Chapter 10 - The Signature
Caleb’s stomach dropped.
“Signed what?”
Thomas shook his head. “I don’t know.”
The police separated them for statements, but Caleb had no patience left for procedure.
Detective Lena Morales, the senior officer on scene, stopped him before he could leave.
“If you drive to that house and charge inside, you make my job harder.”
“My mother is there.”
“And now I have probable cause to go with you.”
She held up a printed dispatch record.
“Give me five minutes.”
They arrived at Willow Crest with four patrol cars and an ambulance.
The old estate sat behind stone walls and wet trees, dark except for the library windows.
The rear gate code worked.
Morales looked at Caleb.
“That helps your credibility.”
Inside, the house smelled closed and cold.
A guard surrendered immediately.
Another ran through the kitchen and was caught near the terrace.
Caleb found Margaret in the library.
She was sitting upright in a chair, still wearing the muddy dark teal dress.
Her wrists were free.
A doctor stood beside her with a clipboard.
Victor Whitmore stood near the fireplace.
And Sloane stood beside him.
Caleb stopped in the doorway.
“You came.”
Sloane’s face crumpled.
“Caleb, listen.”
He looked only at Margaret.
“Mom?”
She stood slowly.
This time, when she reached for him, nobody stopped her.
He crossed the room and held her.
She shook against him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
Margaret pulled back.
“They made me sign a statement.”
Victor spoke calmly. “Nobody made you do anything.”
Detective Morales stepped into the room. “Then you won’t mind giving me the document.”
Victor’s expression changed.
The doctor handed it over.
It stated that Margaret had voluntarily fabricated allegations because of “delusional fixation” and wished to remain under care.
Caleb looked at the signature.
It resembled his mother’s.
But Margaret pointed at the bottom of the page.
“That is not what I signed.”
Morales frowned.
“What did you sign?”
“A blank intake acknowledgment. They covered the page above the signature line.”
Sloane whispered, “Dad…”
Victor turned on her.
“Be quiet.”
Margaret looked at Sloane.
May you like
Then she said the sentence that changed the entire room.
“She tried to help me escape.”
