Chapter 5 - KAREN AND THE EMPTY CAR SEAT
Karen Whitmore sat inside a family consultation room on the first floor.
The empty infant car seat rested beside her.
A blue blanket had been tucked neatly around the straps.
Someone had embroidered NOAH across one corner.
Detective Brooks allowed me to watch the interview remotely the following afternoon.
My doctors objected at first.
I reminded them that I was not participating in the investigation.
I was watching a recorded feed with my attorney present.
They reluctantly agreed.
My attorney, Lena Park, sat beside my bed.
She had represented me before I joined the federal bench.
She was brilliant, patient, and almost impossible to intimidate.
Karen looked nothing like Margaret.
Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail.
Her eyes were swollen.
Her hands shook around a paper cup of water.
Detective Brooks placed the adoption agreement on the table.
“Did you believe this was legal?”
Karen nodded too quickly.
“My mother said Ethan and Olivia had agreed.”
“Did you speak to Olivia?”
“No.”
“Did you speak to Ethan?”
“Not directly.”
“Then why did you believe a mother had agreed to give you her newborn son?”
Karen’s eyes filled with tears.
“Mom said Olivia didn’t want two babies.”
I almost laughed.
I had spent seven months reading to both children before they were born.
I had recorded my voice in case surgery left me unable to speak.
Their nursery contained two cribs, two names, and two futures.
Detective Brooks slid the paper closer.
“Did you pay for this agreement?”
“No.”
“Did your husband?”
“I’m not married.”
“Did anyone transfer money on your behalf?”
Karen stared at the cup.
“My mother said she handled the fees.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did the car seat come from?”
“Mom bought it.”
“The formula?”
“She gave it to me yesterday.”
“The hospital blanket with Noah’s name?”
Karen’s breathing changed.
“I thought the hospital prepared it.”
Detective Brooks placed a photograph beside the agreement.
It showed the blank infant identification band found in Margaret’s purse.
Karen covered her mouth.
“She said they would bring him downstairs.”
“Who is they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Karen.”
Detective Brooks lowered her voice.
“Your mother entered a secured maternity ward with forged papers, a sedative, and a false identification band.”
“She assaulted a postoperative patient.”
“She attempted to carry a newborn out of the room.”
“If you know who helped her, this is the moment to tell us.”
Karen began crying.
“I wanted a baby so badly.”
Her voice broke.
“I stopped asking questions.”
She reached into her handbag.
An officer immediately stepped forward.
Karen froze.
“It’s only my phone.”
The officer retrieved it and placed it on the table.
Karen gave them the passcode.
“There are voice messages from Mom.”
Detective Brooks opened the most recent recording.
Margaret’s voice filled the room.
“Do not come upstairs.”
“Wait by the west entrance.”
“Jenna will bring the baby down after the medication takes effect.”
Karen’s face crumpled.
“I didn’t know what medication she meant.”
Detective Brooks played the next message.
“If Olivia resists, Ethan will handle her.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Karen shook her head.
“He told me he wasn’t involved.”
“Ethan told me Mom was only trying to scare Olivia.”
“Did Ethan know you were waiting downstairs?”
Karen stared directly into the camera.
“Yes.”
The room around me seemed to disappear.
“When did he tell you?”
“This morning.”
“What exactly did he say?”
Karen swallowed.
“He said not to panic if Olivia made a scene.”
“He said she cared too much about her reputation to involve the police.”
Lena Park turned toward me.
Her expression told me not to speak.
I did not need to.
The evidence was speaking for me.
Detective Brooks asked one final question.
“Who is Jenna?”
Karen looked at the empty car seat.
May you like
“A maternity nurse.”
“She told my mother which medications would make Olivia sleep.”
