Chương 10
"I don't know."
Maya nodded.
"Do you have another place you can stay with the children tonight?"
Julian thought of hotels.
His brother in Connecticut.
His office.
Mrs. Alvarez.
Then Desmond spoke.
"Grandma's."
Julian looked at him.
Corinne's mother lived forty minutes away.
"Your grandmother?"
Desmond nodded.
"Grandma Celia."
Julian's first instinct was refusal.
Celia adored Corinne.
She also adored the children.
The two facts no longer felt compatible.
Maya asked, "Would she allow their mother access?"
Julian hesitated.
"I don't know."
Desmond said, "She'd listen to Dad."
Julian looked at him.
"Would she?"
Desmond shrugged.
"She doesn't listen to Mom when they fight."
That was true.
Celia had once told Corinne she could turn choosing a restaurant into a constitutional crisis.
Julian had laughed for a week.
Now the memory felt like something from another family.
Maya continued.
"If you're unsure, a hotel may be simpler tonight."
Wren shifted on Julian's lap.
"I don't like hotels."
Everyone looked at her.
She blinked.
"The blankets smell funny."
Desmond almost smiled.
Julian pressed his lips against her hair.
"Okay."
Maya's expression softened.
"Then we'll figure out something else."
A child protective services investigator arrived just after six.
Her name was Ellen Brooks.
She wore dark slacks, sensible shoes, and a gray raincoat even though there had been no rain.
She asked to speak with Julian alone first.
Wren immediately clung to him.
"I don't want you to go."
"I'm not leaving the hospital."
"You said that before."
Julian frowned.
"When?"
"Tuesday."
His chest tightened.
"I said I'd be home soon."
"You weren't."
There was no accusation in her voice.
That made it worse.
Julian crouched in front of her.
Wren looked at the consultation room.
"Can Desmond stay?"
Ellen answered before Julian could.
"If Desmond wants to."
Desmond nodded.
Julian went into the small room with Ellen and Maya.
The door did not fully close because the latch was broken.
That detail comforted him more than it should have.
Ellen asked him to start from the beginning.
He did not know where the beginning was anymore.
The slap?
The locks?
Tuesday?
The first time Corinne said she was overwhelmed and he ordered takeout instead of asking what she meant?
He started with the slap.
Ellen interrupted only to clarify times and sequence.
When he finished, she asked, "Before today, did you have concerns that your wife was physically harming either child?"
"No."
"Did you know food was being restricted?"
"No."
"Did you know the pantry and refrigerator were being locked?"
"No."
"Did you know Wren had been confined inside the pantry?"
"No."
Julian's answers became quieter each time.
Ellen looked at him.
"How could the locks be present without you noticing them?"
The question stung.
"I leave early."
"Every day?"
"Most days."
"And when you return?"
"Usually after dinner."
"Do you use the refrigerator?"
"Yes."
"Was it unlocked when you were home?"
Julian stared at her.
He had not consciously considered that.
"Yes."
"So the locks were being removed before you returned?"
He looked toward the partly open door.
Desmond sat beyond it with Wren, their knees nearly touching.
"Apparently."
Ellen wrote something.
Julian felt defensive.
Then ashamed of being defensive.
"She knew my schedule."
Ellen looked up.
"I understand."
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"I don't mean as an excuse."
She waited.
Julian rubbed his hands together.
"I mean she knew exactly when I was gone."
"That's relevant."
He nodded.
Ellen asked about Desmond's bruise.
Julian showed the photo.
Then the deleted email.
Then the recorder.
She did not immediately take any of it.
"Has anyone altered or copied the recordings?"
"No."
"Have you listened to all of them?"
"No."
"How much?"
"Two pieces."
"Keep the device as it is for now."
Julian nodded.
"I thought you'd want it."
"I may."
She looked at the grocery bag.
"But I don't want you experimenting with files, transferring them, renaming them, or deleting anything."
"I won't."
"Do you know whether the recorder stores timestamps accurately?"
"No."
"Then don't assume it does."
Julian appreciated that.
The certainty he wanted from evidence was not available simply because he wanted it.
Ellen asked if Corinne knew they were at the hospital.
"She knows."
"Has she contacted you?"
Julian checked his phone.
Four missed calls.
Nine messages.
He had not felt any of them come in.
He opened the thread.
Please answer.
I need to know if Wren is okay.
Julian.
Please.
I am not coming there.
I know you don't want me there.
Just tell me she is okay.
The last message had arrived three minutes earlier.
I called my mother.
Julian stared at it.
"What?" Maya asked.
"My mother-in-law knows."
Ellen nodded.
"Do you trust her around the children?"
"Yes."
"Do you trust her to respect a restriction on contact with Corinne?"
Julian considered the question.
Celia loved fiercely and interfered professionally.
But she was not stupid.
"I think so."
"Think isn't enough for tonight."
Julian looked through the doorway again.
Wren was trying to braid the loose end of Desmond's backpack strap.
He was letting her.
Ellen nodded.
"Before you decide where you're staying."
Julian called Celia from the corridor.
She answered before the first ring finished.
"Where are the children?"
"With me."
"Are they safe?"
"Yes."
"Is Wren hurt?"
"Her cheek is bruised."
Celia was silent.
Julian could hear her breathing.
"Corinne told me there was an accident."
Julian closed his eyes.
"What accident?"
"She said things got out of control."
"She hit Wren."
Silence.
"She told me."
That surprised him.
"She did?"
"Eventually."
Julian leaned against the wall.
"Celia, there's more."
"I know about the pantry."
He straightened.
"What exactly do you know?"
"She told me Wren got locked in by mistake."
"Did she tell you the pantry was padlocked because she was restricting food?"
Celia said nothing.
Julian's jaw tightened.
"Did she?"
"No."
"Did she tell you Desmond tried to contact me and she deleted his email?"
May you like
"No."
"Did she tell you she bruised his wrist when she took his phone?"
