Chapter 2: The Police Interview and the Secret About the Prescription Bottles
The Oak Park police officers arrived at the hospital 20 minutes later, two uniformed officers who introduced themselves as Detective Miller and Officer Lopez. They followed Jake into the ICU waiting room, where Emily was still sitting on a plastic chair, her face streaked with tears, her hands clutching a crumpled tissue box. When they saw her, Detective Miller walked over to her, his face serious, and he asked her to come with him to the hospital’s conference room for an interview. Emily hesitated for a moment, looking over at Jake, who nodded at her, his face cold and hard. She stood up, following Detective Miller out of the waiting room, and Jake sat down on a plastic chair, pulling out his phone and calling his sister, Lisa, who lived in nearby Evanston. “Lisa,” he said, his voice breaking. “Something terrible has happened. Emily poisoned Toby and Lila. She tried to kill our own kids.” Lisa let out a soft gasp, and she told Jake that she’d be at the hospital in 30 minutes. Jake hung up the phone, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, as he thought about the way Emily had lied to him, about the way she’d poisoned his kids, about the way she’d tried to make it look like a stranger had done it. He’d never thought that his wife could be capable of something so terrible, but now he knew that he’d been wrong. He’d been so busy with work, so busy with making money, that he’d missed all the signs, all the little things that had told him that something was wrong with Emily. He’d noticed that she’d been more anxious than usual, that she’d been staying up late at night, that she’d been drinking more wine than usual, but he’d brushed it off as stress from the kids’ school and the house. He’d thought that she just needed a break, that he’d take her on a vacation soon, but he’d never thought that she would resort to poisoning her own kids to get his attention. Just then, the door to the waiting room opened, and Emily walked in, her face pale, her eyes red and swollen. She sat down next to Jake, and she reached out to touch his arm, but he pulled away. “The police want to talk to you alone,” she said, her voice quiet. “They said they want to hear your side of the story.” Jake nodded, and he stood up, walking over to the window, where he could see the Chicago skyline glowing in the distance. He thought about the way Toby and Lila were lying in their beds, their skin pale, their eyes closed, and he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He should have been paying more attention to his wife, to his kids, to the people who mattered most. He should have seen the signs, should have stopped her before she did something so terrible. Just then, the door to the waiting room opened again, and Detective Miller walked in, holding a stack of papers in his hands. He sat down across from Jake and Emily, and he cleared his throat, before starting the interview. “First off,” he said, his voice quiet but firm. “We need to talk about the prescription bottles. Dr. Patel told us that the toxin that poisoned your children is oxycodone, and that the prescription matches Emily’s. Can you explain where that oxycodone came from?” Emily looked up at Detective Miller, her eyes red and swollen, and she reached out to touch his arm, but he pulled away. “I... I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered, her voice shaking. “My prescription was filled three weeks ago, but I threw it away after I took all the pills. I didn’t do this, Detective. I would never hurt my own kids.” Detective Miller nodded, and he pulled out a photo from his stack of papers, a photo of a prescription bottle with Emily’s name printed on the label. “We checked the hospital’s pharmacy records, and we found that your prescription was filled three weeks ago, and that you picked it up yourself,” he said. “We also found that you returned 15 of the 30 pills to the pharmacy last week, which means that you still have 15 pills left. Do you have those pills with you?” Emily’s face fell, and she sat up straight, staring at Detective Miller, her eyes wide with shock. “I... I don’t have them with me,” she stammered, her voice shaking. “I must have lost them, or someone must have stolen them. I don’t know where they are.” Detective Miller laughed, a sharp, bitter sound that made Emily flinch, and he pulled out another photo from his stack of papers, a photo of a trash can in the Marlow’s kitchen, with a prescription bottle sitting inside it. “We checked your home, and we found this trash can in your kitchen,” he said. “Inside the trash can, we found a prescription bottle with your name printed on the label, and it’s empty. You didn’t return those pills to the pharmacy, did you? You threw them away, and you’re lying about losing them.” Emily let out a soft sob, and she covered her face with her hands, crying uncontrollably. Jake turned to her, his face cold and hard, and he said, “You’re lying. You didn’t lose the pills, did you? You gave them to someone, or you used them to poison our kids.” Emily looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen, and she said, “I didn’t poison them, Jake. I swear to God, I didn’t. I just... I was so stressed out, Jake. You’ve been working all the time, you’ve been ignoring me, you’ve been acting like I don’t exist. I thought if something happened to the kids, you’d finally notice me, that you’d finally come back to me.” Jake stared at his wife, the woman he’d loved for 10 years, and he felt a pain in his chest that he’d never felt before. He’d been so busy with work, so busy with making money, that he’d forgotten to pay attention to his wife, to his kids, to the people who mattered most. He’d thought that providing for them financially was enough, but he’d been wrong. So, so wrong. “You’re a monster,” he said, his voice quiet but full of rage. “You poisoned your own children, and you’re trying to make it look like a stranger did it. How could you do this? How could you hurt Toby and Lila like that?” Emily let out a soft sob, and she fell to her knees in front of Jake, grabbing onto his legs and begging him to listen to her. “Please, Jake,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I didn’t mean to hurt them. I just wanted to scare them a little, to make you notice me. I didn’t think the dosage would be so high, I didn’t think it would make them so sick. I thought I’d give them a little bit of the medicine, not enough to hurt them, just enough to make you see that I was hurting too.” Jake pulled his legs away from her, standing up and walking over to the window, where he could see the Chicago skyline glowing in the distance. He thought about the way Toby and Lila were lying in their beds, their skin pale, their eyes closed, and he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He should have been paying more attention to his wife, to his kids, to the people who mattered most. He should have seen the signs, should have stopped her before she did something so terrible. Just then, the door to the waiting room opened again, and Dr. Patel walked in, holding a stack of charts in his hands. “Mr. Marlow,” he said, his voice quiet. “Toby and Lila just woke up. They’re asking for you.” Jake’s eyes widened with shock, and he ran out of the waiting room, toward the ICU, leaving Emily and Detective Miller alone in the room. He pushed open the ICU door, and he walked over to Toby’s bed, where his son was lying, his eyes open, his face pale. “Toby,” he said, his voice breaking. “Are you okay?” Toby looked up at him, his eyes filled with tears, and he said, “Daddy, my stomach hurts. Lila’s stomach hurts too. Why did Mommy do this?” Jake’s heart broke, and he pulled Toby into a hug, crying uncontrollably. He’d never felt so much pain in his life, so much guilt, so much rage. He’d almost lost his son, almost lost his daughter, and it was all his fault, all because he’d been too busy with work to pay attention to his family. “I’m so sorry, Toby,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you. I’m so sorry I didn’t stop her.” Just then, Lila opened her eyes, and she looked up at Jake, her eyes filled with tears. “Daddy,” she said, her voice quiet. “Where’s Mommy? I want Mommy.” Jake turned to look at Lila, and he felt a wave of love wash over him. He pulled Lila into a hug, crying uncontrollably, as he told her that everything was going to be okay, that he’d never let anyone hurt her or Toby ever again. He thought about the way Emily had lied to him, about the way she’d poisoned his kids, about the way she’d tried to make it look like a stranger had done it, and he knew that he’d never be able to forgive her. He’d lost his wife, he’d lost the mother of his children, and he’d almost lost his kids, too. But he also knew that he had to be strong for Toby and Lila, that he had to give them the love and support they needed to heal, that he had to make sure that nothing like this ever happened again.
