Chapter 5 - THE KEY THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
Nobody moved.
The name on the security screen remained there.
CLAIRE COLEMAN.
For several seconds, Nathan simply stared.
Then he whispered, “She's dead.”
Marcus didn't answer.
“I said she's dead.”
“I know.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can't.”
The twins were trembling.
I crouched beside them.
“Stay with me.”
Jacob looked at the screen.
“Mommy?”
“No.”
Nathan's voice softened immediately.
“That doesn't mean your mother is here.”
Jacob's eyes filled.
“Then why does it say her name?”
Nobody had an answer.
Marcus checked the security system.
“Sir, this isn't a copied credential.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone has Claire's actual access token.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“Find it.”
Marcus nodded.
But before he could leave, Laura stopped him.
“Wait.”
She pointed at the security console.
“The system says the credential was used physically.”
Marcus frowned.
“From where?”
“Not remotely.”
Nathan looked at him.
“Check the reader location.”
Marcus did.
His face changed.
“The greenhouse.”
Nathan's head snapped up.
“The greenhouse?”
“Yes.”
The twins looked at each other.
Jonah whispered, “Mommy's garden.”
Nathan stared at him.
“Why would your mother use the greenhouse?”
Jonah shrugged.
“She went there when Daddy was working.”
Nathan looked at me.
“Take them upstairs.”
“No.”
The answer surprised me.
Nathan turned.
I continued.
“They're already frightened. Moving them through the house will make it worse.”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Stay here.”
Marcus and Nathan left.
I sat with the boys in the library.
Jacob was clutching his bracelet.
Jonah kept rubbing the edge of his sleeve.
“Emily?”
“Yes?”
“Is Daddy going to find Mommy?”
I swallowed.
“Your dad is trying to understand what happened.”
Jonah nodded.
“She told me she was scared.”
“When?”
“The night before she died.”
Jacob looked at him.
“Don't.”
Jonah's eyes filled with tears.
“She told me not to forget.”
“Forget what?”
Jonah looked at his bracelet.
“Mommy said the silver bracelet wasn't lucky.”
I frowned.
“What did she mean?”
“She said it was proof.”
“Proof of what?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Nathan returned twenty minutes later.
His face was different.
“What happened?”
He placed a small object on the table.
A key.
Old-fashioned.
Brass.
Attached to a faded blue ribbon.
“We found this inside the greenhouse.”
Jacob immediately recognized it.
“Mommy's.”
Nathan nodded.
“How do you know?”
“Because she kept it in her red coat.”
He looked at the boys.
“But it wasn't in the coat.”
“Where was it?”
“Under the soil.”
I stared.
“Someone buried it?”
Nathan nodded.
Marcus entered.
“We found something else.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Claire standing beside the greenhouse.
But she wasn't alone.
Beside her stood Dr. Reeves.
And another man.
I didn't recognize him.
Nathan did.
His face became expressionless.
“Who is that?”
I asked.
Nathan didn't answer.
Marcus did.
“Arthur Voss.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Nathan finally spoke.
“My former business partner.”
“Former?”
“Dead.”
I looked at the photograph again.
Arthur Voss looked healthy and smiling.
“When did he die?”
“Three years ago.”
Then I noticed the date printed on the photograph.
Seven months ago.
I looked at Nathan.
“That picture was taken after he died.”
Nathan stared.
“No.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Sir…”
Nathan took the photograph.
His hand began to shake.
“That isn't Arthur.”
I looked again.
It was almost identical.
But something was different.
“The watch,” I said.
Nathan looked.
The man in the photograph wore a gold watch.
C.C.
The same engraving.
Nathan went pale.
“That's mine.”
Suddenly, Jacob spoke.
“That's not Uncle Arthur.”
Nathan turned.
“Who is it?”
Jacob looked at the photograph.
“He came to see Mommy.”
“When?”
“After Daddy left.”
Nathan crouched.
“What did he say?”
Jacob thought.
“He said Mommy needed to stop asking questions.”
Nathan stood immediately.
“What questions?”
Jacob's voice became very small.
“About the house.”
Nathan turned toward Marcus.
“Find out who that man is.”
Marcus nodded.
Then Laura entered carrying a laboratory container.
“We have preliminary results.”
Nathan looked at her.
“What did you find?”
“The substance in the duct is a mixture of industrial solvents and a pesticide-related compound.”
Nathan's jaw clenched.
“Was it enough to make the boys sick?”
“With prolonged exposure, yes.”
“Could it explain their symptoms?”
“It could.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Then Laura added, “But there's something unusual.”
“What?”
“The levels changed over time.”
“How?”
“They were increased gradually.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why?”
“To make the symptoms appear like a developing illness rather than acute poisoning.”
Nobody spoke.
That was the reversal.
Someone hadn't simply tried to hurt the boys.
Someone had tried to make doctors believe the boys were naturally sick.
Nathan looked toward the medical files.
“That's why every specialist saw something different.”
“Yes.”
“And Dr. Reeves kept changing the diagnosis.”
“Yes.”
Nathan's expression became colder.
“But why?”
Laura didn't know.
Marcus suddenly interrupted.
“Sir.”
Nathan turned.
“We checked Claire's financial records.”
“What did you find?”
“She made a payment seven months ago.”
“To whom?”
Marcus handed him a printed transaction.
Nathan read the name.
His face changed.
“Northstar Environmental.”
I felt cold.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
Nathan stared.
“Claire paid the company?”
Marcus nodded.
“Two days before the first symptoms appeared.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Nathan.
“What if Claire wasn't trying to expose them?”
Nathan looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“What if she hired them?”
His expression hardened.
“You think my wife poisoned her own children?”
“No.”
I pointed to the payment.
“I think we don't know what she was trying to do.”
Nathan stared at the document.
Then Jacob suddenly cried out.
“Mommy didn't hire them!”
Everyone turned.
Jacob's face was wet with tears.
“Mommy said she paid them because Daddy wouldn't listen.”
Nathan froze.
“Listen to what?”
Jacob pointed at the photograph.
“She said someone in the family was helping them.”
Nathan stared at his son.
“Who?”
Jacob looked toward the hallway.
His little voice dropped to a whisper.
May you like
“The person who has Daddy's spare key.”
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