Chapter 12 - The Phone in Her Purse
Emily dumped the contents of her purse across Rachel's desk.
Wallet. Lip balm. Keys. Hospital paperwork.
And a small black phone she had never seen before.
It rang again.
Everyone stared at it.
"Don't touch it," Rachel said.
Emily's skin prickled. "How did that get there?"
Nora looked toward the bank lobby. "Daniel was near your purse last night?"
"At the hospital. Before he disappeared."
"We preserve this exactly as it is."
A notification appeared.
DANIEL: Did she find the box?
Another arrived seconds later.
MOM: Not sure. Henry is awake.
Emily's breath caught.
The phone was part of their communications.
Why?
Then a third message arrived.
PAUL: If police trace the mortgage, the burner needs to be on Emily.
Nora whispered, "Oh my God."
Rachel did not smile, but satisfaction sharpened her face. "They just gave us chain-of-custody evidence. Nobody touches it."
Within an hour, a detective from the financial crimes unit arrived.
Emily turned over the phone, the bank records, the forged authorization, and a copy of Robert's recording.
The detective listened without interrupting.
"Mrs. Mercer, I need to ask a difficult question. Do you believe your husband's family had any involvement in your father's death?"
Emily looked at the photograph from the marina.
"I don't know."
"Do you believe they had a financial motive?"
"Yes."
The word felt enormous.
At six, the hospital called.
When she arrived, Daniel was outside his father's room with two private security guards.
"You can't go in," he said.
Emily kept walking.
One guard blocked her.
"Mr. Mercer asked for privacy."
Emily looked through the glass.
Henry was awake.
He saw her.
He raised one shaking hand and pointed toward Daniel.
Then toward the nurse call button.
Emily's stomach dropped.
"Move," she told the guard.
Daniel stepped closer. "You're causing stress that could kill him."
Inside the room, Henry ripped the oxygen line from his nose and shouted something through the glass.
The door muffled the words.
Emily read his lips anyway.
May you like
He was saying:
Don't let Daniel take me home.
