Chapter 5 - The Trap is Set
"She's coming here," I said, turning to Detective Miller. "She thinks she still controls this hospital. She thinks the staff will cover for her."
Miller nodded slowly. "We checked the security cameras at the main entrance. Her Mercedes just pulled into the parking garage. She doesn't know we're inside yet, and she doesn't know Dr. Sterling ran the toxicology report."
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"If we arrest her in the lobby, her high-priced lawyers will post bail before the ink dries on the booking report," Miller said bitterly. "She'll claim she was framed, blame the hospital staff, or spin it into a tragedy about her daughter's mental state. We need a direct confession or physical possession of the secondary compound."
"She has the poison," Lily piped up from the bedside, her small voice clear and firm. "She put the extra bottle in her coat pocket. The dark blue coat she wears when she goes to church."
Miller looked at Lily with deep respect. "Smart girl." He turned back to me. "Ethan, I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to play along for ten minutes. Stay in this room with Clara. Let Marlene think her plan is working. We'll be monitoring everything from the adjacent room through the audio feed."
"No," I said instantly. "I'm not letting that monster anywhere near my wife or daughter again."
"We will have three armed officers inside the room, concealed behind the partition," Miller insisted, stepping closer. "The moment she pulls out that bottle or attempts to tamper with Clara's IV line, we move in. It's the only way to lock her away permanently where she can never harm your family again."
I looked at Clara's weak, fluttering pulse monitor, then down at Lily. My hand trembled, but the burning rage inside me settled into a icy, crystal-clear determination.
"Lily," I said softly, crouching down. "I need you to go with this nice officer to the secure room next door, okay? You'll watch on the monitor with him."
"Are you going to be safe, Dad?" she asked, tears welling in her eyes again.
"I promise you, sweetheart," I said, kissing her forehead. "Nothing bad is ever going to happen to us again."
Officer Ramirez led Lily out through the side door connecting to the observation suite. Detective Miller and his team slipped into the shadowed recess behind the heavy curtain partitioning the room's storage alcove.
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I pulled a chair up next to Clara's bed, sat down, and held her limp hand. I lowered my head, acting like a broken, defeated husband crying over his dying wife.
A minute later, the heavy door to Room 402 clicked open.
