Chapter 5 - The Waitress’s Tale
Emma looked at me for a long time,
her eyes searching for any hint of a trap.
"Why would he do it?"
she asked,
her voice a whisper.
"He has everything. He runs this place like a king."
"Because he doesn't want to run it,"
I explained.
"He wants to own it."
"My wife’s will stated that if I were to pass away,
or become incapacitated,
the ranch would be held in a trust for the children."
"Victor was named the sole trustee."
"If the children were gone... and I followed shortly after... he would inherit the Whitmore empire."
Emma’s face paled.
"He was going to kill all of you."
"Yes,"
I said.
"And he used the ruby to frame you,
making sure there was a convenient scapegoat for the 'accident'."
"But how did you know to come to the house tonight,
Emma?"
She looked down at her hands.
"I wasn't sneaking around,"
she said.
"The nurses... they’re good women,
Daniel. But they were scared."
"They told me Victor was changing their medications. They told me the babies were getting lethargic."
"They were afraid to speak up because Victor threatened to have their licenses revoked."
"I didn't have a license to lose. So I started coming by at night to check the windows."
"Tonight,
I saw the light go out in the nursery,
but the rest of the house stayed bright."
"I knew it wasn't a power surge. I knew it was him."
I felt a surge of gratitude so strong it almost knocked me over.
A girl with no connection to my family had risked her life because she heard a baby cry.
"You’re a better person than I’ve been,
Emma,"
I said.
"I let grief blind me. I handed him the keys to my kingdom because I was too tired to carry them."
"We can't change the past,"
she said,
reaching out to touch my hand.
"But we can finish this tonight."
"I need to know what was in that syringe,"
I said.
"If I can prove he was poisoning them,
the sheriff won't be able to protect him."
"The nurses keep a log,"
Emma said.
"A secret one. They hid it in the bottom of the diaper bin in the laundry room."
"They recorded every strange smell,
every missed dose,
and every time Victor entered the room."
I nodded.
"I’ll get the log. You stay here. If Miller comes back,
pretend to be crying."
"I don't have to pretend,"
she said,
a single tear tracing a path through the dust on her cheek.
I slipped out of the office,
my heart a drum in my ears.
The ranch was silent,
but it was the silence of a predator waiting in the grass.
I headed toward the laundry room,
staying in the shadows,
avoiding the main cameras.
I found the log exactly where she said it would be.
It was a small,
spiral-bound notebook,
filled with frantic,
scribbled notes.
January 14th: Mr. Hale brought a new cleaning solution. The babies are coughing.
January 19th: Sophie’s heart rate is elevated. Mr. Hale refused to call the doctor.
January 22nd: He took the ruby from the safe. He told us it was for a cleaning.
It was all there.
The systematic destruction of my family.
I tucked the notebook into my jacket and started back.
But as I turned the corner,
a flashlight beam hit me square in the eyes.
"Looking for something,
Daniel?"
May you like
Victor’s voice was as smooth as silk,
and twice as deadly.
