Chapter 4 - THE CUP ON THE NIGHTSTAND
Detective Hale asked the question twice.
“Are you prescribed any sedatives?”
“No.”
“Sleep medication?”
“No.”
“Anti-anxiety medication?”
“No.”
He made a note.
“Have you ever taken any recreational drugs?”
“No.”
“Anything someone might mistake for one?”
“No.”
Dr. Foster ordered additional toxicology tests.
The results would not explain years-old events.
But they might explain tonight.
I had consumed nothing stronger than iced tea at Sunday dinner.
Or at least that was what I thought.
I remembered Evelyn refilling my glass after dessert.
I remembered the faint bitterness.
I had assumed it was lemon rind.
Detective Hale listened without reacting.
“Where is the glass?”
“At Evelyn’s house.”
He nodded.
Then he asked Lydia whether there were cameras inside the home.
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
I turned toward her.
“Inside?”
“Dad installed them after jewelry went missing three years ago.”
“Where?”
“Kitchen. Hallway. Basement entrance. Garage.”
My pulse quickened.
“The basement entrance?”
“Yes.”
“Would it show the stairs?”
“Not the whole staircase. But it should show the door.”
Detective Hale was already writing.
“Who has access?”
“Dad. Daniel sometimes.”
“Evelyn?”
“She says she doesn’t know the password.”
Lydia’s expression made it clear she did not believe that.
By midnight, Detective Hale had left to begin whatever process came next.
Daniel was still in the hallway.
I had not seen him for almost two hours.
Then Monica stepped inside.
“Your husband wants to speak with you.”
“No.”
“He says he’s willing to speak in front of me.”
I thought about it.
“Five minutes.”
Daniel entered.
He looked older.
Not dramatically.
Just enough that I noticed the lines around his mouth.
He stopped several feet from the bed.
“Lydia left?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Rachel, I know how this looks.”
The sentence made something cold rise inside me.
“How this looks?”
“I mean the old injuries.”
“You knew about one.”
“I knew about the lake house.”
“And Christmas?”
His silence answered.
My throat tightened.
“You knew.”
“I knew you fell.”
“Did your mother cause it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you think she might have?”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
The honesty should have mattered.
It didn’t.
“And you still let her stay in our home after I lost the baby.”
Daniel’s eyes filled.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Say it like I didn’t care.”
“You let the woman you suspected might have caused my fall sleep in our guest room while I was bleeding.”
“I was destroyed too.”
“But you weren’t afraid of her.”
He looked down.
“I was.”
That stopped me.
“Of your mother?”
“Of what she could do to the whole family.”
I stared at him.
There it was again.
The family as a living thing.
A creature that had to be fed.
Protected.
Obeyed.
“What is on Richard’s flash drive?”
Daniel’s head snapped up.
“What flash drive?”
His reaction was immediate.
Real.
So he had not known Lydia took it.
“The one labeled with my name.”
“What did Lydia give you?”
His voice had changed.
Monica stepped forward slightly.
Daniel caught himself.
“Rachel, listen to me. My father keeps records on everything. It may not mean what you think.”
“Why would he have a folder called ‘Rachel - Incidents’?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“I don’t know.”
“Wrong answer.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“For once?”
His face tightened.
“Do you want me to admit I failed you? Fine. I failed you.”
He spread his hands.
“I spent years making excuses for Mom because Dad taught us that protecting the family was more important than being right.”
“And tonight?”
“I panicked.”
“You lied to the nurse before I even opened my mouth.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t panic. You performed.”
He closed his eyes.
That landed.
“Did you put anything in my drinks?”
His eyes opened.
“No.”
“Did Evelyn?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ever give me medication without telling me?”
“No.”
Then he stopped.
One second.
Two.
Too long.
My blood went cold.
“Daniel.”
His voice became quiet.
“Once.”
Monica’s expression hardened.
“When?”
“The lake house.”
“What did you give me?”
“A sleeping pill.”
I stared at him.
“Before or after she pushed me?”
“After.”
“Why?”
“You were agitated.”
“I had just been pushed down stairs.”
“I know.”
“You gave an injured woman a sleeping pill instead of taking her to a hospital?”
He looked sick.
“Dad said rest was better than stress.”
A laugh escaped me.
Ugly.
Disbelieving.
“Your father is not a doctor.”
“I know.”
“What pill?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You remember.”
He said nothing.
“Daniel.”
“Lorazepam.”
Monica immediately looked toward the door.
I stared at him.
“Where did it come from?”
“My mother’s prescription.”
Silence.
“You drugged me with your mother’s medication.”
“I gave you one tablet.”
“You drugged me.”
“I was trying to help you sleep.”
“You were trying to make sure I couldn’t tell anyone what happened.”
“No.”
But his voice lacked force.
He knew what it looked like.
More importantly, he was beginning to understand what it actually was.
My phone buzzed.
Detective Hale.
A message.
We secured the camera system before anyone could delete it.
Then another.
Mrs. Parker, there’s footage from tonight.
My chest tightened.
Daniel saw my face.
“What?”
I looked directly at him.
“They have your parents’ cameras.”
He went completely still.
May you like
For the first time since arriving at the hospital, Daniel did not look afraid for Evelyn.
He looked afraid for himself.
