Chapter 4 - THE CAR
I did not touch the car.
Officer Jensen told me not to touch it.
By eight, a technician was kneeling beside the driver’s seat.
He found a small amber prescription bottle under the seat.
My name was on the label.
The medication was clonazepam.
I had never been prescribed clonazepam.
Officer Jensen held the bottle in a gloved hand.
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Mom swore under her breath.
The bottle held twelve tablets and named a doctor I had never met.
I understood the custody declaration.
They weren’t documenting a problem.
They were building one.
Ryan called from county intake. I answered on speaker with Jensen listening.
“Lauren, this has gotten insane.”
“You mean the pills in my car?”
Silence.
Just half a second.
But I heard it.
“What pills?”
I looked at Jensen.
He raised one eyebrow.
“The ones with my name on them.”
Ryan recovered quickly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then you won’t mind fingerprints.”
His breathing changed.
“My mother lost control. You’re turning a family problem into something that could ruin us.”
“No, Ryan. You did that.”
“Think about Emma.”
“I am.”
“If you keep pushing, things will come out that you can’t put back.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s reality.”
The call ended.
Ten minutes later, Jensen asked whether Ryan had access to my keys.
“Every day.”
“And your purse? Your signature?”
“Yes.”
My stomach turned. He had hundreds of samples.
Mom led me to the guest room and pulled three copied pages from beneath the mattress.
One was a list titled EVIDENCE NEEDED.
Photos of Lauren sleeping. Medication. Witness statement. Domestic incident.
At the bottom:
POLICE REPORT — IDEAL.
I looked toward the driveway where officers were still examining my car.
They had wanted a police report.
Last night had given them one.
May you like
And suddenly I wondered if Margaret had attacked Mom because she lost control—
or because she needed me to lose mine.
