Chapter 5: The Door Marcus Told Me to Forget
The police arrived within minutes.
Two officers approached the front door while a third remained near the driveway. I met them in the living room, still holding Marcus's notebook.
The older officer introduced herself as Officer Bennett. Her partner, Officer Harris, stood beside her, scanning the room.
“Mrs. Brooks,” Officer Bennett said, “dispatch tells us you believe someone entered your residence without permission.””
“Yes. A man named Daniel Reed.””
“Do you know him personally?””
“He was my husband's friend.””
“Was?””
“My husband died three years ago.””
Officer Bennett glanced at her partner.
“Can you tell us exactly what happened today?””
I described the footsteps upstairs, the man hiding in Lily's bedroom, the envelope, and Daniel's arrival at the front door. I showed them the photograph of Marcus and Daniel.
When I mentioned the notebook, Officer Bennett held out her hand.
“May I see it?””
I hesitated.
The notebook contained information about my husband that I didn't understand. But keeping it from the police wouldn't make the situation safer.
I handed it over.
Officer Bennett opened the cover and studied the first few pages.
“Did you touch anything else in the garage?””
“Only the notebook and a key.””
“Where is the key?””
I pointed toward the workbench.
Officer Harris photographed the key before placing it in an evidence bag.
“Do you have security cameras?”” he asked.
“No. We talked about installing them, but Marcus always said we didn't need them.””
“Do you have any idea how the man entered?””
“No.””
“Any signs of forced entry?””
“Not that I've found.””
Officer Bennett closed the notebook.
“Mrs. Brooks, we're going to check the property. In the meantime, I strongly recommend that you don't confront this man yourself.””
“I wasn't planning to.””
“Good. If he contacts you again, save the messages. Don't delete anything.””
I nodded.
Then I remembered the school.
“My daughter is still at Brookside Elementary. Daniel tried to change her pickup arrangements.””
Officer Bennett's expression sharpened.
“Did the school release her?””
“No.””
“Call them again. Tell them law enforcement is involved and that they should contact us immediately if anyone attempts to collect her.””
“I will.””
Officer Harris walked toward the hallway.
“We'll check the upstairs rooms.””
I followed Officer Bennett into the kitchen, trying to control my breathing.
The house looked exactly as it had an hour earlier. Sunlight illuminated the countertops. The refrigerator hummed. A glass of water sat beside the sink, where I'd left it that morning.
Yet the place no longer felt like mine.
Every closed door seemed suspicious.
Every window seemed like a possible entrance.
“Mrs. Brooks,” Officer Bennett said gently, “is there anything else you haven't told us?””
I thought about the unknown woman.
The warning.
The red door.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Someone has been sending me messages from an unknown number. They seem to know what Daniel is doing.””
“Have you told this person about the notebook?””
“No.””
“Then don't. We need to establish who this individual is.””
Officer Harris returned from upstairs.
“The bedrooms appear clear. We didn't find anyone inside.””
I almost laughed at the absurdity of hearing that.
I knew the man had been there. I had seen his shoes from beneath the bed. I could still remember the dried mud on the right heel.
But without a face, a name, or a fingerprint, the man seemed to have vanished into the walls.
Officer Bennett took my statement and gave me an incident number. Before leaving, she made one thing clear.
“If you believe he comes back, don't investigate. Get somewhere secure and call us.””
I promised I would.
But when the officers finally left, I found myself standing outside Marcus's old office.
The red door was behind the bookshelves.
I had discovered it by accident a month before he died. He'd been painting the narrow wooden panel when I'd walked into the room.
“What are you doing?”” I'd asked.
“Fixing something.””
“Why are you painting a door red?””
He'd looked at me for a long moment.
“Because some doors need to be remembered.””
I had laughed.
“That's dramatic, even for you.””
He hadn't laughed back.
Instead, he'd asked me to promise that I would never open it.
I'd thought he was being eccentric. Perhaps he'd stored something embarrassing inside. Perhaps it was a project he wanted to finish alone.
I'd promised because I loved him and because, at the time, the promise seemed harmless.
Now I stood in the office, looking at the shelves that covered the wall.
I moved the books aside.
The narrow red door emerged from behind them, its paint faded at the edges.
There was no handle.
Only a small circular hole near the bottom.
I knelt and examined it.
The hole was exactly the size of the brass key.
Number 317.
My phone vibrated.
The unknown number again.
*Don't open the red door unless Lily is with you.*
I stared at the message.
Why Lily?
What could possibly be behind that door that required my daughter to be present?
I typed a reply.
Who are you?
This time, the answer came immediately.
*Someone who promised Marcus I'd keep you both alive.*
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Then tell me what is behind the door.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Finally, a message arrived.
*The truth he couldn't tell you while he was alive.*
I stepped away from the door.
I could wait for Lily to come home. I could ask the police to return. I could let professionals handle whatever lay behind the painted wood.
But Daniel had already tried to collect her.
And if the unknown woman was telling the truth, someone else might be watching the school.
I called Brookside Elementary again.
The receptionist answered immediately.
“Mrs. Brooks?””
“I'm on my way to collect Lily. Please keep her inside until I arrive.””
“Of course. She hasn't been dismissed yet.””
I grabbed my keys and walked to the driveway.
As I approached the SUV, Mrs. Carter hurried across from next door.
“Naomi!””
I turned.
She held a small brown envelope in both hands.
“I found this in my mailbox,” she said.
“It was addressed to you.””
“Who delivered it?””
“I didn't see anyone.””
I took the envelope.
My name was written across the front in the same black ink as the message in Lily's room.
Inside was a folded sheet of paper.
There were only two sentences.
*The red door isn't a hiding place. It's a test.*
*If Lily opens it, you'll finally know which one of you Marcus was trying to protect.*
I looked up at Mrs. Carter.
“Did you read this?””
She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.
“Naomi, I think you need to know something else.””
“What?””
She glanced toward the street.
“The man who came into your house wasn't the first person to look for that door.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who was?””
Mrs. Carter's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Your husband. The night before he died, he came to my house and asked me to hide something.””
“What did he give you?””
She looked toward her front door.
Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silver locket.
I recognized it instantly.
It had belonged to Lily since the day she was born.
I had placed it around her neck at the hospital and hadn't seen it in years.
“Where did you get that?”” I asked.
Mrs. Carter's hands trembled.
“Marcus gave it to me. He said that if anything happened to him, I should return it to Lily when she was old enough to understand.””
“Understand what?””
Mrs. Carter opened the locket.
Inside was a tiny photograph of Lily as a baby.
Behind the photograph, a second piece of paper had been folded into the metal frame.
Mrs. Carter carefully pulled it free.
It was a hospital wristband.
The name printed on it was barely legible.
But the date was clear.
And beneath the date was a line that made my entire world tilt.
*SECOND INFANT — FEMALE.*
I stared at the wristband.
“Mrs. Carter,” I whispered, “what does this mean?””
May you like
She looked at me with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Naomi, your husband told me Lily wasn't the only baby born that night.””
