The Footage
## Chapter 10:
They found out where Marcus was three hours later.
Priya called Elena at 6 PM. "Marcus filed an emergency custody petition this afternoon. He's claiming to be Sophie's biological father, which is technically true, and he's requesting immediate placement pending a fitness evaluation of Nora Kincaid, whom he describes as an unvetted guardian with falsified identity documents."
Elena was standing in her kitchen. She gripped the counter.
"He's using the forged documents he created as evidence against Nora."
"That's exactly what he's doing. And it's clever, because on paper, Nora's identity is fraudulent. He manufactured the fraud and now he's weaponizing it."
"Can he win?"
"Not if we move fast. Diane Weathers is fast-tracking the criminal referral. If Marcus is arrested before the custody hearing, the petition becomes moot."
"When is the hearing?"
"Thursday."
Three days.
Ray called an hour later. He sounded different. Alert. The voice of a man who'd found what he was looking for.
"I got the security footage," he said.
"From where?"
"St. Augustine. The night of the fire. The hospital's security system was supposed to be destroyed after the building was demolished, but the demolition company kept a backup. Cloud storage. I called in a favor with a buddy at the data recovery firm they used."
"What does it show?"
"It shows your ex-husband, at 11:47 PM, walking through the east service corridor carrying a bundle wrapped in a white blanket. He exits through the loading dock. He's on camera for eight seconds."
Elena's legs felt strange. She sat down on the kitchen floor. The tiles were cold.
"He's carrying her," she said.
"He's carrying something. The resolution isn't great. But the time stamp is thirty-two minutes before the fire alarm went off. And the man on the footage matches Marcus's height and build."
"That's not enough for identification."
"No. But it's enough for a subpoena. And combined with everything else, it's enough for an arrest warrant."
Wednesday. The day before the custody hearing. Diane Weathers presented the evidence to a judge. Ray's footage. The original fire marshal's notes. Gloria's statement, given under oath at Priya's office, tearful and devastating and complete. The forged documents. The emails. The financial records. Sixty-two photographs.
The judge issued an arrest warrant for Marcus Andrew Voss. Charges: custodial interference, identity fraud, obstruction of justice, and tampering with an official investigation. The arson charge was pending further forensic review.
They arrested him at his practice. Two plainclothes officers walked into his office at 3:15 PM, between patients. Elena wasn't there. She didn't want to be. She was sitting in her car in the parking lot of Libbie Mill library, the same library where she and Nora had sat at the tiny table, and she was folding a napkin into a triangle when Priya called.
"It's done. He's in custody."
Elena put the phone down. Unfolded the napkin. Looked at it. A plain white napkin, wrinkled and creased.
She drove to Forest Hill Avenue. To unit 207. The door with the dried flower wreath and the BLESS THIS MESS mat.
Nora opened the door. Behind her, Sophie was at the kitchen table, drawing. Crayons everywhere. Mr. Hops in the chair beside her.
"Is it over?" Nora asked.
"The beginning of it is."
Nora nodded. Stepped aside.
Elena walked in. Sophie looked up from her drawing.
"Dr. Voss!" She grinned. Held up her paper. "Look, I drew Mr. Hops. He's flying. He has rocket shoes."
"That's amazing. Rocket shoes are the best kind of shoes."
"Do you want to draw with me?"
Elena looked at Nora. Nora's eyes were glassy. She nodded.
Elena sat down at the table. Sophie pushed a green crayon toward her. "You can be in charge of the grass."
May you like
So Elena drew grass. Small, careful strokes. While Sophie drew a flying rabbit with rocket shoes and Nora stood in the doorway of her own kitchen, arms crossed over her chest, watching two people who belonged to each other sit at a table and color.
Keep reading Part 11 — because the DNA results confirm what Elena already knew, and what she does next is not what anyone expects.
