Chapter 5: What Diane Had Been Afraid to Say
Diane Bennett arrived at the substation at 6:44 p.m.
She was thin in the way people get thin when they haven't been sleeping, her blond hair pulled back unevenly, her coat buttoned wrong.
She pushed through the door and stopped when she saw Ethan standing alone at the counter.
"Where are they?"
"Cedar Ridge General.
Elsie is being treated.
Avery is with her.
They're both safe."
Diane's hand went to her mouth.
She stood like that for a moment, then lowered it.
"How bad is Elsie?"
"The doctors are working on her now.
I'll take you there myself as soon as we've talked."
She looked at the window.
Nolan's SUV was still in the lot.
Her body changed when she saw it — her shoulders pulled in, her chin dropped slightly.
"He's still here," she said.
"He is.
Ms.
Bennett, I need to ask you some questions, and I need you to answer them as completely as you can.
Can you do that?"
She sat down in the chair across from his desk without being asked.
"Has Nolan ever given the girls medication without your knowledge before tonight?"
She was quiet for a moment.
"I suspected.
Twice in the last four months, Elsie came home from his weekends acting strange.
Slow.
Like she hadn't slept in days.
I asked her what happened and she said she didn't remember."
"Did you report it?"
"I called our family lawyer.
He said without proof it would look like I was trying to interfere with Nolan's custody time." She looked at her hands.
"Nolan has a lot of friends in this county."
"Does the name Raymond Voss mean anything to you?"
Her head came up.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"It was on a label attached to one of the syringes we recovered tonight."
Diane's face went through several things at once.
Then she said, very quietly: "Nolan mentioned him once.
About eight months ago.
We were still trying to make the marriage work.
He said Voss was a colleague who specialized in pediatric behavioral intervention.
He said Elsie's nightmares and anxiety were getting worse and that Voss had a treatment protocol that wasn't available through standard channels yet."
"What did you say?"
"I said I wanted to meet Voss first.
I said I wanted to see his credentials and be present for any appointment." She stopped.
"Nolan dropped it.
I thought that was the end of it."
"Did Elsie ever see Voss?"
"Not that I know of.
But the custody arrangement gives Nolan alternate weekends and every other Thursday." She looked up.
"Thursday."
"Yes."
She pressed both hands flat on her thighs.
"What was he going to do to her?"
"We don't know yet.
The tox screen will tell us what was in the first syringe.
The second one is being analyzed separately."
"He was going to take her to Voss on Thursday," Diane said.
It wasn't a question.
"That's what the evidence suggests."
She stood up abruptly.
"I want to see my daughters."
"I'll take you now." Ethan reached for his keys, then stopped.
"One more thing.
Did you send me a text tonight from an unknown number?"
She frowned.
"No.
I don't have your number."
"Someone did.
It said I should ask you something."
Diane stared at him.
"Ask me what?"
"That's what I'm trying to work out." He held the door open.
"Let's go."
Outside, they passed within twenty feet of Nolan's SUV.
Nolan watched them through the glass.
His expression didn't change.
Diane didn't look at him.
But as Ethan opened the passenger door of his cruiser, his phone buzzed again.
Same unknown number.
May you like
This time, a single word:
*Clinic.*
