Chapter 10 - The Receptionist Who Knew Too Much
We met Marcy Kline in a police interview room at four that afternoon.
She did not come willingly.
She came because Officer Patel found enough inconsistencies in the preschool records to make cooperation seem wise.
Marcy was forty-three, petite, with blond hair cut at her chin.
At Little Oaks she always wore flowered cardigans and remembered every child's birthday.
In the interview room she looked older.
Tired.
Afraid.
I sat beside Meredith.
Daniel sat across from us with Mark.
Officer Patel remained near the door.
Marcy looked at me.
"I'm sorry."
I hated those words.
"For what?"
She twisted a tissue.
"For all of it."
"Start with Tuesday."
"Evelyn came to school."
"I know."
"She showed Daniel's authorization."
"I know."
"She took Lily."
"I know."
Marcy shook her head.
"No. You don't."
My stomach tightened.
"Tell me."
"She took Lily to Dr. Vale, yes. But I was there."
"Why?"
"Because Evelyn asked me to witness the interview."
"Witness or influence?"
Marcy looked down.
"Witness."
"Why would she trust a preschool receptionist?"
Marcy began crying.
"I've known her twenty years."
Daniel frowned.
"How?"
"Grace Harbor."
Of course.
Every road led there.
"My husband and I joined when our daughter was little."
"What does that have to do with my family?"
Marcy looked at Daniel.
"Your mother helped us."
"How?"
"Our daughter needed surgery. Insurance denied it. Grace Harbor raised money."
Daniel's face tightened.
"Mom paid."
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Sixty thousand."
Meredith asked, "Was it a gift?"
Marcy gave a strange laugh.
"Nothing with Evelyn is a gift."
There it was.
The invoice.
"What did she want?" I asked.
"At first, little things. Information. When you dropped Lily off. Whether you seemed tired. Whether you argued with Daniel in the parking lot."
My skin crawled.
"How long?"
"Almost two years."
I stared at her.
"You watched me for two years."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop saying that."
She cried harder.
"Then she wanted documents placed in Lily's file. Pickup forms. Notes."
"The false pickup yesterday?"
Marcy nodded.
"Evelyn told me to create a digital record showing Daniel had picked Lily up."
"Why?"
"To confuse the timeline if anyone checked cameras."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Did you let Pastor Mercer into our house?"
"No."
"Did you give him a key?"
"No."
"How did he get in?"
Marcy looked confused.
"I don't know."
Officer Patel asked about the photograph taken after Daniel punched the wall.
Marcy wiped her face.
"I took it from my kitchen window."
"At Evelyn's request?"
"No."
That surprised us.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I was scared."
"Of Daniel?"
"Yes."
I looked at my husband.
He looked ashamed.
Marcy continued.
"I heard yelling. Then the crash. I saw him bleeding. I called police."
"That part was real," I said.
"Yes."
"Then how did Evelyn get the photo?"
"She asked me later if I'd seen anything. I sent it."
Daniel looked at me.
"I did yell that night."
"At me?"
"No. On the phone with Mom."
That made sense.
A little.
Not enough.
Meredith said, "Tell us about the restaurant last night."
Marcy froze.
So the anonymous photographer had known.
"What restaurant?" she asked.
Officer Patel slid the photo across the table.
Marcy stared at it.
"I met Evelyn because she demanded I fix what went wrong."
"What went wrong?"
"Lily wasn't supposed to be taken from the house."
Silence.
I leaned forward.
"What was supposed to happen?"
Marcy looked toward the one-way glass.
"I want a lawyer."
Meredith sat back.
That meant the useful part was coming.
Patel said, "You are not under arrest. You may end the interview."
Marcy stood.
Then she sat again.
"My daughter called me this morning."
Nobody spoke.
"She said if I kept protecting Evelyn, she would tell the police everything."
"Everything about what?"
Marcy pressed the tissue to her mouth.
"Money."
Daniel whispered, "The trust?"
"No."
"Then what money?"
"Grace Harbor money."
She looked at me.
"Evelyn has been moving money through the church for years."
"Why?"
"I don't know all of it. Medical funds. Benevolence funds. Counseling grants."
Daniel stared.
"My mother is church treasurer."
"Was."
"What?"
"They removed her temporarily this morning."
Claire had told us Evelyn served on financial committees, but not that she was treasurer.
Marcy continued.
"Pastor Mercer started asking questions six months ago."
I frowned.
"Then why did he help her take Lily?"
"He didn't."
We all stared.
"I saw the doorbell footage," I said.
"Tom carried her."
"Yes. But he thought he was rescuing her."
"From me?"
"From Evelyn."
My mind struggled to catch up.
Marcy said, "Evelyn told Tom you were about to flee with Lily because Daniel had become violent. She showed him the police report, the gambling debt, and Daniel's authorization."
Daniel looked sick.
"So Tom believed Mom."
"Yes."
"Then why bring Lily to the Mercer farm where Evelyn was waiting?"
"He didn't know she was there."
Officer Patel asked, "Are you certain?"
"Tom called me after police arrived. He said Evelyn was already at the property when he got there."
"Why did he go there?"
"Because he thought it was a safe church property."
That could be true.
It could also be another layer of lies.
I asked the question that mattered.
"What was supposed to happen if Lily wasn't supposed to leave my house?"
Marcy looked at me.
"Evelyn wanted you to leave."
"Leave where?"
"The house."
"Why?"
"She told me she needed video of you abandoning Lily."
My blood went cold.
"How?"
"A fake call from the hospital."
"What fake call?"
"Someone was supposed to tell you your mother had been in an accident."
"My mother lives in Arizona."
"I know."
"You were going to lure me out."
"Not me."
"Who?"
Marcy looked toward Daniel.
"I don't know."
"But Evelyn did."
"Yes."
I thought of the spreadsheet.
Establish maternal instability.
Secure Daniel authorization.
Child placement.
Trust activation.
Remove Daniel.
"Why would she need me to abandon Lily if she already had Daniel's signed statement?"
"Because the judge she planned to file in front of doesn't grant emergency guardianships easily."
Meredith's eyes sharpened.
"You know which judge?"
Marcy nodded.
"Judge Harlan."
Meredith looked at me.
"That's the judge assigned this morning."
My stomach tightened.
Coincidence had left the building.
"Does Evelyn know him?"
Marcy shook her head.
"No."
"Then why him?"
"She doesn't know him."
Marcy looked terrified now.
"Martin Sloane does."
Officer Patel asked, "How?"
Marcy whispered, "Because Judge Harlan's wife is on Grace Harbor's foundation board."
The room went silent.
Meredith stood.
"I need to make some calls."
Before she reached the door, Marcy said, "Wait."
Meredith turned.
"There's something else."
Marcy looked at me.
"The message you got today."
"How do you know about it?"
"I sent it."
My heart thudded.
"You wrote that Evelyn works for you?"
"No."
"What?"
"I sent the photograph. I sent the first message."
"Then who sent the other two?"
Marcy's face went blank.
"I only sent one."
I pulled up the texts.
Same number.
Same thread.
YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE WRONG WOMAN.
MARCY ISN'T WORKING FOR EVELYN.
EVELYN IS WORKING FOR MARCY.
Marcy shook her head.
"I didn't send those."
Officer Patel took my phone.
"Could someone have spoofed the number?"
"Yes."
Then my phone buzzed while it was in her hand.
Another text appeared.
Patel read it aloud.
"Ask Marcy who owns Little Oaks."
Marcy stopped breathing.
I looked at her.
"Who owns the preschool?"
Her lips trembled.
"Not a person."
"What owns it?"
"A nonprofit."
"Which nonprofit?"
She closed her eyes.
"The Raymond Carter Children's Foundation."
Daniel went completely still.
"My father has a foundation?"
Marcy whispered, "Not anymore."
"Then who controls it?"
May you like
She looked directly at him.
"Your sister."
