Mom did not know anyone had taken that blood.<\/p>\n
Or at least she did not remember.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months after Dad died?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took blood several times after I was jailed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor medical reasons?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega placed the lab request on the table.<\/p>\n
The signature authorizing collection had been forged.<\/p>\n
The ordering physician was Calder.<\/p>\n
The requesting agency was listed as the county prosecutor.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor had no record of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Calder tested Mom\u2019s blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he get my sample?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the hospital wristband.<\/p>\n
Age four.<\/p>\n
He may have kept material for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did the test show?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat document wasn\u2019t in Salazar\u2019s storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep the request?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe leverage. Maybe insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone in the conspiracy seemed to keep insurance against everyone else.<\/p>\n
Ray kept records.<\/p>\n
Calder kept samples.<\/p>\n
Salazar kept evidence.<\/p>\n
Mercer kept notes.<\/p>\n
Patricia kept memories.<\/p>\n
Fear had preserved what loyalty could not.<\/p>\n
Investigators searched Salazar\u2019s storage for two full days.<\/p>\n
On the second afternoon they found a false panel behind metal shelving.<\/p>\n
Inside were three cassette tapes and a small digital recorder.<\/p>\n
The recorder batteries had corroded.<\/p>\n
The cassettes were older.<\/p>\n
One label read:<\/p>\n
R \/ T.C. \u2014 11\/17<\/p>\n
The date of Dad\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
The tape was digitized.<\/p>\n
Vega insisted that only investigators hear it first.<\/p>\n
Hours later, she called me.<\/p>\n
Mom participated by video.<\/p>\n
Escobedo sat beside her.<\/p>\n
Vega looked more serious than I had ever seen her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recovered a recording made on the night of the homicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho recorded it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe Salazar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly to protect himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Insurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
She started the audio.<\/p>\n
At first there was static.<\/p>\n
Then Ray\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another man answered.<\/p>\n
Calder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said he would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
A third voice.<\/p>\n
Salazar.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou both need to calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was movement.<\/p>\n
A door.<\/p>\n
Then Ray again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has copies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cTake them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Teresa\u2019s asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the kids?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cValerie\u2019s out.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
I had been at a friend\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Matthew was two.<\/p>\n
Sleeping upstairs.<\/p>\n
Salazar spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen handle Ernest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray replied, \u201cThat\u2019s why Thomas is here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder cursed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not killing anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape went quiet for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then Dad\u2019s voice entered.<\/p>\n
Distant.<\/p>\n
Angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything inside me stopped.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Speaking.<\/p>\n
Ray said, \u201cErnest\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought him into my house?\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cWe can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re done talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Papers rustled.<\/p>\n
Dad continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the records. I have the transfers. I have what you did to Teresa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder replied, \u201cYou don\u2019t understand medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray tried to interrupt.<\/p>\n
Dad shouted over him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s anger changed.<\/p>\n
Became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray answered, \u201cErnest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let me raise my daughter believing\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cValerie is your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence stunned me.<\/p>\n
Ray said it.<\/p>\n
Not Dad.<\/p>\n
Ray.<\/p>\n
Dad replied immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is. That\u2019s not the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes filled.<\/p>\n
Even in rage, even while confronting the truth, Dad had said it without hesitation.<\/p>\n
She is.<\/p>\n
Not genetically.<\/p>\n
Not conditionally.<\/p>\n
Simply.<\/p>\n
She is.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Dad said, \u201cYou used us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray replied, \u201cI helped you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou paid Calder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI paid for treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou paid him to alter records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed.<\/p>\n
No humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think this is protection?\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cErnest, listen to me. No one benefits from this coming out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women you did this to might.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Plural.<\/p>\n
Women.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
I was not the only one.<\/p>\n
Dad had discovered more victims.<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cYou have no proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad answered, \u201cI have enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray said, \u201cAnd what happens to Teresa? Valerie? Matthew? The shop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shop can burn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t mean that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
A crash.<\/p>\n
Someone moved.<\/p>\n
Dad said, \u201cGet out of my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder replied, \u201cGive me the files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another sound.<\/p>\n
Then the recording became chaotic.<\/p>\n
A shout.<\/p>\n
A metallic impact.<\/p>\n
Dad groaning.<\/p>\n
I shut my eyes.<\/p>\n
Mom did too.<\/p>\n
Vega moved to stop the tape.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Calder was breathing hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray said, \u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came at me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salazar\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he breathing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Someone knelt.<\/p>\n
Then Ray.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cCall an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salazar answered, \u201cAnd tell them what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he fell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith all these papers everywhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray said nothing.<\/p>\n
Dad made a sound.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Trying to move.<\/p>\n
Calder repeated, \u201cCall an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Ray spoke.<\/p>\n
Very quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salazar replied, \u201cObviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he talks, all of us are finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cI\u2019m not doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad groaned again.<\/p>\n
Something scraped.<\/p>\n
Then another voice entered.<\/p>\n
A woman.<\/p>\n
Patricia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray said, \u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad moved again.<\/p>\n
Patricia whispered, \u201cHe\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray said nothing for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then Salazar spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this turns into murder, I walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re already standing in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salazar replied, \u201cDon\u2019t threaten me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m stating a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
Then Ray said, \u201cWe do what we discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia whispered, \u201cRay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said scare him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was before.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands were shaking.<\/p>\n
The plan had changed.<\/p>\n
Not from innocence to murder.<\/p>\n
From possibility to decision.<\/p>\n
Ray continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeresa\u2019s upstairs. The knife is hers. They fight. Everyone knows they fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlood on the robe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salazar said, \u201cFingerprints?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe uses every knife in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray said, \u201cYou leave and I tell them who got the pills.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Dad whispered something.<\/p>\n
So faint Vega increased the volume.<\/p>\n
\u201cRay.\u201d<\/p>\n
His brother\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Ray answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad spoke again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
That single word broke something in Mom.<\/p>\n
She covered her face.<\/p>\n
On the recording, Ray breathed heavily.<\/p>\n
Then Salazar said, \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do it, do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray replied, \u201cYou said you walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m walking after.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another scrape.<\/p>\n
Calder said, \u201cRay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the sound came.<\/p>\n
Small.<\/p>\n
Wet.<\/p>\n
A gasp.<\/p>\n
Mom sobbed.<\/p>\n
I could not move.<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
Dad did not speak again.<\/p>\n
Ray did.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re all in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega stopped the recording.<\/p>\n
No one said anything.<\/p>\n
We did not need the rest.<\/p>\n
But there was rest.<\/p>\n
Evidence staging.<\/p>\n
Instructions.<\/p>\n
The fake emergency call.<\/p>\n
Salazar telling Patricia how long to wait.<\/p>\n
Ray discussing Mom\u2019s robe.<\/p>\n
Calder demanding the files.<\/p>\n
And then something unexpected.<\/p>\n
Before the recording ended, Calder said:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t need to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was going to take everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean Valerie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Ray said:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was supposed to be mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt nauseated.<\/p>\n
Calder replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t change anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s Ernest\u2019s daughter in every way that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t tell me what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calder answered, \u201cThis is why you wanted the tests repeated after Teresa was arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
My head snapped up.<\/p>\n
The jail blood sample.<\/p>\n
Ray had ordered it.<\/p>\n
Not for legal reasons.<\/p>\n
For obsession.<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
Ray said, \u201cI wanted certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted you to be wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
Then Salazar interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re done. Clean the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
Mom lowered her hands.<\/p>\n
Her face was wet.<\/p>\n
\u201cErnest knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you weren\u2019t biologically his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe still\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed you to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached toward the screen.<\/p>\n
We could not touch.<\/p>\n
But she raised her hand to meet mine against the image.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice remained in my head.<\/p>\n
She is.<\/p>\n
Those two words did more than every blood test ever could.<\/p>\n
Vega gave us several minutes.<\/p>\n
Then she returned to the investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tape gives us probable cause for multiple homicide-related charges.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCalder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially felony murder, conspiracy, obstruction and other charges depending on prosecutorial decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPatricia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer cooperation will be considered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Salazar?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill nothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, something.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened a file.<\/p>\n
Salazar had used a credit card the night before.<\/p>\n
Gas station.<\/p>\n
Two counties north.<\/p>\n
Security video showed him alone.<\/p>\n
Driving an old pickup registered to a cousin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then another investigator entered and handed Vega a note.<\/p>\n
She read it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked.<\/p>\n
Her eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cSalazar made a phone call from a prepaid phone thirty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega looked toward Mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked to speak with Teresa Mendoza.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega folded the note.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he knows where Thomas Calder is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Calder has the original clinic files, including records of every child involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Calder is planning to destroy them tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom did not know anyone had taken that blood. Or at least she did not remember. \u201cThree months after Dad died?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d She frowned. \u201cThey took blood several times after … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16944,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16916\/revisions\/16944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}