Chapter 16 - The Syringe
"What are you doing in our house?" I asked.
My mother held the syringe beside the tiny clothes in our nursery.
"Cleaning up your mess."
Detective Ramirez had told me to keep her talking.
"What's in it?"
"It doesn't matter. People believe evidence, Adrian. A frightened woman. Questionable medical notes. Medication she shouldn't have."
Claire went rigid beside me.
I understood.
"You were going to plant it."
"I was going to make people ask the right questions."
"The questions you wrote for them."
Her face hardened. "I watched your father nearly destroy this family. I won't let you hand everything we built to a woman who has known you three years."
There it was.
Not protection.
Ownership.
"Susan confessed," I said. "Police searched Lake Mercer. They found the guardianship papers, Claire's records, the car seat, everything."
My mother's face changed.
"You're lying."
"Dad's affair too. Susan told them."
She looked toward the nursery door.
Ramirez texted: OFFICERS TWO MINUTES OUT.
"Tell me what tomorrow was supposed to look like," I said.
"Claire would be evaluated. The baby would be delivered safely. You would come home when things were settled."
"Where would my son be?"
She whispered, "With family."
"His family is Claire and me."
A siren sounded through the call.
My mother looked toward the window.
"You called the police on your own mother."
"No," I said. "You did that yourself."
The phone jerked as she ran.
The screen went black.
May you like
Then Ramirez texted me.
SHE'S HEADING FOR THE GARAGE.
