Chapter 7 - Dr. Voss
Dr. Voss was arrested the next morning.
Not for murder.
Not yet.
He was arrested for falsifying a death certificate and obstructing an investigation after officers found contradictory records inside his office.
He asked for an attorney immediately.
That told Reed enough to keep digging.
By noon, we had Emily’s preliminary autopsy findings.
Reed asked me to sit down.
I refused.
“Tell me.”
He hesitated.
“Emily did give birth recently.”
“I know.”
“There was blood loss.”
I braced myself.
“But the medical examiner does not believe the blood loss was fatal.”
I stared at him.
“What killed her?”
“We don’t have the final answer yet.”
“Then give me what you have.”
Reed looked at Elena.
She stayed silent.
“There is trauma to the right side of her head.”
I thought about the makeup around her temple.
“From what?”
“Possibly a fall against a hard surface.”
My jaw tightened.
“Would that have killed her?”
“Not immediately.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“Immediately?”
Reed’s voice softened.
“The examiner believes Emily may have remained alive for several hours after the injury.”
I couldn’t speak.
Several hours.
She had been alive.
In this house.
Surrounded by people.
With a phone.
With cars.
With a hospital fifteen minutes away.
“What else?”
“Sedative compounds were detected.”
“What sedatives?”
“We’re waiting for full toxicology.”
I looked through the glass doors toward the courtyard.
My mother was sitting outside with an attorney.
Caleb had his own lawyer.
Both were still claiming Emily died naturally.
I turned back to Reed.
“You think someone drugged her.”
“I think we need evidence before saying that.”
“I don’t.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Daniel.”
“My wife was injured.”
My voice trembled despite every effort to control it.
“She stayed alive for hours.”
“Nobody called an ambulance.”
“And somebody drugged her.”
Reed didn’t correct me.
That was worse.
An officer entered.
“Detective, we found the woman.”
“What woman?”
“The estate employee from the old schedule.”
He handed Reed a photograph.
A woman in her sixties.
Nora Ellis.
I remembered her.
She had worked for my parents since I was a teenager.
“She left three days ago.”
Reed nodded.
“Without collecting her paycheck.”
“Where is she?”
“Bus station outside Richmond.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief hit me harder than I expected.
Reed looked at the officer.
“Bring her in.”
Nora arrived that evening.
The moment she saw me, she began crying.
“I’m sorry.”
I stood.
“For what?”
“I should have called someone.”
My body went cold.
“Nora.”
She covered her mouth.
“I thought your mother would call the ambulance.”
“What happened?”
Nora looked toward the door.
Reed locked it.
“You’re safe.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand that family.”
I almost laughed at the cruelty of the sentence.
“I am that family.”
She looked at me.
“No, Daniel.”
“You were always the one who left.”
The words hurt because they were true.
Not because I had abandoned them.
Because military service had kept me away long enough for secrets to grow.
Nora gripped the edge of the table.
“Emily delivered Noah upstairs.”
“She was weak.”
“But she was awake.”
“She was talking.”
My heart pounded.
“What happened next?”
“Caleb came into the room.”
“Emily told him she had copied everything.”
“She said she had proof.”
“What did Caleb do?”
Nora closed her eyes.
“He told her to give it to him.”
“She refused.”
My fists curled.
“They argued.”
“Then?”
Nora’s voice broke.
“I heard something hit the floor.”
I stopped breathing.
“When I came inside, Emily was lying beside the dresser.”
“Caleb was standing over her.”
“And your mother was holding the baby.”
The room went silent.
I asked the question I already feared.
“Was Emily alive?”
Nora looked at me.
“Yes.”
“She looked straight at me.”
“And she said three words.”
I waited.
May you like
Nora began sobbing.
“Call my husband.”
