Chapter 15 - THE OLD CLINIC
I did not go alone.
Harris would not allow it.
Officers surrounded the abandoned clinic while I wore a small microphone beneath my coat. Dad wanted to come inside. Harris refused.
"Vanessa asked for Emma. Too many people will spook her."
The clinic smelled like dust and wet plaster.
My flashlight moved across peeling walls, broken cabinets, and faded room numbers.
"Vanessa?"
Her voice came from the old records room.
"You always were brave when someone else was nearby."
I stepped through the doorway.
She sat behind a metal desk.
May's collar was in front of her.
Beside it sat an old cassette recorder.
"What is that?"
"Your mother's voice."
My chest tightened.
Vanessa pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then I heard my mother.
Rachel.
Nine years vanished in one breath.
"Vanessa, you need help. You cannot keep following me. You cannot keep calling Daniel. If you come to my home again, I will call the police."
Vanessa stopped the tape.
"She made me sound crazy."
"You were stalking her."
"I was trying to make her admit what she did to me."
"She fired you?"
"She destroyed me."
"So you hurt her?"
Vanessa smiled.
"Careful. The police are probably listening."
I forced myself not to look toward the hidden microphone.
"Did you cause the crash?"
Her smile faded.
"Your mother should have stopped when I told her to."
My heart kicked.
"Stopped what?"
"Digging. Just like you."
Outside, something crashed.
Vanessa stood suddenly and grabbed the cassette recorder.
"They're here."
She kicked over the desk and ran through a side door.
I followed far enough to see her disappear down the service hallway.
Then a sharp chemical smell hit the air.
May you like
Smoke rolled from the records room behind me.
Vanessa had set the building on fire.
