Chapter 2 - The Name on the Bracelet
For a moment, the only sound was the slow tick of the grandfather clock at the end of the corridor.
Celeste hugged the pitcher to her body. “You're mistaken.”
“Put it on the table.”
“Adrian, don't speak to me like I'm staff.”
“Put it down.”
She set it on a carved console with a sharp click. Floating among the ice was a narrow white plastic band. The printed letters were distorted by condensation, but Adrian could read a date, the word BLACKTHORN, and a patient's number.
His mother, Margaret Blackthorn, had died six weeks earlier in a private rehabilitation center. Celeste had arranged the transfer and promised Margaret had been comfortable. Adrian had been abroad when she died. He had hated himself for it ever since.
“Where did you get this?” he asked.
“I found it in a drawer. I was getting rid of old trash.”
“By putting it in a drink?”
“It's a silly misunderstanding.”
Mateo made a sound that was almost a laugh and almost a sob.
Adrian turned. “Tell me what happened.”
“This morning, Mrs. Vale asked me to carry a sealed envelope from your mother's room to the library. Before I reached the stairs, she took it back. Then she opened it, read something, and ordered me to say I'd taken it.”
“Liar!” Celeste said.
“Inside was a note in your mother's handwriting,” Mateo continued. “I saw only one line.”
“What line?” Adrian asked.
Mateo looked toward the security camera above the arch. “She wrote, 'Don't let them move the girl again.'”
Celeste went pale.
Adrian followed Mateo's gaze. “Where's the security feed?”
“Down since yesterday,” Celeste answered. “Maintenance.”
Mateo shook his head. “I checked the monitor at seven. It was working.”
Adrian pulled out his phone and called the head of security. The call went straight to voicemail.
Then a text arrived from an unknown number.
May you like
YOU CAME HOME TOO EARLY. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO YOUR MOTHER WAS PROTECTING, CHECK THE NORTH GUEST ROOM BEFORE CELESTE DOES.
Adrian looked up. Celeste was already moving toward the stairs.
