Chapter 4: The Voice in Noah’s Pocket
“I never signed that,” I said.
Helen raised one hand.
“Mr.
Mercer, I need everyone to remain calm.”
Lauren pressed a tissue to her eyes.
“This is what he does.
He gets loud whenever anyone questions him.”
“I’m not loud.
I’m telling you that signature was copied.”
“You signed it Tuesday night,” Lauren said.
“You’d been drinking.”
“I don’t drink on work nights.”
“You did that night.”
Maya stepped forward.
“He didn’t.”
Helen crouched to meet her eyes.
“Maya, I need to speak with you privately.”
Lauren reached for Maya’s shoulder.
“I’ll take her upstairs.”
“No,” Helen said.
“Neither adult comes with us.”
Lauren’s hand dropped.
Noah touched Helen’s sleeve.
“You need to talk to me too.”
“Noah,” Lauren warned.
“She took the pictures after she made Maya cry.”
“That is a lie.”
“You told me they would prove Maya was unstable.”
Lauren’s face sharpened.
“My son has been having behavioral problems.
Mr.
Bell can provide his records.”
Noah stared at the floor.
“You said that’s what you’d tell people if I talked.”
Helen stood.
“Mrs.
Mercer, please wait in the kitchen.”
“This is my home.”
“And these are serious allegations.”
Lauren walked away, but not before whispering to me, “You’ve already lost.”
Helen spoke with Maya in the dining room while I waited by the stairs.
Through the glass door, I saw Maya’s hands twisting in her lap.
Then Helen asked something I couldn’t hear.
Maya covered her face and began to cry.
I reached for the door, but Noah caught my wrist.
“She’ll say you interfered,” he whispered.
I looked down at him.
“Why are you helping us?”
“Because Maya shared her lunch with me when Mom forgot mine.” His chin trembled.
“And because Mom said if I stayed quiet, Sophie and I would finally have a real dad.”
“You already have a father.”
“She won’t let him call.”
Noah reached into his pocket and placed a small digital recorder in my palm.
“I turned it on when Mom made Maya sign.”
Lauren appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“What did you give him?”
Noah moved behind me.
“Nothing.”
She came toward us, but Helen opened the dining-room door.
“Mrs.
Mercer, sit down.”
Lauren stopped.
Helen looked at me.
“Maya says she was told you wanted her to leave.
She also says she signed a document without being allowed to read it.”
“I never wanted her gone.”
“I believe you need time to provide evidence.
Until we verify the signatures and interview everyone, Maya should stay with a relative.”
“No!” Maya ran into me.
“Please don’t send me away.”
I held her against my chest.
“She can stay with Claire, and I’ll go with her.”
Lauren shook her head.
“The report says Daniel is part of the concern.”
“What report?” I demanded.
Helen opened the folder.
“The one submitted by Mrs.
Mercer and witnessed by attorney Richard Bell.”
Lauren’s lips curved for half a second.
Helen noticed.
“I’m not making a final finding today,” she said.
“But if either of you interferes with this inquiry, I’ll document it.”
I lifted the recorder.
“Then document this too.”
Lauren’s smile disappeared.
Noah leaned toward Helen.
“The worst part is near the end.”
I pressed play.
Lauren’s voice filled the hallway.
“If Daniel refuses to let Maya go, Mr.
Bell will use the photographs.
Once the court sees them, Daniel may lose her anyway.”
A second voice answered her.
It belonged to someone who had been inside our house while I was away.
May you like
“Then make sure the girl cries for the camera again,” Mr.
Bell said.
