Chapter 10 - THE SECOND PASTRY
Police returned to the estate.
Nathan went with them.
He refused every suggestion that he remain away.
The old nursery was located beyond the blue room.
It had not been used since Jamie was a baby.
The door was locked.
Bennett had it forced open.
The room smelled of dust.
A wooden crib stood against one wall.
Old toys filled shelves.
A rocking horse faced the window.
Nathan remembered Amelia painting stars across the ceiling.
He had not entered since her death.
Now officers searched every surface.
Nothing.
Nathan turned toward Bennett.
“Graham said he brought it here.”
“If he told the truth.”
Nathan stared at the empty room.
Then he noticed the rocking horse.
It had been moved.
Dust marked the carpet except beneath one runner.
Nathan crouched.
“Here.”
An officer lifted the carpet.
A small trapdoor was built into the floor.
Nathan stared.
“I didn’t know this existed.”
Bennett opened it.
Inside was a shallow service cavity.
A plate sat inside.
Covered by a silver dome.
Nathan stopped breathing.
“Photograph everything.”
The dome was lifted by a forensic technician.
Beneath it sat a pastry.
Untouched.
A small sugar plaque rested on top.
JAMIE.
Nathan felt nausea.
Bennett looked at him.
“Do not assume the contents are dangerous until we test them.”
“It was hidden under the floor.”
“Yes.”
“Someone wrote my son’s name on it.”
“Yes.”
Nathan turned away.
He could barely control his breathing.
Jamie had saved Nathan.
And somewhere in the same house, another pastry had been waiting for Jamie.
Why?
A threat?
A backup plan?
A separate target?
Bennett received a call.
She listened.
Then looked toward Nathan.
“We found Graham.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Nathan exhaled.
“Where?”
“Abandoned warehouse.”
“Who was with him?”
“No one.”
“Simon?”
“Gone.”
Graham was taken to a secure hospital.
Nathan arrived two hours later.
The security chief looked shattered.
His wife sat outside the room crying.
Nathan ignored her at first.
Then she stood.
“Mr. Harcourt.”
He stopped.
“I didn’t know.”
Nathan stared.
She continued.
“Graham told me he was doing private security work.”
Nathan’s anger softened only slightly.
“Did he tell you about Simon?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you he erased cameras?”
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“He said he was trying to pay our mortgage.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Again.
Money.
Fear.
Compromise.
Every person had a reason.
Every reason had become a weapon.
Nathan entered.
Graham stared at him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why was there a pastry with Jamie’s name?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think harder.”
“I swear.”
“You carried it.”
“Yes.”
“From whom?”
“Simon.”
“When?”
“Seven o’clock.”
“Where was my mother?”
“In the dining room.”
Nathan frowned.
“Jamie said she brought the pastry.”
“She brought the first pastry.”
“The one with the insect?”
“Yes.”
“Then Simon switched them?”
Graham nodded.
Nathan’s pulse quickened.
“Explain.”
“Mrs. Harcourt carried the insect pastry downstairs around six fifty-eight.”
“Then Simon came out of the service hall with another plate.”
“He told me to take the first plate from the dining sideboard and replace it.”
Nathan stared.
“Why did you obey?”
“He said Mrs. Harcourt knew.”
“Did she?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathan clenched his jaw.
“What happened to the first pastry?”
“Simon took it.”
“The one Mother prepared?”
“Yes.”
“Then which pastry did I almost eat?”
“The second one.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
That changed everything.
Jamie saw Eleanor put an insect inside a pastry.
But that pastry had been removed.
The dessert Nathan almost ate had been substituted by Simon.
Yet when it broke, an insect still crawled out.
Which meant Simon had replicated Eleanor’s setup.
He wanted everyone to blame her.
Nathan looked at Graham.
“What was in the pastry you hid in the nursery?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why was Jamie’s name on it?”
“I asked.”
“What did Simon say?”
Graham swallowed.
“He said, ‘Insurance.’”
Nathan felt cold.
“Insurance against what?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Why did you hide it instead of destroying it?”
Graham looked ashamed.
“I was scared.”
“Of Simon?”
“Yes.”
Nathan stared.
“But I was starting to realize what he was doing.”
“So you kept evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Graham’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because he had recordings of me accepting money.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps protecting themselves until someone else nearly dies.”
Graham lowered his head.
Nathan continued.
“Why did Simon take you?”
“I went to his townhouse.”
“Why?”
“To tell him I was done.”
Nathan almost laughed.
“You people wait until disaster and suddenly discover consciences.”
Graham accepted it.
“He knew I’d spoken to police.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who attacked you?”
“Peter.”
“Peter Lang?”
“Yes.”
“Simon was there?”
“For part of it.”
“Where did he go?”
Graham hesitated.
“He said he had a meeting.”
“With whom?”
“Someone from the foundation.”
Nathan frowned.
“Which foundation?”
“The Harcourt Foundation.”
Nathan stared.
“Who?”
“I didn’t hear the name.”
Nathan’s phone rang.
Bennett.
He answered.
“The second pastry results are back.”
His body tightened.
“And?”
“No cardiac medication.”
Nathan exhaled.
“But there is a sedative.”
He closed his eyes.
“How much?”
“Not enough to kill.”
“What would it do?”
“Likely make a small child extremely drowsy.”
Nathan’s stomach twisted.
“Why?”
“We found something else.”
“What?”
“A residue on the plate.”
“What kind?”
“Adhesive.”
Nathan frowned.
“From what?”
“We think something was attached beneath the plate.”
Nathan looked toward Graham.
“Did you remove anything?”
“No.”
Bennett continued.
“We also examined the silver dome.”
“There’s a tiny camera inside.”
Nathan stared.
“A camera?”
“Yes.”
Nathan’s mind raced.
The pastry might not have been intended for Jamie to eat.
It might have been intended to film something.
But what?
Bennett continued.
“And there is a transmitter.”
“A transmitter to where?”
“We’re tracing it.”
Nathan whispered.
“Simon wanted to watch.”
“Possibly.”
Nathan looked at Graham.
“Did Simon ever talk about recording Jamie?”
Graham looked confused.
“No.”
Then his face changed.
“What?”
Nathan asked.
“The playroom.”
“What about it?”
“Two months ago, Simon asked me to replace a smoke detector.”
Nathan stared.
“Why?”
“He brought his own.”
Nathan’s stomach dropped.
“Was there a camera?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathan called the estate immediately.
Officers searched Jamie’s playroom.
They found two hidden cameras.
One in the smoke detector.
Another inside a bookshelf.
Nathan felt physically sick.
Simon had been watching his son.
For how long?
Why?
The recordings might include Jamie seeing things.
Hearing conversations.
Perhaps Simon knew exactly what Jamie witnessed in the blue room.
Perhaps the future date beside Jamie’s name meant something else.
Nathan looked toward Graham.
“Who had access to those cameras?”
“Simon.”
“Anyone else?”
Graham hesitated.
“Mrs. Harcourt.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Of course.
The police seized the devices.
A technician began recovering deleted data.
Hours later, they found dozens of video fragments.
Most showed Jamie playing.
Drawing.
Sleeping on a sofa.
Nora reading to him.
Then they found one from eleven days earlier.
Jamie sat alone at a small table.
Mrs. Harcourt entered.
Nathan watched the recovered footage on a police monitor.
His mother crouched beside the boy.
The audio was damaged.
Pieces remained.
“...your father is making dangerous choices.”
Jamie looked confused.
“...sometimes grown-ups need help.”
Then clearer.
“If Daddy gets sick, you will come with Grandma.”
Jamie shook his head.
Eleanor took his hand.
“You will do as you are told.”
Jamie pulled away.
Nathan’s jaw clenched.
Then Eleanor said something that made him feel sick.
“You do not want what happened to Mommy to happen to Daddy.”
Jamie froze.
Nathan paused the video.
He could not breathe.
Nora stood behind him.
“Oh my God.”
Nathan replayed it.
Same words.
Same cold delivery.
Eleanor had used Amelia’s death to frighten Jamie into obedience.
The video continued.
Jamie whispered.
“Did Mommy not listen?”
Eleanor stared at him.
The audio crackled.
Then one sentence came through.
“She asked too many questions.”
Nathan stopped the video.
His hand shook.
Nora whispered.
“She told him.”
“No.”
Nathan’s voice was hollow.
“She threatened him.”
The recording ended.
Technicians recovered another clip.
This one had been captured accidentally by the bookshelf camera while Jamie was outside the room.
Two adults entered.
Simon Kessler.
And Eleanor.
Nathan watched.
Eleanor looked furious.
“You said the boy would forget.”
Simon answered.
“Children remember images.”
“Not context.”
“He saw the terrarium.”
“So?”
“So if Nathan ever asks the correct question, the boy may answer it.”
Eleanor folded her arms.
“What do you want me to do?”
Simon looked toward the hidden camera.
His expression was calm.
“Nothing yet.”
Nathan leaned closer.
Eleanor said.
“I will not hurt my grandson.”
Simon smiled.
“That is why you are useful.”
Nathan felt cold.
Eleanor snapped.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you still believe there are lines.”
Simon walked toward the door.
Eleanor followed.
“What are you planning?”
Simon stopped.
He looked back.
“Contingencies.”
The footage ended.
Nathan stared at the screen.
For the first time, he saw evidence that even his mother had not agreed to every plan.
It did not absolve her.
But it confirmed Simon was operating beyond her control.
The technician loaded another fragment.
Timestamp.
August 22.
Yesterday.
Simon entered Jamie’s playroom alone.
He sat in the small chair.
He took out his phone.
He made a call.
The hidden microphone captured his side.
“Yes.”
“Tomorrow.”
“No, Eleanor believes Nathan will only become sick.”
A pause.
“No.”
“She does not know the dosage.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
Simon continued.
“If Nathan survives, we use the medical route.”
“If he doesn’t, we use the trust.”
Another pause.
Then Simon smiled.
“And if the boy becomes a problem, we use the second plate.”
Nathan’s blood turned to ice.
Nora covered her mouth.
Simon listened to whoever was speaking.
Then he said the final sentence.
“No.”
“You misunderstand.”
“The pastry for Jamie isn’t to kill him.”
“It’s to move him.”
Nathan frowned.
Move him where?
The video ended.
Nathan immediately looked at Bennett.
“Recover the rest.”
“We’re trying.”
“What did he mean?”
“We don’t know.”
Nathan’s mind raced.
Sedative.
Hidden camera.
Transmitter.
Jamie’s passport.
A plan to move him.
Not kill him.
Kidnap him.
The anonymous hospital attempt suddenly made sense.
Simon wanted Jamie removed.
Maybe hidden.
Maybe taken abroad.
Why?
Leverage.
Control.
Trust access.
Nathan’s phone vibrated.
A message appeared from Claire.
CALL ME NOW.
Nathan called.
Claire answered on the first ring.
“Nathan.”
“What happened?”
“I found another page.”
“From Amelia’s letter?”
“No.”
“In an old book she left at my house.”
Nathan’s heart tightened.
“What does it say?”
Claire sounded frightened.
“She wrote about Simon.”
“What?”
“She said Simon was searching for someone.”
“Who?”
“A woman named Margaret Ellis.”
Nathan frowned.
“I don’t know that name.”
“Amelia did.”
Nathan waited.
Claire continued.
“She wrote one sentence beneath it.”
“What sentence?”
Claire read.
If Simon finds Margaret’s grandson before Nathan does, he can take the company without killing anyone.
Nathan stared ahead.
“Who is Margaret Ellis?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did Amelia get the name?”
“There’s an address.”
“Where?”
Claire answered.
Nathan stopped breathing.
May you like
It was less than five miles from the Harcourt estate.
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