Chapter 2
The taxi brought us directly to the Travis County Sheriff’s Department in Austin. On the way, I called Javier Salgado, a prominent criminal defense attorney and a close friend of my brother.
When Javier arrived at the station, Noah handed over his phone to show the photos and carefully presented the wrapped mug.
“Don’t delete a single file from that phone,” Javier instructed the officers. “And send that mug directly to the forensics lab for priority chemical testing.”
I was just finishing my formal statement when the lobby doors swung open.
Mark and Evelyn rushed into the station together.
My husband sprinted toward me with an expression of frantic, loving concern.
“Thank God!” Mark cried out. “Valerie, what happened to you?! Mom and I were terrified when you ran off!”
Javier stepped firmly between us, blocking Mark’s approach.
Mark’s demeanor shifted for a fraction of a second, his eyes narrowing.
Then he launched into his rehearsed defense.
He claimed to the intake officer that I had been suffering from severe work-related anxiety and paranoia for months. He claimed an associate at his medical clinic had recommended an all-natural herbal supplement to help me relax, which was what was in the tea.
“Valerie has become increasingly paranoid lately,” Mark explained in a smooth, gentle tone. “My stepson overheard a private conversation, completely misunderstood what we were discussing, and panicked.”
Evelyn wiped away tears with a tissue. “I love her like my own daughter. I would never hurt her.”
The investigating detective turned to Noah and asked him to repeat exactly what he had heard in the kitchen on Thursday night.
My son spoke clearly, without a single tremor in his voice:
“Mark said, ‘When she drinks the tea, it will look like a heart attack in twenty minutes. Then we wait to call 911. We can leave the kid with Mrs. Lydia.’”
Mark immediately interjected, claiming he didn’t even know anyone named Lydia.
Noah looked straight at the detective. “She lives on Elm Street in South Austin. Mark drove me to her house in March and told me, ‘Get used to this place, kid. You might be staying here for a long time soon.’”
For the first time, Mark went dead silent, his smug composure cracking.
The mug was rushed to the state crime lab for emergency toxicology analysis. While we waited in an interview room, prosecutors obtained a judge’s warrant to execute a search of the countryside property.
During the wait, Javier received a phone call from an investigator that completely drained the color from his face.
Mark had been married twice before.
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His first wife, Alyssa, had died four years ago at age thirty-seven. The official cause of death listed on her death certificate: Sudden cardiac arrest. Following her death, Mark had inherited her downtown condo and a substantial private investment portfolio.
His second wife, Brooke, had passed away two years later. Her records cited an unexplained accidental drug interaction. Mark had received her vacation home and a massive payout from a supplemental life insurance policy.
