Chương 10
Within forty minutes Christopher was on a conference call with both.
Bell spoke slowly and without wasting words.
Park interrupted him twice.
Christopher liked her immediately.
Bell did not.
That helped too.
“You do not contact Juliette directly,” Bell said.
“She lives in my house.”
“Still no.”
“What if she refuses to leave?”
“Then Ms. Park handles the residence question.”
Park said, “And nobody changes locks, cancels cards, moves property, or gets creative.”
Christopher rubbed his forehead.
“I wasn’t planning to get creative.”
“People become very creative when angry.”
“I’m not angry.”
Rebecca, sitting across the kitchen table, looked at him.
Christopher corrected himself.
“I’m angry.”
“Good,” Park said.
“Then don’t make decisions while angry.”
Bell asked, “Have police contacted you about the assault allegation?”
“Yes.”
“Did you give a statement?”
“Only basic facts.”
“Anything beyond that?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Christopher looked at Rebecca.
She mouthed, Good.
He ignored her.
Bell continued, “You may be arrested.”
Rebecca’s expression changed.
Christopher sat straighter.
“For the slap.”
“Yes.”
“I admitted it.”
“That does not make the legal consequence disappear.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Christopher did not answer.
Bell said, “The fact that you believed your daughter had been harmed may be context.”
“But not a defense,” Christopher said.
“Correct.”
He looked at his hands.
He had spent years believing he was not the kind of man who hit people.
One second had changed the sentence.
Not the entire person.
But the sentence.
Park spoke next.
“Regarding Juliette, we need to separate the marriage from the criminal investigation.”
Christopher almost laughed.
“They seem fairly connected.”
“Emotionally, yes.”
“Practically too.”
“Legally, not always.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying do not file for divorce this afternoon because you are furious.”
Christopher glanced toward the stairs.
“I’m not sure I want to be married to someone accused of trying to drown my daughter.”
“That is understandable.”
“Then what are we discussing?”
“We are discussing timing, evidence, housing, financial obligations, and the fact that your wife is pregnant.”
The room went silent.
Rebecca looked down at her coffee.
Christopher said, “She says she is.”
“We’ll proceed on the assumption that the pregnancy is real unless reliable information says otherwise.”
Christopher hated the phrase reliable information.
It sounded as if his life had become a stack of exhibits.
Park continued.
“You need to prepare for the possibility that this is your child.”
“I am prepared.”
“No, you are not.”
Christopher’s jaw tightened.
Park did not soften.
“You are thinking about Juliette as the person who may have harmed Emma.”
“Yes.”
“You will also have to think about her as the mother of another child if the pregnancy continues.”
Christopher stood and walked toward the sink.
Rebecca watched him.
He put one hand against the counter.
“What does that change?”
“Potentially everything about future contact.”
Christopher looked out the kitchen window.
A neighbor was dragging a green trash bin toward the street.
Two kids rode bicycles past without helmets.
Ordinary life looked obscene.
Bell said, “There’s another reason not to make impulsive moves.”
Christopher turned back.
“What?”
“The police investigation could shift.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“What does that mean?”
Bell said, “It means evidence may support Emma’s account, Juliette’s account, some mixture of both, or something nobody understands yet.”
Christopher felt anger rise again.
“My daughter said Juliette pushed her.”
“And I am not calling your daughter a liar.”
“That sounded close.”
Bell’s tone remained flat.
“I am telling you what defense lawyers tell people before facts become permanent in their minds.”
Christopher sat down.
He hated Bell too now.
That probably meant he was useful.
The call ended with instructions.
Do not contact Juliette.
Do not discuss the case with staff.
Do not access the camera system.
Do not post anything.
Do not allow friends or relatives to contact Juliette on his behalf.
Document all police contact.
Preserve messages.
Say nothing publicly.
Rebecca waited until Christopher put the phone down.
“That was cheerful.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”
“I’m not.”
He looked at her.
“I know.”
She stirred coffee she had not sweetened.
“Are you going back to the house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To get clothes and things Emma needs.”
“Have Teresa pack them.”
“I want to see it.”
“The courtyard?”
Christopher nodded.
Rebecca set down the spoon.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“I was there for maybe two minutes.”
“And?”
“And I don’t trust what I remember.”
Rebecca’s face softened a little.
“That won’t fix it.”
“I know.”
“Then why go?”
Christopher stared at the dark surface of his coffee.
“Because I left my daughter in that house every other week.”
Rebecca said nothing.
“I need to see what I missed.”
She leaned back.
“That sounds like punishment.”
“Maybe.”
“I already told you not to do that.”
“I heard you.”
“You’re still doing it.”
“Yes.”
Rebecca rubbed her thumb along the mug handle.
“Then at least don’t go alone.”
Christopher looked toward the stairs.
“You’re staying with Emma.”
“I wasn’t volunteering.”
He almost asked who she meant.
Then the doorbell rang.
Rebecca checked the front window.
Her posture changed.
“Police.”
Christopher stood.
Two officers waited outside.
One was uniformed.
The other wore plain clothes and held a folded document.
Christopher opened the door.
The plainclothes officer identified himself as Detective Mercer.
“Mr. Vale?”
“Yes.”
“We need to speak with you regarding Juliette Vale’s assault complaint.”
Christopher nodded.
“My attorney asked that I not answer questions without him.”
Mercer seemed unsurprised.
“That’s your right.”
The uniformed officer shifted slightly.
Mercer continued.
“We’re also serving you with a temporary protective order.”
Christopher stared at the folded papers.
Rebecca stepped into the hallway behind him.
“A protective order for who?”
Mercer looked at Christopher.
“For Mrs. Vale.”
Christopher took the papers.
“What does it require?”
“No direct or indirect contact with her.”
“I’m already doing that.”
“And you are not to enter the marital residence while she is present.”
Christopher’s fingers tightened around the pages.
Rebecca said, “She’s still in the house?”
May you like
Mercer nodded.
Christopher looked at him.
