Chapter 3 - The Hospital Door
At the emergency department, Ethan learned Margaret had a fractured wrist, severe bruising, and a possible hip fracture. She was awake, but doctors wanted imaging before letting her move.
Claire stood beside him, her wedding gown suddenly absurd under the fluorescent lights.
"Start talking," Ethan said.
"My dad used to work with your father," she answered. "Before I was born."
Ethan knew that much. Daniel Mercer and Richard Vale had built a construction company together. Daniel died in a warehouse fire when Ethan was six. Richard bought out the estate, and Margaret spent the next twenty years cleaning motel rooms to keep Ethan fed.
"You told me your father barely knew mine."
"That's what he told me to say."
"How long have you known it was a lie?"
She hesitated. "Three months."
He walked away before the answer could break him further.
A nurse called his name. Margaret had asked for him.
Inside the room, his mother lay small beneath a gray blanket. Her cane stood against the wall, bent near the handle.
"I should have told you years ago," she said.
"Told me what?"
"Your father was collecting evidence. Richard was stealing from the company and hiding unsafe materials in public buildings. Daniel wanted to go to the police. Then the warehouse burned."
Ethan pulled up a chair. "You think Richard killed him?"
"I know Richard threatened him. I don't know who lit the fire."
"Why keep silent?"
"Because somebody came to our apartment with a picture of you at school. They said accidents happen to little boys."
Ethan struggled to breathe.
"What changed today?"
Margaret looked at the door. "Your wedding contract. I saw the name of the holding company on the property papers. Richard was about to use your signature to finish what he started."
"What papers?"
"The ones Claire asked you to sign last night."
Ethan remembered the folder on the kitchen counter. He had signed where Claire pointed, too busy worrying about vows and flowers to read the pages.
A nurse entered carrying a small plastic evidence bag. "We found this sewn inside your mother's dress."
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Inside was a brass key and a strip of paper bearing four words:
ASK CLAIRE ABOUT THE FIRE.
