The Master Key
Chapter 03 - The Master Key
Sergeant Miller sprinted toward the house, leaving two officers to guard the driveway.
I stepped out of the back of the ambulance, ignoring the paramedic’s warnings to sit down, and followed Maya toward the front entrance. We stood near the grand foyer as crime scene technicians carried heavy forensic equipment down the basement stairs.
Inside the living room, Eleanor and Charles were sitting on the leather sofas, surrounded by four armed state troopers. Eleanor was no longer acting like the refined, aristocratic mother-in-law. Her expensive makeup was smeared, her hands were trembling, and she kept staring at the floor with hollow, terrified eyes.
Charles, however, was barking orders at his high-priced criminal defense lawyer over a speakerphone.
“I don't care what the police claim they found!” Charles yelled into the phone. “Issue an emergency injunction! Tell the judge this search warrant is invalid!”
Sergeant Miller walked back up the basement stairs, holding the sealed biohazard evidence bag. Inside was a tarnished silver charm bracelet and a thick, rusted iron key.
Miller walked straight into the living room and held the bag right in front of Charles’s face.
“Does this bracelet belong to Sarah Vance, Charles?” Miller demanded.
Charles’s lawyer went silent over the speakerphone. Charles looked at the silver bracelet, his jaw tightening as he refused to answer.
“We also recovered a heavy steel safe buried right beside the remains,” Miller continued, his voice dripping with authority. “And this key was found tucked inside the lining of Sarah’s purse.”
I stepped into the doorway of the living room, staring directly at Eleanor.
“You knew,” I said, my voice echoing through the room. “You sat at that dinner table tonight, demanding my condo and my money, knowing that your son killed his first wife in this very house.”
Eleanor looked up at me, her eyes flashing with sudden, pathetic desperation. “Claire... please. You don't understand. It was an accident! Sarah provoked him! Just like you provoked him tonight!”
“She didn't provoke anyone!” Maya screamed from behind me. “You enabled him! You covered up his crimes because you wanted the money!”
Sergeant Miller turned to the troopers standing guard. “Arrest Charles and Eleanor Vance for accessory to murder after the fact, evidence tampering, and obstruction of justice.”
As the troopers stepped forward and snapped handcuffs onto Charles and Eleanor, Charles glared at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.
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“You think you’ve won, Claire?” Charles spat as he was dragged off the sofa. “You have no idea how deep this family’s roots run in this state. Adrian will be out on bail by sunrise, and you will have nowhere left to hide.”
“He won't be getting bail, Charles,” Miller replied coldly, pulling a second paper from his folder. “Because the District Attorney just signed an arrest warrant for First-Degree Murder.”
