Chapter 2 - The Seam in the Bear.
The kitchen was suddenly too bright for secrets.
Every surface reflected something Daniel did not want to see.
The overturned chair.
The broken water glass.
The pale square on the floor where Sophie's teddy bear had been lying.
Officer Cole instructed another officer to photograph the toy before the recorder was moved.
Daniel stood near the doorway, shaking with the effort it took not to demand answers from everyone at once.
Evelyn had been asked to sit at the dining table.
She refused twice before finally lowering herself into a chair.
"I don't know anything about that device."
Officer Cole did not respond immediately.
He wrote something in a small notebook.
That silence seemed to frighten her more than an accusation would have.
Daniel noticed the detail.
He had spent his entire life watching his mother dominate rooms.
Evelyn Mercer chaired charity boards, corrected waiters with a smile, and could make grown executives apologize without raising her voice.
Tonight, she could not keep her hands still.
"Who gave Sophie the bear?" Officer Cole asked.
Daniel answered.
"Claire and I bought it at a roadside shop when Sophie was three."
"Has anyone else had access to it recently?"
Daniel almost said no.
Then he remembered Saturday.
Evelyn had taken Sophie upstairs during Claire's birthday dinner because the child had spilled juice on the bear.
Evelyn had returned twenty minutes later with Maple cleaned and dry.
At the time, Daniel had thanked her.
Now the memory felt different.
He looked at his mother.
She read the question on his face before he spoke.
"Don't start inventing things."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
Officer Cole looked between them.
"Mrs. Mercer, did you handle the toy on Saturday?"
Evelyn's mouth tightened.
"Yes, because my granddaughter spilled juice on it."
"Did you open the seam?"
"Of course not."
Cole nodded once.
"Then we'll let the evidence tell us whether the stitching is recent."
Daniel's phone vibrated.
He grabbed it so quickly he nearly dropped it.
The hospital number glowed on the screen.
He answered.
A nurse told him Claire and Sophie had both arrived and were being treated.
No promises were made.
No conclusions were offered.
Daniel thanked her and ended the call with tears filling his eyes.
For one brief moment, he forgot the recorder.
Then Evelyn whispered something.
"They can't play it here."
Officer Cole turned.
"Excuse me?"
Evelyn froze.
"I said you shouldn't play an unknown device around other electronics."
Cole's expression remained professional.
"I didn't say we were going to play it here."
Daniel stared at her.
Evelyn looked toward the window.
Cole placed the evidence bag inside a hard case.
"We'll examine it properly."
Daniel stepped closer to the table, still keeping the distance Cole had ordered.
"Mom, why did you say it couldn't be here when he found it?"
"Because it was absurd."
"That's not an answer."
"I was shocked."
"So was I."
Daniel's voice dropped.
"But I didn't look like I recognized it."
Evelyn's chair scraped backward.
She stood.
"I have had enough of this."
Officer Cole lifted one hand.
"Please remain here until we've taken your statement."
"Am I under arrest?"
"No."
"Then I can leave."
Cole did not argue.
He simply said one sentence.
"You can leave, but I'll need your current address and a number where we can reach you."
Evelyn stopped halfway to the foyer.
Daniel saw the calculation cross her face.
Then something else happened.
One of the crime-scene technicians called from the kitchen island.
"Officer Cole, you should see this."
Under the fallen fruit bowl sat a second object.
A tiny strip of black adhesive tape.
On it was a partial fingerprint in a faint dusting of flour.
May you like
Evelyn looked down at her own right thumb.
And Daniel saw a dark smear of adhesive stuck beside her nail.
