Chapter 5
Detective Carter was not what I expected.
She was in her late forties. Short gray hair. Hard eyes. She wore jeans and a flannel shirt instead of a suit. She drank black coffee from a chipped mug. She didn’t take notes while I talked. She just listened.
I told her everything.
Everything except Marta. I kept Marta out of it. I didn’t want her in danger.
I told her about the button.
I told her about the scratch on Caleb’s neck.
I told her about Hannah’s evidence against Caleb.
I told her about my mother’s threat at the cemetery. I played her the recording.
She listened to the whole thing without moving.
When it was over, she leaned back in her chair.
“Your own mother said that?”
“Yes.”
She was quiet for a long time.
“Here’s the problem, Nathan. The medical examiner signed off on the death certificate. Complications during childbirth. Uterine rupture. It happens. It’s rare, but it happens. And the body was embalmed yesterday. Buried last night. We can’t do an autopsy now. Not without a court order. And judges don’t like to dig up fresh graves on the word of a grieving husband and a button.”
She leaned forward.
“Your brother is rich. Your mother is richer. They have the best lawyers in the state on speed dial. If I go to them with this, they’ll tear you apart. They’ll say you killed her. They’ll say you were angry because the baby wasn’t yours. They’ll say you’re mentally unstable from grief. And with no body... no forensics... they might win.”
I felt my hope die.
“So you’re not going to do anything?”
“I didn’t say that.”
She opened a file folder. She slid a piece of paper across the table.
“I pulled the 911 call from the day your wife died. Listen to this.”
She pressed play.
A woman’s voice. Calm. Controlled.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“My daughter-in-law. She’s pregnant. She’s bleeding. I think she’s dying.”
My mother’s voice.
“Okay, ma’am, help is on the way. Is she breathing?”
“Yes. But she’s losing a lot of blood. Please hurry.”
“Is the father there?”
“No. He’s out of town. In Chicago.”
Detective Carter paused the recording.
“Your mother said you were in Chicago. But you told me you landed in Charlotte two days before. You were in a motel.”
“I was.”
“Can you prove it? Receipts? Security camera footage? Credit card charges?”
I nodded.
“I have everything. The motel receipt. The gas station receipts on the way. The rental car agreement. Everything.”
She smiled. A small, sharp smile.
“Good. Because your mother lied to the 911 operator. She knew you were in town. She told Caleb you were in town. That’s why Caleb was at your house that morning. They knew you were coming. They were scared. They wanted to destroy the evidence before you got home.”
She stood up.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to get that court order. I’m going to dig up your wife and your son. I’m going to have the medical examiner from Charlotte do the autopsy. Not the local one. I already checked. Your mother has been donating to the local hospital for twenty years. The ME plays golf with your brother every Saturday. He’s dirty. We’re going around him.”
She put her hand on my shoulder.
“And I’m going to bring Caleb in for questioning. Not for murder. Not yet. For something smaller. Tax fraud. I’ve been looking at Hale Industries for six months. Your brother isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. He’s been cutting corners. I can hold him for 48 hours. While he’s in a cell, we’re going to search his house. His cars. His office. We’re going to find that jacket. The navy one with the missing button.”
My heart raced.
“Really?”
“Really. But you have to do something for me, Nathan.”
“Anything.”
“You have to go to the wake tonight. Your mother is having it at the house. You have to be there. You have to act like nothing is wrong. You have to cry. You have to grieve. You have to let them think they won. If they suspect anything... if they think we’re onto them... they’ll destroy the jacket. They’ll burn it. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good. And Nathan... be careful. Your mother doesn’t make empty threats. If she thinks you’re a problem, she will get rid of you. Stick to public places. Don’t go anywhere alone. And whatever you do... don’t tell anyone we’re talking. Not your friends. Not your family. No one.”
“I won’t.”
I left the police station an hour later.
The sun was high.
I felt something I hadn’t felt since I found Hannah in that coffin.
Hope.
But I also felt fear.
Because Detective Carter was right.
My mother didn’t make empty threats.
May you like
And tonight, I had to walk back into the lion’s den.
Alone.
