Chapter 4 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Find Her Father
Gerald Mercer had been paid to find the man who abandoned me.
Instead, he had helped carry my unconscious daughter toward a dumpster.
At least, that was what the video appeared to show.
I couldn't stop staring at his face.
Three months earlier, Lucas had suggested hiring Gerald after Maisie began asking questions about her father.
She was too young to understand abandonment, but she understood photographs.
She pointed at pictures of other children's fathers and asked, "Mine?"
I had no answer.
Her biological father, Nathan Cole, disappeared when I was six months pregnant.
His phone stopped working.
His apartment was emptied.
His employer claimed he had resigned without notice.
I had spent years believing he simply didn't want us.
Gerald Mercer was supposed to help us understand what happened.
He had come highly recommended.
By my father.
That detail suddenly mattered.
"Gerald told us he couldn't find Nathan," I said.
Detective Bennett nodded.
"Do you have his contact information?"
"Lucas does."
Lucas handed over his phone.
Bennett studied the number.
"We'll need to determine his involvement before drawing conclusions."
"What more do you need? He's right there."
"The footage shows his presence. We still need to establish what happened before and after."
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I looked at Maisie.
Her eyelids fluttered.
I leaned over the bed.
"Sweetheart?"
A tiny sound escaped her lips.
"Mommy?"
My knees nearly gave way.
"I'm here, baby. I'm right here."
She tried to move her hand.
I caught it gently.
Her eyes opened for a second, unfocused and frightened.
Then she began to cry.
It was a weak, exhausted cry.
But it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
Dr. Sloan came immediately.
She checked Maisie's responses and reassured me that waking was encouraging, though the medical team still needed to watch her closely.
I held her hand until she fell asleep again.
For the first time since finding her, I allowed myself to believe she might come home.
That evening, Lucas brought me clean clothes and Maisie's yellow blanket.
He had retrieved it from the apartment with police permission.
I pressed it against my face.
It smelled faintly of baby shampoo.
"I should've taken her home after the party," I whispered.
Lucas sat beside me.
"We couldn't have known."
"But I knew my mother didn't like her."
"Not liking someone doesn't explain what they did."
I looked at him.
"Do you think Gerald was working for my parents the whole time?"
"I don't know."
"Then why did he agree to find Nathan?"
Lucas hesitated.
"There's something I haven't told you."
My chest tightened.
"What?"
"When Gerald gave me his final report, he said Nathan had probably left the state. But he also warned me not to contact him again."
"Why?"
"He said Nathan had dangerous connections."
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he didn't provide evidence, and I didn't want to frighten you over something that might be meaningless."
I pulled away.
"Lucas, my daughter almost died."
"I know."
"No more protecting me by hiding things."
He swallowed.
"You're right."
His honesty made me cry harder than an excuse would have.
A knock interrupted us.
Detective Bennett entered with another officer.
"We have an update."
I stood.
"Did you find Gerald?"
"His office is empty. His vehicle was located at a long-term parking facility near the airport."
"He's gone?"
"We're working to locate him."
"And my parents?"
Bennett paused.
"Your mother and father have been arrested in connection with the assault and endangerment of Maisie. Additional charges may follow as the evidence develops."
I closed my eyes.
I had imagined those words all day.
But hearing them didn't bring satisfaction.
It brought the terrible realization that I would never again be able to pretend I had a normal family.
"What about Tessa?"
"She's cooperating. Her exact role is still under investigation."
"She helped throw away the bottle."
"She admitted that. She's also provided information about the medication."
Bennett looked down at her notes.
"The bottle was prescribed to your father."
"Why would Dad need a sedative?"
"That remains part of the investigation."
She hesitated.
"Your sister also told us something concerning Gerald Mercer."
I felt Lucas straighten beside me.
"What?"
"She says Gerald came to the store several days before the engagement party. She overheard him arguing with Warren."
"About what?"
"Money."
That didn't surprise me.
My father argued about money with everyone.
But Bennett continued.
"Tessa heard Gerald say, 'I didn't agree to make the little girl disappear.'"
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"He said that before the party?"
"According to your sister."
My hands began shaking.
"Then they planned this."
"We're investigating that possibility."
I looked toward the bed.
Maisie slept beneath her yellow blanket.
Her stuffed rabbit rested beside her pillow.
I couldn't understand how adults could discuss the disappearance of a child as though negotiating a delivery schedule.
"There's one more thing," Bennett said.
She handed me a photograph recovered from Gerald's office.
It showed a young man standing outside Holloway Home & Tool.
He wore a gray work jacket.
He had dark hair, tired eyes, and a crooked smile.
I recognized him immediately.
Nathan Cole.
Maisie's father.
The photograph had been taken recently.
I knew because the store's new sign was visible behind him.
Nathan wasn't missing.
He had been standing outside my family's business.
May you like
And written on the back of the photograph were six words:
WARREN KNOWS WHERE THE CHILD BELONGS.
