dr. Patel ended the argument.
"Claire stays. Adrian, you can go if you promise to come back immediately."
Claire hated it.
So did I.
Twenty minutes later, I walked into our nursery with two officers.
The room looked untouched at first.
Crib against the wall.
Blue blanket folded on the rocker.
Tiny clothes in perfect rows.
Then Rosa pointed at the closet.
"That box was on the top shelf."
Now it sat open on the floor.
Inside were hospital documents, ultrasound photos, copies of our IDs, and the folder where Claire kept insurance papers.
The insurance folder was empty.
"Anything else missing?" an officer asked.
I checked the dresser.
Claire's backup phone was gone.
So was an old laptop.
On the changing table sat a white envelope with my name written on it.
ADRIAN.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
My father, taken years before his death, standing beside Susan Hale outside a restaurant.
On the back, my mother had written:
ASK SUSAN WHO YOUR FATHER REALLY TRUSTED.
I stared at it.
Rosa crossed herself.
"Mr. Adrian, there is something I didn't tell the police."
"Tell me now."
"When your mother left, she was not alone."
"Who was with her?"
"A man. Maybe fifty. Gray jacket."
"Did you know him?"
She shook her head.
Then one of the officers called from downstairs.
"Mr. Vale? We found forced entry at the side door."
I went down.
The lock was damaged from the inside.
That made no sense.
Unless someone had already been in the house before my mother arrived.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Claire.
COME BACK NOW.
May you like
Then another.
SUSAN IS HERE.
