Chương 13
"Or Erin."
"Why would I tell Erin?"
Margaret hesitated.
"Because you're lonely."
Daniel went quiet.
Margaret wished she had phrased it differently.
"I didn't mean that as criticism."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Yeah."
Another pause.
"You're not wrong."
Margaret looked at her hands.
"Lonely people can make expensive mistakes."
"That sounds like something from a greeting card for divorced men."
Margaret smiled.
Daniel's turn signal began clicking again.
"I need to go."
"Drive."
"Call your lawyer."
"Call Aunt Susan too."
Margaret sighed.
"One crisis at a time."
"Mom."
"Promise?"
The question surprised her.
"Yes."
Daniel was quiet.
"Okay."
"Daniel?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for telling me."
There was no answer for several seconds.
Then Daniel said, "I should've done it sooner."
The call ended.
Margaret remained at the table with the phone in her hand.
She opened her attorney's contact.
Before pressing call, she looked toward the cardboard box.
It had stopped buzzing.
Margaret dialed.
The receptionist answered first.
Margaret explained enough to be transferred.
Her attorney, Linda Carver, came on the line sounding brisk and slightly breathless.
"Margaret, what's happened?"
"I found a recording device in the basement."
There was a pause.
"A recording device?"
"I think so."
"Do not access it."
"I haven't."
"Do not turn it off if you don't know how it works."
"I haven't touched any controls."
"Good."
Margaret looked at the box.
"And there's another problem."
"Of course there is."
The dry remark calmed Margaret more than sympathy would have.
"Vanessa left belongings here."
"That's expected."
"One box contains something that keeps buzzing."
"What kind of buzzing?"
"Like a phone."
"Have you opened it?"
"No."
"Good."
Margaret frowned.
"Everyone keeps congratulating me for not opening cardboard."
"Because people open things."
"Fair."
Linda asked, "Is Daniel still there?"
"No."
"Where is Vanessa?"
"I don't know."
"Does she know Daniel moved out?"
"Apparently."
"Apparently?"
Margaret explained the messages.
Linda interrupted only twice to clarify exact wording.
When Margaret finished, the attorney was silent.
"Margaret, I want you to photograph the box from several angles if you haven't already."
"I have."
"Save those photographs somewhere besides your phone."
"Email?"
"Yes."
"To you?"
"Yes."
Margaret reached for a notepad.
Linda continued.
"Do not open Vanessa's box, do not dispose of anything, and do not hand over the recording device informally."
"What does informally mean?"
"Don't give it to Daniel, Vanessa, or a friend because they ask."
"What if Vanessa comes for her property?"
"Do not conduct an unplanned doorstep exchange."
Margaret felt a chill.
"So what do I do?"
"We arrange a documented pickup."
"Today?"
"If possible."
"And the recorder?"
"I want more information before advising you what to do with it."
Margaret looked at the dish towel.
"Could Vanessa have recorded me legally?"
"I am not going to guess about the legal status without knowing where the device was, what it captured, who placed it, and under what circumstances."
Margaret smiled faintly.
"You and the officer would get along."
"I hope that's a compliment."
"It isn't an insult."
"Good enough."
Margaret heard typing.
Linda said, "I also want you to preserve the security footage from today."
"Why?"
"Because if there's later disagreement about what property was removed, who was present, or whether Vanessa came to the residence, it may matter."
Margaret straightened.
"I can do that."
"And Margaret?"
"Yes?"
"Do not contact Vanessa."
"I wasn't planning to."
"Not even to tell her you have the box."
Margaret frowned.
"Then how does she get it?"
"We'll coordinate."
There was another brief burst of typing.
"Can your sister stay with you?"
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Why does everybody want Susan in my kitchen?"
"Maybe because you live alone and someone who has already injured you may be angry."
Margaret said nothing.
Linda's voice softened only slightly.
"Call your sister."
"I said I would."
"Good."
They ended the call.
Margaret immediately emailed the photographs before she could invent a reason to organize them first.
Then she called Susan.
Her sister answered with, "Are you bleeding?"
Margaret blinked.
"No."
"Is Daniel arrested?"
"No."
"Is Vanessa there?"
"No."
"Then why are you calling before noon?"
Margaret looked around the kitchen.
"Apparently because I need supervision."
Susan was silent for one beat.
Then she said, "I'll bring lunch."
Margaret almost objected.
"What kind?"
"Turkey."
"I don't want turkey."
"Then pick it off."
Margaret smiled.
"Fine."
The call ended before Margaret could say she did not need anybody.
She put the phone down.
For the first time since the truck left, the house became truly quiet.
The refrigerator hummed.
A pipe knocked faintly inside the wall.
Somewhere outside, a dog barked twice.
Margaret stood by the window and looked at the empty driveway.
Peace, she discovered, was not the same as relief.
Peace left room for everything she had been too busy to feel.
Her son had been hurt in her house.
Her son had hurt someone in her house.
Vanessa had injured her.
Margaret had participated in a struggle she had simplified afterward.
A recording device had been hidden beneath her basement rug.
An unopened box on her kitchen floor contained something that kept buzzing.
Margaret pressed two fingers lightly against the edge of her bandage.
The doorbell rang.
She jumped so hard her hip struck the counter.
The pain made her curse.
The bell rang again.
Margaret did not move toward the door.
She opened the security camera app on her phone.
The image loaded.
Vanessa stood on the front porch.
Margaret stared at Vanessa’s image on the screen until the doorbell rang a third time.
Vanessa stood too close to the camera, her face pale and tense, dark hair pulled into a loose knot.
She wore jeans, a black sweatshirt, and no coat despite the cool morning.
Margaret could see one hand opening and closing at her side.
The other held nothing.
That did not make Margaret feel safer.
She stepped away from the window and locked the kitchen entrance again.
May you like
Then she called 911.
Her voice sounded calmer than she felt.
