Chapter 3 - THE FIRST LIE
Police arrived twenty minutes later.
Maya sat in the library wrapped in a towel while Detective Lena Ortiz questioned her.
“Start from the beginning.”
“I was carrying drinks across the patio.”
“And you saw Ms. Hale?”
“Behind the stroller.”
“What exactly did she do?”
“She looked around and pushed it.”
“With one hand?”
“Both.”
“Did she say anything?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“I screamed.”
Ortiz watched her carefully.
“You understand several witnesses say they did not actually see Ms. Hale push the stroller?”
“I understand they were watching the party.”
“One witness claims you were standing near the stroller minutes earlier.”
“I work here.”
Another officer entered and handed Ortiz a folder.
The detective read silently.
Maya hated the silence.
“What?”
Ortiz looked up.
“Ms. Brooks, did you receive a warning from the Caldwell family three weeks ago?”
Maya frowned.
“What warning?”
Ortiz slid a printed document across the table.
DISCIPLINARY NOTICE.
Maya Brooks had allegedly entered Oliver’s nursery without permission after midnight.
A second line accused her of becoming “emotionally attached to the child.”
At the bottom was Maya’s signature.
Maya stared at it.
“I’ve never seen this.”
“Your signature is there.”
“It’s not mine.”
Ortiz leaned back.
“You’re saying someone forged it?”
“Yes.”
The library door opened.
Ethan entered.
Maya stood.
“Mr. Caldwell, I did not sign this.”
Ethan looked exhausted.
“When did you enter Oliver’s room at night?”
“I didn’t.”
Vanessa appeared behind him.
“She did.”
Maya laughed in disbelief.
Vanessa continued.
“I didn’t want to cause trouble. I told Ethan we should handle it privately.”
“Stop lying.”
“You used to stand outside Oliver’s nursery.”
“Because I heard him crying!”
Vanessa looked at Ethan.
“See?”
Maya’s anger exploded.
“You left him crying.”
Ethan looked sharply at Vanessa.
“What?”
Vanessa blinked.
“His pediatrician said we shouldn’t pick him up every time.”
“That’s not what his pediatrician said,” Maya replied.
Vanessa stepped toward her.
“You are an employee.”
“And I’m the employee who jumped into that pool while you stood there dry!”
“Enough,” Ethan snapped.
Silence filled the room.
Ortiz closed the folder.
“We’re going to verify the signature.”
Maya nodded.
“Good.”
The detective stood.
“For now, nobody leaves the property.”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“I have nothing to hide.”
Maya studied her.
Something suddenly returned to her.
Three nights earlier.
The kitchen.
Vanessa arguing quietly with Grant Mercer.
She had walked in and both of them stopped talking.
At the time Maya had thought nothing of it.
Now she remembered something else.
Vanessa had been holding Maya’s employee badge.
Maya looked at Grant through the open door.
He was speaking to an officer in the hallway.
“Detective.”
Ortiz turned.
“I saw Vanessa with my badge three nights ago.”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“That’s absurd.”
“In the kitchen. She was talking to Grant.”
Grant entered.
“What are you accusing me of?”
Maya stood.
“I want to know why she had my badge.”
“I never touched your badge,” Vanessa said.
Grant nodded.
“Neither did I.”
Maya looked between them.
They were lying.
She could feel it.
Then Ortiz’s phone buzzed.
The detective read the message.
Her expression changed.
“What is it?” Ethan asked.
Ortiz looked directly at Vanessa.
“Forensics just examined Maya’s badge.”
Vanessa swallowed.
Ortiz continued.
“They found another person’s fresh fingerprint on it.”
May you like
Maya held her breath.
“And it belongs to someone standing in this house right now.”
