Chapter 6 - The Call From Paris
We reached Marta's building in eleven minutes.
It felt like eleven years.
Police were already there.
The courtyard gate stood open.
Leo's small toy car lay upside down beside a planter.
I picked it up.
My hands shook so violently I nearly dropped it.
"Claire."
Daniel tried to take my arm.
I pulled away.
"Where is he?"
An officer approached.
"We are checking the building."
"He can't be far."
"We don't know that."
"He's three."
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
I regretted it immediately.
The officer didn't react.
"We're reviewing cameras."
Marta sat inside the lobby, crying.
I crouched in front of her.
"Tell me."
"I was watching him."
"I know."
"He was pushing the car. My phone rang."
"Who?"
"Unknown number. Nobody spoke."
A distraction.
"I turned away."
"For how long?"
"Seconds."
"And?"
"When I looked back, the gate was moving."
"Did you see anyone?"
"A man."
"What man?"
"Gray coat. Dark hair."
"Adrian?"
"No."
"Julien?"
"I don't know what he looks like."
Daniel showed her Celeste's photograph.
Marta stared.
"Maybe."
Maybe.
The cruelest word in any investigation.
Police searched surrounding streets.
Train stations were alerted.
Airports notified.
Leo's passport information flagged.
Both passports.
I stood in the courtyard touching my bracelet.
Three knots.
They didn't help.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
I answered on speaker.
"Hello?"
Breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
"Claire?"
Elise.
"Where is my son?"
"What?"
"Where is Leo?"
"I don't know."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not."
"Your brother took him."
Silence.
Then: "Julien?"
"Where is he?"
"Oh God."
Her fear sounded real.
I hated that I believed it.
"Elise, listen to me. If you know anything—"
"My brother wasn't supposed to touch the child."
The courtyard became silent.
Daniel moved closer.
"What was he supposed to do?"
Elise began crying.
"Adrian said nobody would be hurt."
I nearly crushed the phone.
"Where is Leo?"
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
"I can't call Julien."
"Why?"
"He'll know I talked."
"Good."
"You don't understand."
"You're right. I don't understand why my son has disappeared twice because of people named Laurent."
She sobbed.
"I didn't write that report."
Daniel's eyes sharpened.
"Who did?"
"I gave Adrian access."
My stomach turned.
"To what?"
"Templates. Dr. Hargrove's signature file."
"You helped him."
"He had evidence against Julien."
"What evidence?"
"Financial crimes. Adrian said if I didn't cooperate, my brother would go to prison."
I almost laughed from disbelief.
"So you destroyed my life to protect his?"
"I'm sorry."
"Where is Leo?"
"I can find Julien."
"Do it."
She hesitated.
"There's a warehouse."
Daniel gestured for me to keep her talking.
"What warehouse?"
"Outside Paris. Adrian and Julien used it for document storage."
She gave an address.
Police moved immediately.
I wasn't allowed to go.
That was probably wise.
I went anyway.
Daniel cursed for most of the drive.
The warehouse stood in an industrial district beside the river.
Police vehicles surrounded it.
I remained behind a barrier.
Minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Then thirty.
Every second became unbearable.
Finally a door opened.
An officer emerged.
Alone.
My heart stopped.
Then another figure appeared.
Marta gasped.
A small navy cardigan.
Leo.
An officer carried him.
I ran.
Someone shouted.
I ignored them.
"Mommy!"
Leo reached for me.
I took him.
His arms locked around my neck.
I checked every inch of him.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did anyone hurt you?"
He shook his head.
"Man said Daddy wanted me."
I closed my eyes.
"Which man?"
"The angry man."
Behind us, police brought Julien Laurent from the warehouse in handcuffs.
He was the man from Celeste's photograph.
He looked toward me.
Not remorseful.
Terrified.
"Adrian made me do it!" he shouted.
An officer pushed him toward a vehicle.
"He said we'd all go down!"
I stared.
Daniel stood beside me.
"Claire."
"What?"
"They found documents inside."
"What documents?"
His expression told me I wasn't going to like the answer.
"Records from Bennett Atelier."
"Financial?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"We don't know."
Leo buried his face against my shoulder.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"And photographs."
"Of what?"
"You."
A chill moved across my skin.
"What kind of photographs?"
"Your house. Your office. Your car."
I stared at him.
"Before the accident?"
"Some are dated months before."
The world seemed to narrow.
Adrian hadn't simply reacted when I discovered missing money.
He had prepared for me to discover it.
Prepared a psychiatric narrative.
Prepared documents.
Watched me.
And possibly tracked my movements.
I looked at Daniel.
"My accident."
He didn't answer.
"You think it wasn't an accident."
"We don't know."
May you like
But we both knew what question had just become unavoidable.
If Adrian had planned everything else before the crash, what exactly had happened on that rainy road six weeks earlier?
