Chapter 2 - The Weapon That Disappeared
Landry walked toward the evidence counter.
“Officer Harris.”
A young officer stepped forward.
“Yes, Captain?”
“Finish the incident report.”
Harris nodded.
Clara heard the command.
She also noticed something else.
A plastic evidence bag sat partially hidden beneath a stack of paperwork.
Inside was a small fragment of pale wood.
Clara's eyes narrowed.
She said nothing.
Instead, she walked back toward Helena.
“Mom, look at me.”
Helena raised her head.
“Are you in severe pain?”
“Yes.”
“Any difficulty breathing?”
“My ribs hurt.”
“Dizziness?”
“A little.”
“Headache?”
“Yes.”
Clara looked toward the desk.
“Has anyone offered you medical treatment?”
Helena shook her head.
“No.”
Clara turned.
“Captain Landry.”
He sighed.
“What now?”
“My mother requires medical evaluation.”
“She can see a doctor after processing.”
“No.”
“She’s not dying.”
Clara's voice became colder.
“You don't know that.”
Landry stepped closer.
“Don't threaten me.”
“I haven't threatened you.”
She looked at Helena.
“I'm documenting the fact that an injured detainee requested medical assistance.”
Landry's jaw tightened.
“Call EMS,” he finally ordered.
An officer picked up the phone.
Brooke suddenly stood.
“She doesn't need a doctor.”
Clara looked at her.
Brooke wiped tears from her cheeks.
“She’s pretending.”
Clara studied her.
“Pretending?”
“She always wants attention.”
Arthur finally spoke.
“Clara, calm down.”
She turned toward him.
“You watched this happen?”
Arthur's face hardened.
“It wasn't like that.”
“How was it?”
“She came at Brooke.”
“Then why does Brooke have no injuries?”
Arthur hesitated.
“She didn't need to defend herself.”
“And my mother has bruising?”
“She fell.”
Clara stared at him.
“So your wife hit our mother with a baseball bat, but there was no baseball bat, and Mom somehow fell hard enough to injure her shoulder, ribs, wrist, and eye?”
Arthur looked away.
Clara smiled without humor.
“That isn't an explanation.”
Brooke suddenly pointed at Helena.
“She attacked me first!”
Helena shook her head.
“No.”
Brooke's voice rose.
“She came into our house screaming!”
“I asked you to stop taking my medication!”
“You're lying!”
Landry stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Clara noticed something on Brooke's jeans.
A narrow streak of dust.
And beneath it—
pale wood fibers.
She immediately took a photograph.
Brooke looked down.
“What?”
Clara zoomed in.
The fibers were unmistakable.
Brooke's expression changed.
Clara looked at the evidence counter.
The plastic bag.
The wood fragment.
The missing weapon.
Everything was beginning to connect.
“Captain.”
“What?”
“Where is the weapon?”
Landry stared at her.
“I told you. There wasn't one.”
Clara pointed toward the evidence counter.
“Then what is that?”
Everyone turned.
Officer Harris went pale.
Landry looked at him.
Harris swallowed.
“It's...nothing.”
“Open the bag,” Clara said.
Landry stepped forward.
“You don't give orders here.”
Clara's eyes remained on him.
“No.”
She raised her phone.
“But I can ask questions.”
Landry looked at Harris.
“Put it away.”
Harris froze.
Clara caught the hesitation.
That hesitation was more valuable than any confession.
She turned toward the desk officer.
“Who collected evidence from the scene?”
Reynolds answered quietly.
“Officer Harris.”
“And what did he collect?”
Landry interrupted.
“That's enough.”
Clara looked at him.
“No. It isn't.”
Her phone vibrated.
Another confirmation.
BODY-CAMERA FOOTAGE PRESERVED.
Then another.
DISPATCH AUDIO PRESERVED.
Then another.
EVIDENCE-LOG ACCESS RESTRICTED.
Clara looked at Landry.
He had seen the notifications.
His face changed.
He walked closer.
“You're conducting some kind of federal investigation?”
Clara didn't answer.
Landry lowered his voice.
“What exactly do you know?”
“Enough to know you should stop talking.”
His face reddened.
“This is my station.”
“And my mother is your injured detainee.”
An ambulance finally arrived.
Two medical workers entered.
The moment they saw Helena, one of them frowned.
“Why is she still cuffed?”
Landry answered.
“She was arrested.”
“For what?”
“Assault.”
The paramedic looked at Helena's swollen eye.
“Was she aggressive?”
“No,” Reynolds said quietly.
The paramedic looked at Landry.
“Then why is she restrained?”
Landry didn't answer.
Clara stepped forward.
“Because someone decided to arrest the injured person before properly documenting the evidence.”
The paramedic looked at her.
Then at Helena.
“We're taking her for evaluation.”
Landry nodded reluctantly.
As the paramedics helped Helena stand, her legs shook.
Clara supported her.
“I'm here.”
Helena looked at her daughter.
“I knew you'd come.”
Clara squeezed her hand.
“I always come.”
May you like
Behind them, Brooke began crying again.
But this time, nobody comforted her.
