Chapter 4 - The Call I Didn't Make

"You can try," I said.

Arthur put down his champagne. That frightened me more than his threat.

I left through the loading dock with Nora beside me and Theo secured against my chest. A catering van blocked the street. Beyond it, a black sedan idled with its lights off.

Nora pointed to the driver's silhouette. "That's the man who used to wait outside my apartment."

I called Grant Keller, a former homicide detective who had been my closest friend since high school. He'd resigned after a corruption investigation exposed a supervisor; these days he worked as a licensed investigator for defense attorneys.

"Evan? It's almost ten."

"If I tell you Mara may be alive, will you drive over before you tell me I've lost my mind?"

Silence.

"Where are you?"

I told him.

"Don't go home. Don't use your usual car. I'll meet you by the all-night pharmacy on Clay Street."

Nora led us through the hotel garage. I found an unattended delivery driver willing to accept cash to take us two blocks. I hated paying a stranger to run from my own father's security team. I hated more that the plan worked.

At the pharmacy, Grant arrived in an old gray SUV.

He studied Nora without offering his hand.

"What proof do you have besides a note?"

Nora rolled up her sleeve. A thin scar crossed her wrist.

"Someone shoved me into a sterilizer rack after I copied the medication log. They took my phone and told the police it was an employee dispute."

"Did you report the patient?"

"Twice. Both reports disappeared."

Grant looked at me. "We're going to need documents and somebody outside your father's reach."

Theo yawned and tucked the pendant inside his jacket.

My phone rang. VIVIAN HART filled the screen.

I let it ring until a message appeared.

Evan, please come back. This is being handled. Your father has already called a doctor.

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A second message followed, this one from an unknown number.

Mr. Mercer, your father's attorneys have filed an emergency petition questioning your ability to care for Theodore. The hearing is tomorrow morning.