Chương 10
"What did she say about your father?" Daniel asked.
Margaret looked at him.
"What?"
"That night."
"You remember."
"I remember some of it."
Margaret turned away.
Vanessa had been cruel.
That fact remained.
It did not make the rest easier.
"She said Paul would've hated what I'd become."
Daniel's eyes lowered.
Margaret continued.
"She said he tolerated me because he didn't like conflict."
Daniel winced.
"I forgot that."
"I didn't."
"Mom."
"She knew exactly what she was doing."
"I know."
Margaret looked at the black device.
"If that's on the recording, it'll sound like she was provoking me."
Daniel's face did not change.
"But?"
Margaret hated that he knew there was one.
"But I told her if she didn't leave, I'd throw her things into the driveway myself."
Daniel nodded.
"Okay."
"I picked up her purse."
"You did?"
Margaret looked at him.
"You didn't see that?"
"No."
"She grabbed it from me."
"What happened then?"
Margaret's throat tightened.
"I grabbed it back."
Daniel stared.
The silence between them changed.
"It was before the mug," Margaret said.
"Did you touch her?"
"I don't know."
"Mom."
"I had the purse."
"Did you touch her?"
Margaret looked at her hands.
Her fingers remembered leather straps sliding through them.
Vanessa pulling.
Margaret pulling back.
A shoulder.
An elbow.
Someone hitting the cabinet.
"I might have pushed her arm."
Daniel breathed out slowly.
Margaret felt anger flare.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like I caused it."
"I didn't say you did."
"You don't have to."
Daniel looked toward the stairs.
Margaret heard herself and hated the familiarity of it.
The same accusation Daniel had made upstairs.
The same insistence that faces could convict.
She pressed her fingers to her forehead, avoiding the stitches.
"I don't know exactly what happened."
Daniel leaned against the bar.
"That's why recordings matter."
Margaret looked at him.
"Depending on what's recorded."
"Yeah."
"And depending on what's missing."
"Yeah."
For several seconds they stood beside the hidden device, suddenly allied by uncertainty rather than affection.
Daniel picked up his phone.
"I'm going to photograph where we found it."
Margaret nodded.
He took several pictures of the rug, the baseboard, and the device beside a ruler Margaret fetched from a desk drawer.
The ordinary care of the process steadied her.
Measure.
Photograph.
Do not guess.
She had spent most of her adult life believing problems became manageable when placed in the right order.
Some problems resisted order.
This one, at least, could be documented.
Daniel wrapped the device loosely in the dish towel without pressing any buttons.
Margaret said, "No."
He looked at her.
"It stays here."
"Why?"
"It was found in my house."
"Could be Vanessa's."
"Then she can request it."
Daniel frowned.
"What if it has something I need?"
"You can have a copy."
"How are you going to make a copy?"
"Your attorney doesn't duplicate mystery spy gadgets."
"You don't know what my attorney does on weekends."
Daniel stared at her.
Margaret felt the smallest smile touch her mouth.
He shook his head.
"That wasn't funny."
"It was a little funny."
"It really wasn't."
The officer called from upstairs.
"Sir, I need to head out."
Daniel picked up the keys.
"I'm coming."
Margaret carried the recorder upstairs herself, holding the towel by its corners.
She set it on the kitchen counter several feet from the eviction notice and deed.
The officer waited beside the open door.
Daniel stopped in front of him.
"Thanks for staying."
"Of course."
Daniel looked toward the street.
"Anything I should do about those messages right now?"
"Keep them."
"That's it?"
"If there's no immediate threat, yes."
Daniel looked dissatisfied.
The officer continued.
"If the messages become specific threats, if she shows up and won't leave, or if there's an immediate safety concern, call."
Daniel nodded.
The officer looked at Margaret.
"Same for you."
"I understand."
He glanced toward the new locks.
"Keep the doors secured."
Then he left.
Margaret watched him walk to his cruiser.
Daniel watched too.
Neither spoke until the car pulled away.
The absence of the uniform changed the driveway instantly.
Daniel looked toward both ends of the street.
Margaret noticed.
"You should go."
"I still have things downstairs."
"Leave them."
"I need work clothes."
"Which ones?"
Daniel looked at her.
"You want to inventory my pants now?"
"Mom."
"I mean it."
The fear in her voice surprised both of them.
Daniel's irritation faded.
He looked toward the truck.
"Okay."
Margaret went downstairs alone.
She gathered shirts, jeans, work pants, two jackets, and a pair of heavy boots into a laundry basket.
On the second trip she found a shaving kit and a prescription bottle with Daniel's name.
She placed it carefully on top.
When she returned outside, Daniel was sitting on the edge of the truck ramp reading his phone.
"More messages?"
He locked the screen.
"No."
Margaret set down the basket.
"Then what?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Erin."
Margaret straightened.
"What did she say?"
"Vanessa contacted her."
"Already?"
"Yeah."
"What did she tell her?"
Daniel rubbed his jaw.
"That I used her."
Margaret looked toward the quiet street.
"Did you?"
Daniel's eyes hardened.
"Seriously?"
"I don't know."
"I told you nothing happened."
"Using somebody doesn't require sleeping with them."
He stared at her.
Margaret nearly took the question back.
Instead she waited.
Daniel looked down at his phone.
"I talked to Erin when I couldn't talk to anybody else."
"Did she think it was more?"
"Maybe."
"Did you know she thought that?"
Daniel did not answer.
Margaret felt disappointment settle without drama.
Not shock.
Not outrage.
Just another piece of her son refusing to fit cleanly into the role she wanted for him.
"What did Vanessa send her?"
"Screenshots."
"Of your messages?"
"Some."
"Out of context?"
"Some."
Margaret nodded slowly.
"That doesn't mean the context saves you."
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
"Thanks."
"I'm not trying to hurt you."
"You're talented naturally."
The words landed, and Daniel looked immediately sorry.
May you like
Margaret picked up the laundry basket again.
"I should go inside."
