Chapter 4 - Elise Had Left Her Daughter a SecretNina Whitaker opened her front door and immediately saw something was wrong.
Conrad's younger sister had inherited their father's dark hair and their mother's talent for reading a room before anyone spoke.
Wren walked inside carrying her rabbit.
Nina smiled.
"Hey, troublemaker."
Wren managed a small smile.
"Can I see Penny?"
"She's upstairs pretending to do homework."
Wren ran toward the stairs.
Conrad waited until she disappeared.
Nina's smile vanished.
"What happened?"
He showed her the video.
Not all four.
The bathroom clip was enough.
By the time it ended, Nina's face had gone white.
"Mom did that?"
Conrad didn't answer.
Nina replayed Maureen's words.
A bastard like you only knows how to pretend to be helpless.
Her hand began shaking.
"Why would she say that?"
"There's more."
He showed her the other clips.
The pantry.
The necklace.
The blood-test accusation.
Nina sat down.
"Oh my God."
"Do you know anything?"
"No."
"Anything about Elise and Mom?"
"They hated each other."
"Not like this."
"No."
Nina looked toward the stairs.
"How long?"
"I don't know."
"You're calling the police."
"Yes."
"And child protective services."
"Yes."
He had already spoken briefly with his attorney on the drive over.
The attorney advised preserving everything and arranging for Wren to speak with professionals rather than repeatedly questioning her.
Conrad understood.
He also knew there was one thing only Wren seemed to know.
The key.
"I need you to keep her tonight."
"Of course."
"Mom cannot see her."
"Obviously."
"If she comes here, don't open the door."
Nina stared.
"You think she'd come?"
"I don't know what I think anymore."
He told her about Elise.
Blue bird.
Silver key.
Nina's expression changed.
"Blue bird."
"You know something?"
"Maybe."
She walked toward her living-room bookshelf.
Pulled out an old family photo album.
Inside was a picture from Wren's fifth birthday.
Elise sat beside her daughter.
Wren wore a blue dress.
Behind them hung paper decorations.
One was a bright blue bird.
Conrad looked.
"That's just a birthday decoration."
Nina shook her head.
"Look at Elise."
Around Elise's neck was the silver pendant.
Conrad enlarged the photograph on his phone.
The oval pendant looked ordinary.
Except it wasn't fully closed.
A tiny metal shape protruded from behind it.
"A key."
Nina nodded.
Conrad's heart accelerated.
Elise had been wearing the key inside the necklace.
"Where's the necklace?"
"I don't know."
"You never saw it after she died?"
"I thought Wren had it."
"Maureen tried to take it in one of the videos."
Nina sat.
"Conrad, why would Elise give a five-year-old a key?"
"Because she didn't trust an adult."
"Which adult?"
They both knew.
Neither said Maureen's name.
Conrad called Marisol.
"Is my mother still at the house?"
"Yes."
"What's she doing?"
"She went into Mrs. Whitaker's old office."
Conrad stood.
"What?"
"About ten minutes after you left."
Elise's office had been closed for years.
Conrad couldn't remember the last time he'd entered.
"Stay away from her."
"I am."
"Is she carrying anything?"
"I don't know."
Conrad looked at Nina.
"I'm going back."
"That's a terrible idea."
"She's searching Elise's office."
"Then call the police."
"I have."
"Conrad."
"I'm not confronting her alone."
Nina watched him.
"You want to catch her looking for whatever Elise hid."
"Yes."
"That is exactly the sort of thing people in crime shows say before doing something stupid."
He almost smiled.
"Lock the door."
Before leaving, Conrad went upstairs.
Wren was sitting on Penny's bedroom floor playing with dolls.
"Can I talk to you for one second?"
Wren looked nervous.
Conrad hated that every adult question now frightened her.
He crouched.
"I'm going to make sure Grandma doesn't bother Marisol."
"Okay."
"You're staying here."
"Okay."
He hesitated.
"Sweetheart, you don't have to tell me where Mommy's key is."
Wren looked surprised.
"You don't?"
"No."
He wanted her to understand that unlike Maureen, he wasn't going to make safety conditional on answers.
"When you're ready, we'll figure it out."
Wren studied him.
Then whispered:
"Mommy said you'd know."
Conrad froze.
"Know what?"
"Where the birds go when they can't fly."
He stared.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"Did Mommy say anything else?"
Wren nodded.
"She said, 'Daddy built it for me.'"
Conrad's mind raced.
He had built dozens of things for Elise over thirteen years.
Bookshelves.
A garden bench.
A cedar chest.
Then he remembered.
The birdhouse.
Their first house had a backyard garden.
Elise loved bluebirds.
For their fifth anniversary, Conrad had built her a wooden birdhouse with a hidden compartment because she joked that every good home needed somewhere for secrets.
When they moved into the current estate, Elise brought it.
Where was it now?
He called Marisol again.
"Is there an old wooden birdhouse anywhere on the property?"
Silence.
Then:
"In the garden shed."
Conrad's heart began pounding.
"Don't touch it."
"Okay."
"Don't let my mother near it."
Another pause.
"Sir."
"What?"
Marisol's voice changed.
"I think you're too late."
Conrad's blood went cold.
"Why?"
"I can see Mrs. Whitaker through the kitchen window."
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"What is she doing?"
"She's walking toward the garden shed."
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