Chapter 8 - The Soil Below
The declaration froze every officer in the room.
Evelyn’s breath hitched, a microscopic crack appearing in her regal armor. "He's insane! Detective, look at his eyes! He's delusional from stress!"
Detective Marcus didn't look at Evelyn. He stepped past her, kneeling down near the black leather bag on the floor. He used a gloved hand to lift the manila folder, examining the police evidence stamp on the cover.
"This stamp," Marcus said slowly, raising his eyes to Evelyn. "This is from the 4th Precinct evidence locker. An investigation that was sealed three years ago. Mrs. Sterling... how did a sealed state file end up in your personal handbag?"
"I... I hired a private investigator to protect my son," Evelyn stammered, her voice losing its icy precision for the first time. "He retrieved those files legally!"
"Private investigators can't retrieve sealed state evidence, ma'am," Marcus said, standing up. "Only a sitting member of the State Crime Commission can access those archives."
He looked at David. "Mr. Sterling, why do you believe your wife is on the property?"
David pointed toward the small silver cylinder he had dropped near the armchair—the vial he had pulled from the bag earlier.
"That's not synthetic ricin," David said, his voice deadly quiet. "That's a specialized industrial soil-neutralizer used in high-end greenhouse construction. My mother had two dozen bags of it delivered to the estate's subterranean wine cellar last week. She claimed she was building a hydro-garden."
Evelyn’s face drained of color so fast she looked as if she were about to faint.
"Search the wine cellar, Detective," David said, holding his daughter tighter. "Search the floor beneath the third barrel rack."
Detective Marcus turned to his two officers. "Secure Mrs. Sterling in the hallway. Call the forensic excavation unit to the main house cellar. Now."
"Get your hands off me!" Evelyn shrieked as the two officers stepped forward, clamping heavy steel handcuffs around her delicate wrists, over her cream satin sleeves. "I am Evelyn Sterling! You have no right! David, you fool! You've destroyed everything!"
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As they dragged her out into the carpeted hallway, her frantic shrieks echoed off the high ceilings of the mansion, fading slowly as she was taken down the grand staircase.
Detective Marcus turned back to David. "Mr. Sterling, you need to stay here with the child. If what you're saying is true... you don't want to be down there when they break the concrete."
