Semua Bab SIR: Bab 121 - Bab 130

Maya closes the door behind her with a soft click that feels louder than it should in the small, airless room. The hallway light catches the side of her face for a second before the door seals us in darkness again, leaving only the faint glow from that single recessed bulb overhead. She doesn’t move right away. She just stands there, arms loose at her sides, watching me like she’s waiting for me to catch up to something she already figured out months ago. I push myself off the wall slowly, my wrists still throbbing from the zip ties, and meet her gaze without blinking. “I should have known.” She tilts her head slightly. “Should you?” “Yes.” I take one careful step toward her, testing how much space she’ll let me have. “You always knew too much. Every time we talked, every time you showed up exactly when things were falling apart, you had the perfect piece of information. The perfect timing. I told myself it was coincidence and that you were just really good at your job.” Maya

I think I imagined it. That is my first thought when my heartbeat finally slows enough for my brain to catch up with the moment. I have been sitting here too long, talking to a man who cannot answer me, clinging to hope like it is oxygen. Of course my mind would manufacture a response. Of course it would give me what I am begging for. David's fingers curl around mine again, the pressure faint but unmistakable this time, and I lift my head slowly from where it has been resting against his knuckles, my breath catching hard in my throat as I stare down at our joined hands. His fingers twitch, then squeeze with just enough strength to send a sharp, electric jolt through my entire body. I raise my head fully now, my eyes locking onto his face. His eyelids flutter once, twice, and then they open slowly and laboriously, like he's dragging himself up through layers of heavy water. Those familiar eyes meet mine, hazy and clouded at first, then gradually sharpeni

The police arrive while I’m still standing in the hallway outside David’s room, staring at the television screen where the news ticker keeps scrolling Elaine’s photo. Two detectives in plain clothes walk in. One of them is older with salt-and-pepper hair and tired eyes, the other slightly younger. They approach me directly already holding their badges out. The older one speaks first. “Mrs. Calder? We need to speak with you please.” I don’t argue. I follow them to a small conference room down the corridor that the hospital must keep for this kind of thing. Sel tries to come with me but the younger detective shakes her head politely. “Just Mrs. Calder for now ma'am.” I sit across from them. My hands stay in my lap, fingers laced tight to keep them from shaking. The older detective – Detective Harlan according to his badge – places a slim folder on the table but doesn’t open it yet. “We’re investigating the death of Elaine Reid,” he begins. “Her body was recovered from the Hudson

David’s eyes are already on me before I even hang up the call and lower the phone. He doesn’t ask who it was. He doesn’t have to. The way my shoulders stiffened told him everything. “No,” he says before I can even open my mouth. I slide the phone back into my pocket and meet his gaze. “I didn’t say anything yet.” “You didn’t have to. Your face did.” He shifts against the pillows, wincing as the movement pulls at the incision line beneath the thin hospital gown. “You’re not going.” “You know I have to.” “No. You don’t.” His voice stays low, but final. “Vincent Calder is the last person on earth you should be meeting in an abandoned warehouse at midnight. Especially not alone.” I drag the chair closer until my knees bump the bed frame. “If I don’t go, whatever he has stays buried. He says he has proof Maya killed Elaine. Proof that could take the target off my back before the detectives decide cuffs look better on me than hospital wristbands.” David’s jaw tightens. “Then we send

The recorder sits on the kitchen island like a small black bomb waiting to detonate. I haven’t touched it since I got home at three in the morning, showered twice to wash off the warehouse smell, and crawled into bed beside Lucy without waking her. Now it’s almost ten and I still can’t touch it. Marcus is already here, nursing coffee at the counter. He didn’t ask for details when I texted him I was clear and heading home. He just said he’d stay until Sel arrived to take over watch. I pick up my phone instead of the recorder. Three missed calls from the law firm. Two voicemails. I hit play on the first one while I pour myself coffee I probably won’t drink. “Nora, it’s Rachel Kline. Harlan and Martinez came by the office this morning with questions. They’re fishing, but they’re persistent. We need you in here today. Bring whatever you have that might help. Call me back.” The second voicemail is shorter. “Rachel again. They’re talking about convening a grand jury next week if they