Chapter Three: Missing Minutes
The Bel Air Police Department never truly slept.
By seven the next morning, detectives, patrol officers, and forensic technicians moved through the building carrying coffee cups and case files. Emily Carter sat alone in a small interview room, staring at the scratches in the metal table.
She hadn't slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Victoria's face.
Not angry.
Heartbroken.
That hurt far more than the handcuffs.
The door opened.
Detective Daniel Brooks entered carrying two paper cups.
"I figured you could use coffee."
Emily accepted it with a quiet thank-you.
"I've spoken with the district attorney," Brooks said as he sat down. "No formal charges have been filed."
Emily frowned.
"I thought they had enough evidence."
"They have evidence."
He paused.
"They don't have certainty."
Brooks slid several photographs across the table.
The first showed the empty jewelry cabinet.
The second showed Emily's handbag.
The third showed the tiny silver key.
"Look carefully."
Emily studied the pictures.
"What am I looking for?"
"The dust."
She blinked.
"The what?"
"The cabinet hasn't been opened in weeks, according to the housekeeper."
Emily leaned closer.
Brooks pointed toward the lock.
"Notice something?"
She did.
The brass around the keyhole was spotless.
Everywhere else, a thin layer of dust covered the cabinet.
"It was cleaned."
"Exactly."
"The thief wiped the lock."
Emily looked confused.
"So?"
"So if you had opened it..."
He placed another photo beside it.
"...your fingerprints would be there."
Emily looked up.
"Were they?"
"No."
Silence filled the room.
"No fingerprints?" she whispered.
"None."
Across town, Victoria Hayes sat in her attorney's office.
Her lawyer, Charles Benton, adjusted his glasses while reading the preliminary police report.
"This is becoming complicated."
Victoria folded her hands.
"It shouldn't be."
"My mother's bracelet was stolen."
Charles nodded.
"Yes."
"But the evidence isn't as solid as it first appeared."
Victoria sighed.
"You think Emily is innocent."
"I think someone wanted you to believe she wasn't."
Victoria didn't answer.
She wasn't ready to admit it.
At the Hayes mansion, the digital forensics team worked inside the security office.
Rows of monitors displayed footage from nearly every room in the estate.
Technician Luis Moreno frowned at his computer.
"I recovered something."
Richard Hayes stepped closer.
"The missing footage?"
"Part of it."
Static flickered across the screen.
The recovered video was damaged.
Faces blurred.
Movements skipped.
Still...
One figure became visible.
A woman.
Dark evening gown.
High heels.
She entered the upstairs hallway at 8:18 p.m.
Not Emily.
The timestamp continued.
The woman looked over her shoulder.
Then disappeared into Victoria's mother's bedroom.
Richard's heartbeat quickened.
"Can you sharpen it?"
Luis typed rapidly.
The image improved only slightly.
Enough to reveal one detail.
A diamond brooch shaped like a swan.
Richard stared.
"I've seen that before."
At the police station, Brooks received another report.
A crime scene technician entered carrying a sealed evidence bag.
"We finished examining Emily's purse."
"Anything?"
"Fibers."
"What kind?"
"Black velvet."
Brooks frowned.
"The purse isn't lined with velvet."
"No."
The technician nodded.
"But the jewelry box is."
Brooks expected that.
"There was something else."
He held up another bag.
A single long strand of blond hair.
Emily's hair was dark brown.
Brooks looked toward the observation window where Emily sat quietly.
"This just became a very different case."
Later that afternoon, Emily was released pending further investigation.
The reporters waiting outside rushed toward her.
"Miss Carter!"
"Did you steal the bracelet?"
"Have the Hayes family fired you?"
"Where is the heirloom?"
Questions flew from every direction.
Emily shielded her face.
Before she could answer, a black SUV stopped beside the curb.
The rear door opened.
Richard Hayes stepped out.
Every camera turned toward him.
He walked directly to Emily.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Richard said quietly,
"Get in."
The reporters exploded with questions.
Emily hesitated.
"I don't think your wife wants to see me."
"This isn't about Victoria."
He looked at the cameras.
"It's about the truth."
Emily climbed into the SUV.
As they drove away, Richard remained silent until they reached a quiet overlook above Los Angeles.
He finally turned toward her.
"I owe you an apology."
Emily stared at him.
"You believe me?"
"I don't know what to believe."
He reached into his jacket pocket and removed a printed photograph.
"This was recovered from the security footage."
Emily looked down.
A blurred woman wearing an elegant black gown.
Then her eyes widened.
"The brooch."
Richard nodded.
"You recognize it?"
"I've seen it before."
"Where?"
Emily searched her memory.
Then it came back.
"The charity committee luncheon."
She looked up.
"A woman named Olivia Mercer was wearing it."
Richard's expression changed.
Olivia Mercer.
Victoria's cousin.
One of the few relatives who knew the combination to the jewelry cabinet.
And one of the beneficiaries named in Victoria's mother's will.
Neither of them noticed the silver sedan parked two hundred yards away.
Inside, a woman lowered a pair of binoculars.
She watched Richard's SUV through narrowed eyes.
Then she made a phone call.
"They're asking questions."
A man's voice answered calmly.
"Then it's time for the second part of the plan."
"What about the bracelet?"
A long silence followed.
Finally, the man replied,
"They'll never find it..."
"...unless Emily Carter remembers what she saw that night."
The call ended.
The woman started her engine.
May you like
Far beneath the California sunset, the game had changed.
The frame-up was only the beginning.
