Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN THE FILE
“She was a speech-language pathologist,” Tomas said.
Santiago looked up.
“Was?”
“Worked at Eastmere Center. Pediatric rehabilitation. Communication disorders. Good record until three years ago.”
“What happened?”
Tomas placed a second photograph on the desk.
A girl with crooked bangs grinned at the camera, holding a paper crown.
“Her daughter. Emma. Five years old.”
Santiago studied Ruby’s face in the photograph. She looked younger than three years could explain.
“Emma was admitted after complications from surgery. Eastmere handled part of her recovery. She died there.”
“How?”
“The official finding says an unexpected respiratory event.”
“And the unofficial finding?”
“Ruby accused the staff of giving an unauthorized sedative. Then someone produced a medication record with her signature.”
Santiago’s gaze sharpened.
“Was she treating her own daughter?”
“No. She was there as her mother. Her signature acknowledged instructions. The center said she’d administered something herself.”
“Did she?”
“She denied it. There was an investigation. She surrendered her license during the dispute. Sold her house paying lawyers.”
Tomas slid another page forward.
“After that, housekeeping jobs. Cashier. Laundry service. No steady address until last year.”
Santiago turned the page.
Then he stopped.
The physician who had signed Emma Brennan’s final medical summary was Dr. Adrian Hale.
Sophia’s doctor.
For seven years.
“Get the car.”
Ruby lived above a shuttered bakery twenty minutes from the mansion.
She opened her apartment door with a chain still attached.
When she saw Santiago, her face closed.
“I was paid. There’s nothing to discuss.”
“I owe you an apology.”
“Yes.”
He waited.
She did not make it easier.
“I shouldn’t have fired you.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
“I want you to come back.”
“For Sophia?”
“Yes.”
Ruby’s eyes moved to the folder beneath his arm.
“You investigated me.”
“I needed to understand.”
“You could have asked.”
That was becoming an expensive sentence.
Santiago held up the page bearing Hale’s name.
Ruby’s hand tightened on the door.
“He treats my sister.”
“I know.”
For the first time since arriving, Santiago forgot what he intended to say.
“How?”
Ruby looked past him toward the empty stairs.
Then she closed the door, released the chain, and let him inside.
Her apartment held a narrow couch, a kitchen table, and one framed photograph turned toward the wall.
She remained standing.
“I need to tell you something before I see Sophia again.”
“What?”
Ruby swallowed.
“Your house wasn’t a random assignment.”
Santiago stared at her.
“I applied because Dr. Hale’s name was in the job instructions.”
“Why?”
May you like
Her voice dropped.
“Because I wanted to know whether he was doing to your sister what he did to my daughter.”
