Chapter 4 - An Echo of Blue Lights
The night offered no sleep. Emma tossed and turned in my bed, whimpering every time she rolled onto her left side. I stayed awake, stroking her hair, watching the dark shadows cast by the streetlights outside.
At 2:00 AM, my doorbell rang.
I crept down the stairs, heart hammering in my chest. Looking through the peephole, I saw Detective Vance, a senior investigator from the Special Victims Unit, accompanied by Officer Harris.
I opened the door. “Is everything alright?”
“Mrs. Vance?” Detective Vance asked. “We need to speak with you. We executed a search warrant on Lorraine’s home an hour ago.”
I ushered them into the living room, pouring two glasses of water with hands that wouldn't stop shaking.
“Did she post bail?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“No,” Detective Vance said gravely. “Her attorney tried, but we requested a hold without bail based on new evidence discovered at the scene.”
I sat down heavily on the couch. “What new evidence?”
Detective Vance pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen.
“When we inspected the broken vase in Lorraine’s living room, our forensics team noticed something strange. The shards didn't shatter naturally as if dropped. They were shattered using a hard tool—a small ball-peen hammer, which we found hidden in her kitchen trash can, covered in porcelain dust.”
I gasped. “She broke her own antique vase... just to frame Emma?”
“It gets worse,” Detective Vance continued. “Lorraine’s house is equipped with a high-end smart home security system. When we questioned her initially, she claimed the cameras were turned off for privacy. However, our tech team seized her local server hub. The cameras were recording.”
May you like
Detective Vance turned the tablet toward me.
“We have the entire incident on video.”
