Chapter 3 - The Cap
Preston saw the initials and changed color.
Madeline knew every version of his face. She had never seen it empty.
"Give me that," he said.
Poppy closed her fist.
Madeline forced herself upright despite the nausea. "Don't touch her."
"It's mine," Preston said.
Detective Ruiz, who had returned because she'd forgotten her recorder, stepped back into the doorway at exactly the right moment.
"What's yours?"
Nobody answered.
Poppy ran to her.
Ruiz crouched. "Can I see what you have?"
Poppy opened her hand.
Ruiz slipped on a glove and placed the cap in an evidence bag.
"P.V.," she read.
Preston recovered quickly. "Preston Voss. It could be from one of my prescriptions."
Madeline's heart thudded.
"What prescription comes in a dropper bottle?" she asked.
He ignored her.
The next morning, Dr. Klein explained that Madeline had a powerful sedative in her blood along with another medication that could cause confusion, memory gaps, blurred vision, and fainting.
"Could it kill me?" she asked.
He paused.
"In the amount we found, especially mixed with alcohol or another depressant, yes."
Madeline's fingers went numb.
Preston had brought her wine every night for weeks.
Ruiz asked him to step outside.
Once the door closed, she lowered her voice.
"The cap doesn't match anything recovered from your kitchen. We searched the trash, drains, cabinets, Serena's room. No bottle."
"So he got rid of it."
"Maybe."
"You don't believe me?"
"I believe somebody lied. I just don't know which liar scares me most yet."
Ruiz pulled out her phone and showed Madeline a still image from the security camera over the back driveway.
Serena's car had left the property at 3:41 p.m.
Madeline had collapsed around 3:48.
Seven minutes.
Then Ruiz swiped to the next image.
At 4:02, after Preston had called 911, a second car left through the service gate.
Madeline recognized it immediately.
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It belonged to Preston's mother.
Evelyn Voss had told police she'd been in Boston all day.
