Chương 9
Lily seemed satisfied.
“I want to show Mommy the Florida pancake.”
“There is no pancake,” Vincent said.
“There’s a picture.”
“You took a picture?”
“Yes.”
“Traitor.”
Lily pulled Claire toward the kitchen.
For the next twenty minutes they discussed pancake geometry, cereal choices, and whether Vincent’s backyard bird feeder was attracting squirrels because he had purchased the wrong seed or because squirrels were simply criminals.
Daniel remained near the doorway.
Claire did not invite him into the conversation.
She did not exclude him either.
He was grateful for both.
Eventually Lily asked to watch her movie again.
Claire settled beside her on the couch.
Daniel sat in the armchair across the room.
Vincent stood by the window with a mug of coffee he had reheated twice and still forgotten to drink.
The movie played quietly.
Lily leaned against Claire’s side.
Ten minutes passed.
Then Claire said, “I spoke to Detective Alvarez from the airport.”
Daniel looked up.
Vincent turned from the window.
“She called you?”
“I called her.”
Daniel’s eyebrows lifted.
“How did you get her number?”
“She texted me after I left a message with the sheriff’s office.”
Vincent nodded once.
Claire continued.
“She told me not to question Lily.”
“I got the same instruction,” Vincent said.
“And I’m following it.”
Daniel looked at the television.
Lily was watching the screen but had clearly heard her name.
Claire lowered her voice.
“She also said Monday’s interview is not something we should coach her for.”
“I know.”
Daniel rubbed his palms against his jeans.
“Did she say anything else?”
Claire hesitated.
“She asked about Vanessa.”
Daniel went still.
“What about her?”
“How long she’s been around Lily, whether I had concerns before, whether Lily ever said anything strange after staying with you.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“And?”
Claire looked at him.
“I told her the truth.”
“Which is?”
“I didn’t have evidence Vanessa was hurting her.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“No.”
Claire exhaled.
“I told her I didn’t like how Vanessa talked about Lily.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What did she say?”
“Not much.”
“I mean Vanessa.”
Claire looked at Lily.
The child remained focused on the movie.
“She called her dramatic.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“That’s it?”
“No.”
Claire’s gaze returned to him.
“She once told me Lily had learned to use tears as a weapon.”
Vincent muttered something under his breath.
Daniel heard.
“Dad.”
“I said nothing.”
“You definitely said something.”
“Nothing useful.”
Claire kept watching Daniel.
“She said it last Christmas.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did.”
He stared at her.
“No, you didn’t.”
“I texted you after the call.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“I know.”
The answer was too calm.
Daniel stood.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“That thing where you say something like that and make it sound like proof I don’t care.”
Claire’s face hardened.
“I sent the message.”
“I’m not saying you didn’t.”
“You replied with a thumbs-up.”
Daniel stopped.
Vincent looked at him.
Claire added, “So I assumed you’d read it.”
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“What date?”
“December twenty-sixth.”
He searched.
The message appeared.
He read it once.
Then again.
Claire had written that Vanessa was calling Lily manipulative and that it bothered her.
Daniel’s response sat beneath it.
A single thumbs-up icon.
He stared at the screen.
“I was driving.”
Claire gave him a long look.
“You replied while driving?”
“No.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“I mean I probably saw it at a red light or something.”
Vincent said, “That’s not better.”
Daniel ignored him.
He scrolled through the thread.
There were dozens of messages after that about pickup times, school clothes, a missing stuffed rabbit, a fever, airline prices, and whether Lily could bring a tablet on a flight.
The warning had vanished among logistics.
“I didn’t process it,” Daniel said.
Claire nodded.
“I figured.”
“That doesn’t mean I ignored it intentionally.”
“I didn’t say intentionally.”
He sat again.
That was worse somehow.
Lily looked over.
“Daddy?”
He locked the phone.
“Yeah, bug?”
“You’re making the worried face.”
“What worried face?”
She scrunched her eyebrows and pressed her lips together in an exaggerated imitation.
Vincent laughed.
Daniel pointed at him.
“You stay out of this.”
Lily giggled.
For a few seconds the room became ordinary.
Then the doorbell rang.
Everyone stopped.
Vincent checked through the side window before opening.
Detective Alvarez stood on the porch.
She was alone this time.
Vincent opened the door.
“You said Monday.”
“I know.”
Her expression told him something had changed.
Claire stood.
Daniel rose too.
Lily looked between the adults.
Alvarez kept her voice easy.
“I just need a few minutes with the grown-ups.”
Lily frowned.
“Everybody keeps doing grown-up stuff.”
Claire crouched.
“I know.”
“It’s boring.”
“Extremely.”
Vincent gestured toward the den.
“Come on.”
Claire looked at Lily.
“I’ll be right here.”
“I want Grandpa.”
Vincent paused.
Alvarez said, “That’s fine.”
Vincent stayed.
Daniel, Claire, and Alvarez moved into the dining room.
The doorway remained partially open.
Alvarez waited until they sat.
“I spoke with Vanessa again.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“She has a lawyer now?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Alvarez folded her hands over a thin folder.
“She gave us photographs.”
Claire’s expression changed.
“Of what?”
“Bruises on her arms.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“She says Lily caused them.”
Claire blinked.
“That’s absurd.”
Alvarez held up a hand.
“I’m not saying I accept her explanation.”
Daniel looked almost offended by the idea.
“She’s four.”
“Yes.”
“You think a four-year-old did that?”
“I think I need to determine when the photographs were taken, what caused the marks, and whether the metadata matches the timeline she provided.”
Vincent appeared in the doorway.
“Can it?”
Alvarez looked at him.
“It can help.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“Why would she even do this?”
Claire turned to him.
“Maybe because she knows Lily is going to say something.”
Alvarez shook her head slightly.
“Don’t jump ahead.”
Claire looked frustrated.
“I’m not inventing anything.”
“No, but motive is exactly what we don’t know yet.”
May you like
Daniel stared at the folder.
“Did Vanessa say when Lily supposedly bruised her?”
