Chapter 3 - The Green Beret
Elaine called the police.
Morgan didn't argue this time.
Two officers arrived within fifteen minutes and took an initial statement.
They carefully secured the container for examination.
Morgan showed them the messages.
She showed them Julian's photograph.
She explained the warning on the bus.
The younger officer listened with an expression Morgan couldn't read.
The older one, Officer Daniel Ruiz, asked a different question.
"Mrs. Bennett, do you believe your husband intends to hurt you?"
Morgan looked at the necklace.
Yesterday, she would have said no.
A week ago, she would have laughed.
Now she couldn't answer.
Ruiz didn't push.
"Do you have somewhere safe to stay?"
Morgan nodded slowly.
"My coworker, Denise."
"Call her."
Morgan reached for her phone.
A familiar scent drifted through the shop.
Lavender.
She turned.
An elderly woman stood outside the locked glass door.
Gray trench coat.
Green beret.
Morgan jumped to her feet.
"That's her!"
Officer Ruiz turned.
"Who?"
"The woman from the bus."
The elderly woman looked directly at Morgan.
Then walked away.
Morgan hurried toward the door.
"Wait!"
Ruiz stopped her.
"Mrs. Bennett."
"She knows what's happening!"
He opened the door and stepped outside with her.
The sidewalk was crowded.
A delivery truck blocked part of the street.
Pedestrians hurried past carrying coffee cups and briefcases.
The woman was gone.
Morgan turned helplessly.
"She was right there."
Ruiz spoke into his radio.
Elaine stood behind them, pale.
"Did you say she wore a green beret?"
Morgan nodded.
Elaine slowly sat down.
"Oh, my God."
"What?"
Elaine's eyes filled with tears.
"That sounds like Evelyn Ward."
"Who is Evelyn Ward?"
"She used to repair antique jewelry."
Elaine swallowed.
"She worked here for twenty-eight years."
Morgan's heart began pounding.
"Why did she leave?"
"Her daughter died."
Morgan already knew the answer before she asked.
"Was her daughter Rachel Mercer?"
Elaine nodded.
The room seemed to tilt.
The elderly woman wasn't a stranger.
She was the mother of the woman who had received the other necklace.
And she'd known enough to recognize Morgan.
"But how did she find me?" Morgan whispered.
Elaine shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then she looked toward the door.
"And I don't know why she's running."
Officer Ruiz took the information.
He promised the detectives assigned to the case would contact Morgan.
But before he left, he gave her a warning.
"Until we know what's inside that pendant, stay away from your husband."
Morgan called Denise.
Her coworker answered on the second ring.
"Hey, girl. You okay?"
"No."
Denise's voice immediately changed.
"What happened?"
"I need somewhere to stay tonight."
"You don't even have to ask."
Morgan closed her eyes.
"Thank you."
"Are you safe right now?"
Morgan glanced at the police officer.
"For the moment."
Denise lived in a two-bedroom condominium in Logan Square.
She had been divorced for six years and possessed a practical, no-nonsense approach to emergencies.
By five that afternoon, Morgan sat at Denise's kitchen table holding a mug of tea.
Denise listened without interrupting.
When Morgan finished, her friend said, "Julian has been trying to get you to sell the cottage for months."
"I know."
"And suddenly he gives you jewelry with a hidden compartment?"
"I know."
"And now someone is threatening you?"
Morgan nodded.
Denise set down her mug.
"Honey, you are not going back to that apartment."
Morgan's phone rang.
Julian.
She let it ring.
He called again.
Then again.
Finally, a text appeared.
Where are you?
Morgan didn't respond.
I called your office. They said you left early.
Another message.
Morgan, don't play games with me.
Denise stared at the screen.
"That's not a man worried about his wife."
A fourth message arrived.
I know you're with Denise.
Morgan's face went cold.
Denise reached for her own phone.
"I'm calling the police."
Before she could dial, someone knocked on the condominium door.
Three slow knocks.
Then a woman's voice.
"Morgan?"
Morgan froze.
The voice was thin and elderly.
"I know you're in there."
Denise approached the peephole.
She looked through it.
Then turned.
"There's an old lady outside."
Morgan stood.
"What is she wearing?"
Denise swallowed.
"A green hat."
Morgan hurried toward the door.
The voice came again.
"Please, child."
A pause.
"I need to tell you what happened to my daughter."
Morgan opened the door.
Evelyn Ward stood in the hallway, breathing hard.
Up close, she looked smaller than Morgan remembered.
Her hands trembled.
Her eyes were red.
"I tried to warn Rachel," she whispered.
"She wouldn't listen."
Morgan stepped aside.
Evelyn entered.
Denise locked the door.
Then Evelyn looked at Morgan with a grief so raw it barely seemed human.
"Your husband didn't buy that necklace to make you sick."
Morgan stared.
May you like
Evelyn's next words were barely audible.
"He bought it because he expects you to die."
