Chương 6
"I didn't say you did."
"You didn't have to."
Daniel stopped.
He looked up at her.
"Okay."
Margaret hated the apology because it was too easy.
She wanted to keep being offended.
Instead she crossed her arms and watched him examine the contents.
A hair dryer.
Two makeup bags.
A curling iron.
Several bottles wrapped in dish towels.
A small plastic tray filled with rings and earrings.
Daniel touched the tray.
"Where was this?"
"Bathroom drawer."
He picked up a thin silver ring.
Margaret had seen Vanessa wear it on her thumb.
Daniel turned it between his fingers.
"She thought she lost this."
"It was behind a box of bandages."
Daniel placed it back.
His phone vibrated again.
Neither moved.
The sound seemed louder underground.
He pulled it out.
This time the message was longer.
Margaret could not read it from where she stood.
Daniel's face changed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Daniel."
He turned the screen away.
Margaret walked toward him.
"What did she say?"
"It's between me and her."
Margaret stopped.
The words stung more than they should have.
Maybe because they restored a border Daniel had briefly allowed her to cross.
"Fine."
She turned toward the stairs.
"Mom."
Margaret kept walking.
"She says she's going to call my boss."
That stopped her.
She looked back.
Daniel stood beside the open box holding his phone like something dirty.
"Why?"
"She thinks I slept with Erin."
"The woman from work?"
"Former work."
"Did you?"
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Margaret studied his face.
Daniel saw it.
"Jesus."
"I'm asking."
"You didn't ask."
"I was about to."
"No, you were deciding."
Margaret pressed her lips together.
He was right.
She disliked that almost as much as being wrong.
"Did you sleep with Erin?"
"No."
"Did you kiss her?"
"No."
"Did you want to?"
Daniel looked away.
Margaret sighed.
"All right."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I'm not going to interrogate you."
"Little late."
The phone vibrated again.
Daniel read the message and sat down on the arm of the sectional.
The color left his face for the second time that morning.
Margaret descended the step she had climbed.
"What now?"
He handed her the phone.
The gesture frightened her more than the expression did.
Margaret took it.
The message filled most of the screen.
If you take my stuff and disappear, I send everything to the police and your company.
I have pictures of what you did to me.
I have the messages with Erin.
I have the recording from your mother's kitchen.
Margaret read the last sentence twice.
"What recording?"
Daniel stood up.
"I don't know."
"Was she recording that night?"
"I don't know."
Margaret handed the phone back.
The room seemed smaller.
"Does your company care who you message?"
"Not unless I'm sleeping with employees or harassing somebody."
"Was Erin your employee?"
"No."
"Supervisor?"
"No."
"Then why threaten your job?"
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Because Vanessa knows the owner."
"How?"
"She cleaned his house for a while."
Margaret stared at him.
Daniel gave a humorless shrug.
"Everybody knows everybody when you need them not to."
The officer called from upstairs.
"Everything all right down there?"
Daniel looked at Margaret.
She could see the question in his face.
Not whether they were all right.
Whether they should tell him.
Margaret was surprised to realize she did not want to decide for him.
"It's your message," she said quietly.
Daniel looked toward the stairs.
Then at his phone.
Then back to Margaret.
His shoulders lowered.
"Officer?"
Footsteps sounded above them.
A moment later the officer appeared at the top of the stairs without descending.
"Sir?"
Daniel lifted the phone.
"She threatened to send pictures to my job and police."
The officer remained still.
"What pictures?"
Daniel looked at Margaret.
She looked away.
"Bruises."
"Whose?"
"Hers."
The officer's gaze sharpened.
"How did she get them?"
Daniel's mouth tightened.
"I grabbed her wrists during an argument."
Margaret heard the house above them creak as the air conditioner kicked on.
The officer asked, "When?"
"About three weeks ago."
"Was law enforcement called?"
"No."
"Any medical treatment?"
"I don't know."
"Did you strike her?"
"No."
"Push her?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Not that night."
The officer let several seconds pass.
Margaret wanted to disappear into the unfinished half of the basement where Paul had kept Christmas decorations and old paint cans.
Instead she stayed where she was.
The officer's voice remained level.
"I'm not going to investigate an unrelated allegation based on half a conversation in a basement."
Daniel nodded.
"But don't delete anything."
"I won't."
"Don't send threats back."
"I won't."
"Don't contact her to pressure her about pictures, recordings, or statements."
Daniel looked irritated.
"I'm not stupid."
The officer's expression did not change.
"I didn't say you were."
The irritation drained from Daniel's face.
"Right."
"If she makes a report, you'll have a chance to give your account."
Margaret asked, "What about the recording?"
The officer looked at her.
"Without hearing it, I can't tell you what it contains or what it means."
Daniel gave Margaret a pointed look, as if this proved something about her habit of wanting immediate answers.
Margaret ignored him.
"What if she comes here?"
"Call 911 if there's an immediate safety problem."
The officer looked at Daniel again.
"And you need to decide where you're going once this truck leaves."
"Kyle's."
"Does she know where Kyle lives?"
Daniel hesitated.
Margaret felt her stomach drop.
"Daniel."
"She might."
The officer exhaled slowly.
"Then consider somewhere she doesn't know."
Daniel laughed once.
"That's easy to say."
"I know."
"No, I mean I don't have ten secret houses."
The officer nodded.
"Understood."
That simple response seemed to shame Daniel more effectively than correction.
He looked at the floor.
Margaret thought of the upstairs guest room.
Fresh sheets.
A narrow closet.
The old quilt her sister had made.
The offer formed instantly.
You can stay here.
It pressed against the back of her teeth.
Daniel was frightened.
May you like
He might be threatened.
He was still her son.
