I got into my car and waited until their vehicle disappeared around the corner. I was about to start the engine when I heard a light tap on the driver’s side window. It was Victor, the quiet, professional waiter who had served us all night. His face wore a grave expression that immediately set my heart pounding.
I rolled down the window. “Yes, Victor?”
“Mrs. Helen,” he said in a low voice, looking around nervously as if he feared being overheard. “Forgive me for intruding, but there’s something I… I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
He hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to do. “When you stepped out to answer the phone,” he began, swallowing hard. “I saw something. I was serving the next table, and… I saw your daughter put something in your glass. A white powder, from a small vial she took from her purse. Her husband was looking around, as if on watch, to make sure no one saw.”
My blood ran cold. Even though I had already suspected something, hearing the confirmation from a witness was devastating. It was a truth so monstrous I could barely comprehend it. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.