“What folder?” he repeated.
Patricia’s eyes flashed.
“Lower your voice.”
Ryan moved closer.
“Keep going. This is the most useful your family has been all day.”
Caleb pointed at him.
“You don’t know what she’s talking about.”
“No,” Ryan said. “But you don’t either. And that scares you.”
Patricia grabbed Caleb’s arm.
“We’re leaving.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Nora said.
Patricia gave her a cold look.
“You cannot detain us.”
“No,” Nora said. “But Detective Alvarez can.”
As if summoned by the name, two people stepped off the elevator.
One man.
One woman.
Both in plain clothes.
Both carrying badges.
Detective Maya Alvarez walked first, black blazer, dark hair pulled back, eyes already scanning every exit.
Her partner, Detective Owen Briggs, carried a tablet and wore the expression of a man who had read enough before arriving.
Caleb’s face hardened.
Patricia’s face emptied.
Ryan turned toward them.
Detective Alvarez nodded once.
“Mr. Carter?”
“Yes.”
“We received your evidence package.”
Caleb laughed.
It was too loud.
“What evidence package?”
Detective Alvarez looked at him.
“Mr. Whitmore, I’m going to advise you not to speak casually right now.”
Patricia recovered first.
“My daughter-in-law is in surgery, and you people are treating this like a crime scene.”
Detective Briggs said, “Mrs. Whitmore is no longer in surgery. And yes, we are.”
That sentence landed like a dropped tray.
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