Chapter 4 - THE BLUE BOTTLE
Lucas drove home with Officer Reyes behind him.
Evelyn was gone.
Her suitcase was still in the guest room, but her car had disappeared from the driveway.
Lucas went straight to the kitchen.
The mug Hannah had used sat in the sink.
Reyes bagged it.
Then Lucas opened every cabinet.
Nothing.
He checked the trash.
Coffee grounds. Diapers. Grocery wrappers.
At the bottom, beneath a paper towel, he found a small blue prescription bottle.
The label had been peeled away.
Inside were six white tablets.
Lucas’s hands started shaking.
Reyes took the bottle.
“Do not touch anything else.”
From upstairs came the sound of a phone vibrating.
Lucas followed it to the guest room.
Evelyn’s old tablet was plugged in beside the bed.
The screen lit up with a notification.
Hannah Mercer: Cloud sync complete.
Lucas stared at it.
Reyes did too.
“Whose device is that?”
“My mother’s.”
The tablet was locked, but the notification alone was enough to change the air in the room.
Lucas sat on the edge of the bed.
All those nights Evelyn had volunteered to rock Sophie so Hannah could sleep.
All those mornings Hannah woke groggy and ashamed because she couldn’t remember conversations clearly.
His phone rang.
It was his mother.
He answered on speaker.
“Where are you?”
Evelyn’s voice was calm again.
“Lucas, I’m giving you one chance to think like a father instead of a frightened husband.”
“You drugged Hannah.”
A pause.
Then: “Be very careful what you accuse me of.”
“You used her phone.”
Another pause.
“I protected Sophie.”
“From what?”
“From a woman who is falling apart.”
Lucas stood.
“No. From you.”
Evelyn exhaled slowly.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“I filed the petition this morning.”
Lucas’s grip tightened around the phone.
“What petition?”
May you like
Evelyn answered with four words.
“Emergency protection for Sophie.”
