Chapter 5 - THE LOCK WAS ON THE OUTSIDEThe following afternoon, Megan stood behind yellow tape and looked at what remained of the second floor.
The house smelled of wet ash.
Black streaks marked the wall above Caitlyn’s bedroom window.
Firefighters had broken glass and removed sections of damaged ceiling.
It felt impossible that Caitlyn had escaped.
Daniel Price guided Megan upstairs.
“Watch your footing.”
They stopped several feet from the bedroom.
Megan could see the door.
Part of it was charred, but the lock remained visible.
Daniel pointed without touching it.
“This is what concerned us.”
The old house had once been divided into separate living areas. Decades ago, several bedroom doors had been fitted with exterior privacy latches.
Most were later removed.
Caitlyn’s had not been.
Evelyn knew.
Megan knew that now.
She remembered Evelyn using the latch once years earlier when contractors were working upstairs.
Megan had completely forgotten it existed.
Daniel asked, “Who lived here before you?”
“My husband’s parents.”
“How long?”
“Almost thirty years.”
“Your mother-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“So she would know about it.”
“Yes.”
Daniel made a note.
“Was your daughter normally locked in her bedroom?”
Megan turned sharply.
“Never.”
“I have to ask.”
“Never.”
“Any discipline involving the door?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“Who had keys to the house?”
“Me. Evelyn. Our housekeeper had one, but she wasn’t there.”
“Anyone else?”
“My sister has an emergency copy.”
Daniel looked at the damaged hallway.
“Any cameras?”
“One downstairs. Two outside. There’s one upstairs near the landing.”
“We’re checking the system.”
Megan looked toward the blackened bedroom.
“What about the fire?”
“Still working on origin and cause.”
“Electrical?”
“Too early.”
Daniel’s careful neutrality frightened her more than speculation would have.
Downstairs, Laura Bennett waited.
“We need to talk about the timeline.”
Megan sat at the damaged dining table.
Laura opened a folder.
“You left at approximately 8:40 p.m.?”
“Yes.”
“Caitlyn was asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Evelyn knew?”
“Yes.”
“You said so directly?”
“I told her, ‘She’s upstairs asleep. I’ll be back before eleven.’”
“So Evelyn’s statement that she believed Caitlyn left with you is inconsistent.”
Megan nodded.
Laura continued.
“Did you and Evelyn argue before you left?”
Megan hesitated.
Not because she wanted to protect Evelyn.
Because admitting it made the evening feel even darker.
“Yes.”
“About what?”
“Money.”
Laura waited.
“My husband Ethan died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“He left assets in a trust for Caitlyn. I manage them.”
“Was Evelyn involved?”
“No. Not officially.”
“Unofficially?”
Megan exhaled.
“She thinks everything connected to the Monroe family belongs to the Monroe family.”
“And you don’t?”
“I think what Ethan left Caitlyn belongs to Caitlyn.”
Laura watched her.
“What was the argument?”
“I learned Evelyn had contacted the firm managing one of Caitlyn’s investment accounts.”
“Why?”
“She wanted statements.”
“Was she authorized?”
“No.”
“What did she say when you confronted her?”
“That she was protecting her granddaughter.”
“And you?”
“I told her she needed to stop interfering.”
“Anything else?”
Megan looked toward the stairs.
“I told her she couldn’t keep living here if she refused to respect boundaries.”
Laura’s pen stopped.
“You asked her to move out?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“That night.”
Silence.
“What did she say?”
Megan tried to remember the exact wording.
Evelyn had stood near the fireplace.
So controlled.
So insulted.
“You think this is your house because Ethan left it to you.”
Megan had answered, “Ethan left it to Caitlyn’s trust.”
Evelyn had smiled without warmth.
Then she said:
“Things change when people are no longer in control.”
At the time, Megan assumed it was another cruel remark.
Now she repeated it to Laura.
The detective wrote every word.
Later, Megan drove back to the hospital.
Her phone rang.
It was Daniel.
“We checked your security system.”
Megan pulled into a parking space.
“And?”
“The upstairs camera stopped recording at 9:17 p.m.”
“Because of the fire?”
“No.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“The fire appears to have started later.”
“How much later?”
“We’re narrowing it down.”
Megan stared through the windshield.
“So what happened to the camera?”
“The system was manually interrupted.”
Her heartbeat quickened.
“Who can do that?”
“Anyone with access to the control cabinet.”
“Where is it?”
“Laundry room off the second-floor landing.”
Megan closed her eyes.
Evelyn knew where it was.
Everyone did.
But only one person had been upstairs with Caitlyn.
Daniel continued.
“There’s something else.”
Megan opened her eyes.
“The outdoor camera caught Mrs. Monroe entering the laundry room at 9:15.”
Two minutes before the upstairs camera went dark.
Megan looked toward the hospital entrance.
Inside, Caitlyn was waiting for her.
The fire no longer felt like a horrifying accident with one inexplicable locked door.
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Now someone had turned off the camera.
And the person seen walking toward the controls was the same person Caitlyn said had stood outside her room while she begged for help.
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