Chapter 15 - The GarageThe hospital locked down restricted floors while security searched the garage. Nina arrived with Marcus and a uniformed team. She kept her radio quiet. A man who had already threatened children could make a reckless choice if cornered.

A gray sedan sat on level three with its engine running and nobody inside. Glenn's contractor badge lay on the seat. The stairwell door clicked shut at the far end.

“North stair,” Marcus said into his radio. “We're moving.”

They found Glenn on the landing between levels, trying to force open a service door. He spun when Nina spoke his name.

“Put your hands where I can see them.”

“You don't understand,” he said. “Vale told me nobody would get hurt.”

“Then start by not hurting anyone now.”

Glenn looked from Nina to Marcus. His shoulders sank. He raised his hands, and Marcus cuffed him without a struggle.

In the interview room, Glenn demanded a lawyer. Nina stopped questioning immediately. Hours later, after counsel arrived, he agreed to discuss a cooperation agreement through the prosecutor.

His statement was ugly and ordinary. Vale had ordered him to frighten Mara, retrieve the drive, and keep her from meeting Helen. Glenn claimed he'd blocked the vent to make the heater fail, expecting the family to leave the house. Whether he had intended the dangerous gas exposure was a question for investigators and a jury.

“Did you know there were newborns inside?” Nina asked after counsel confirmed he would answer.

Glenn stared at the table. “I saw the bassinets.”

Nina thought of Ellie pushing the wheelbarrow. “And you kept turning those screws.”

He said nothing.

At the hospital, Ellie had a harder question for Andrea.

“Is the bad man going to say I took his key?”

“No. The key helped us find the truth.”

“But I opened something Mama said was secret.”

“You did what you needed to do to protect your family.”

Andrea walked with her toward the ICU, where Mara was finally well enough for a short visit.

Ellie stopped just outside the door. “What if she doesn't remember me?”

Before Andrea could answer, Mara's voice came weakly from inside.

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“Eleanor June Parker, come give your mama a hug.”