Chapter 8 - The Voice on the Phone
Torres answered Henry's phone and put it on speaker.
"Henry?" Celeste's voice said. "Did you get the ledger?"
Nobody moved.
Celeste continued, "Henry, answer me. We don't have much time."
Torres nodded to Daniel.
He spoke. "Hi, Mom."
Silence.
Then Celeste laughed softly.
"So dramatic. You always did inherit your father's taste for scenes."
Daniel's stomach turned. "Where are you?"
"Somewhere I can think."
"You drugged Lily."
"I calmed her."
"You dropped her."
"I lost my grip."
"You said, 'Watch how fast she falls.'"
Celeste was quiet for a beat.
"People hear strange things when they panic."
Rachel stepped closer to the phone. "I heard you."
"Rachel. Of course. The permanent victim."
Daniel saw Rachel's face harden.
Celeste went on. "You married into a family you never understood. You brought a child into a war you didn't even know existed."
"She's your granddaughter."
"She's an asset. Don't be sentimental."
That sentence erased whatever doubt Daniel had left.
Torres motioned for an officer to trace the call.
Celeste seemed to sense it.
"By the way," she said, "you should check on Lily."
Rachel went white.
Daniel grabbed his own phone and called the hospital.
No answer from the private security officer outside Lily's room.
He called again.
Nothing.
They drove to St. Matthew's at reckless speed.
The security officer was unconscious in a supply closet.
Lily's hospital room was empty.
Rachel screamed until no sound came out.
On the pillow lay one pearl from Celeste's broken necklace.
Beside it was a note.
Daniel read it with shaking hands.
Bring the ledger to the old boathouse. Come alone if you want your daughter alive.
Torres snatched the note. "You are not going alone."
Daniel stared at the empty crib.
"Yes, I am."
Then Rachel pointed at the security monitor.
A woman in scrubs was pushing Lily down the service hallway.
The woman turned toward the camera.
May you like
It wasn't Celeste.
It was Nora Bell.
