Chapter 5 - The House on the Hill
By midnight, Sabrina had been taken to a hospital under police supervision.
She claimed the syringe belonged to her.
Then she claimed it belonged to the hotel’s medical staff.
Officer Ruiz wrote down both statements.
Miles wasn’t answering his phone.
Ethan wanted Lily home.
Ruiz advised him to let officers check the house first.
For once, he didn’t argue.
Grace sat beside Lily in the back of the car.
Ethan sat on the other side, leaving space between himself and his daughter.
Lily watched the city lights.
“Is Grace going to jail?”
“The police are checking what happened,” Ethan said.
“That’s not what I asked.”
He rubbed his face.
“I know.”
Grace touched the seat between them.
“I’m here right now, honey.”
Lily reached across the leather and took her hand.
At the house, officers checked the rooms before anyone went inside.
Mrs. Alvarez, the cook, stood in the foyer wearing slippers and an old cardigan.
She saw Lily and opened her arms.
The girl went straight to her.
Ethan watched the embrace with an ache he couldn’t name.
He had paid for therapists, tutors, weekend trips.
He hadn’t noticed which people his daughter ran toward when she was afraid.
Upstairs, Lily refused her bedroom.
“Sabrina changed it.”
Ethan frowned.
“She said you wanted something more grown-up.”
Lily stared at him.
“She took Mommy’s curtains.”
He remembered approving the decorator’s invoice from an airport lounge.
He hadn’t looked at the pictures.
They settled Lily in the guest room beside Mrs. Alvarez’s room.
Grace checked the closet at Lily’s request.
Then behind the curtains.
Then beneath the bed.
No one told her she was being silly.
When Lily finally lay down, Ethan sat near the door.
“I should have asked you about the room.”
“Yes,” she said.
The word landed harder than a shout.
He nodded.
A house officer appeared in the doorway.
“Mr. Caldwell.
Could you step outside?”
In the hall, the officer held a clear bag.
Inside was a bottle of prescription tablets.
“We found these in your daughter’s bathroom.”
Ethan looked at the label.
“What are they?”
“We’ll have them checked.
Do you recognize the name?”
He did.
Printed on the pharmacy label were two words.
Grace Holloway.
Behind him, the guest-room door creaked.
Grace had heard every word.
May you like
Her face went white.
“Those aren’t mine.”
