Chapter 5
By five in the morning,
the first pale light of dawn began to bleed through the horizon,
painting the sky in sickly shades of grey and purple.
Daniel drove back to the hospital alone,
the police following closely behind his truck.
His hands gripped the leather steering wheel so hard the seams creaked.
He marched through the heavy glass doors of the ICU lobby,
where Mom was sitting on a vinyl sofa,
scrolling through her phone while holding a paper cup of lukewarm coffee.
Ray was slouched beside her,
fast asleep,
his mouth open,
snoring softly.
"Diane,"
Daniel called out,
his voice dropping an octave,
vibrating with cold hatred.
Mom looked up,
forcing a weary,
tragic smile onto her face.
"Daniel,
thank god,"
she sighed,
standing up and smoothing down her cardigan.
"Did the doctors say when they can remove that horrible tube from her throat?"
she asked,
taking a step toward him.
Daniel didn't answer her question.
Instead,
he reached into his coat pocket and slammed the photocopied life insurance document against the coffee table between them.
The loud thud echoed through the quiet waiting room.
Ray jolted awake,
his bloodshot eyes blinking in confusion as he rubbed his face.
"What is this?"
Mom asked,
frowning as she glanced down at the paper.
"You tell me,
Diane,"
Daniel spat,
pointing a thick finger at her face.
"Five hundred thousand dollars on Emma's life,"
he said,
his voice rising in the empty room.
"Signed six months ago,"
he added,
"right when Ray moved into our basement!"
Mom’s face lost all its fake warmth,
turning cold and sharp as marble.
"Daniel,
you don't understand,"
she stammered,
her voice dropping into a desperate plea.
"Ray said it was an investment,"
she lied,
her eyes darting toward her brother.
"He said it was a college safety policy!"
"Don't lie to me!"
Daniel roared,
stepping into her personal space.
"I heard the lab results,
Diane!"
he screamed.
"Thallium!"
he shouted.
"He was feeding her rat poison!"
"And you stood in that kitchen last night and told her she was pretending!"
Ray scrambled out of his chair,
his hands shaking as he reached for his jacket.
"This is crazy,"
Ray stuttered,
backing away toward the exit doors.
"I don't have to listen to this insane garbage,"
he declared,
turning to run.
"Don't move,
Mr. Higgins,"
a stern voice commanded from the entrance.
Detective Miller stepped out from behind the corner,
flanked by two uniformed police officers with their tasers drawn.
"Ray Higgins,
you are under arrest for attempted first-degree murder,"
Miller declared loudly.
"And Diane Vance,"
Miller continued,
turning his gaze toward my mother,
"you are under arrest as an accessory to attempted murder and child endangerment."
Mom shrieked as the handcuffs clicked tightly around her wrists,
May you like
her paper coffee cup falling to the floor,
spilling black liquid across the white tile.
