“There was no family departure.”
“The instruction came from Victoria.”
Mercer asked where Gavin was now.
Elise checked the messages on her tablet.
“He said he was collecting equipment. His vehicle should still be by the service drive.”
Miles went to check with the officers.
Daniel remained in the corridor, close enough to hear June reading a picture book. Lily interrupted to correct the sound a duck made. For one second, the familiar complaint nearly undid him.
Mercer’s phone vibrated.
She listened, asked two short questions, then looked toward the sitting room.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“We need to confirm a few things.”
He hated that careful sentence. He had used versions of it in boardrooms when something had already gone disastrously wrong.
“Please.”
Mercer considered him for a moment.
“An officer has spoken with Ms. Langford. She voluntarily provided access to a phone while offering an explanation for the documents.”
“And?”
„Die Erklärung gab Anlass zu weiteren Bedenken.“
Hinter ihm öffnete sich die Tür zum Frühstückszimmer. June schaute hinaus. Daniel drehte sich sofort um, aber sie schüttelte den Kopf: Lily war in Ordnung.
Mercer wartete, bis sich die Tür wieder schloss.
„Es gibt einen Nachrichtenentwurf“, sagte sie. „Darin ist Ihre Tochter gemeint.“
Daniel empfand den Korridor als eng.
„Was steht da?“
Vielleicht gefällt es Ihnen
Der Detektiv wandte den Blick nicht ab.
„Es beginnt mit den Worten: ‚Wenn Sie Lily zurückhaben wollen, müssen Sie diese Anweisungen befolgen.‘“
