Chương 10
“Unable because he moved?” Daniel asked.
“Unable for any reason.”
“That letter doesn’t exist.”
“I believed it might.”
“Why?”
“Because Nora told me.”
“When?”
“Sixteen days before her death.”
“What exactly did she say?”
Margaret looked at him. “She said, ‘I put it in writing so nobody can pretend we never talked about it.’”
Daniel felt the words before he believed them.
Nora spoke that way. Directly, with a dryness that made accusation sound like housekeeping.
“What were you talking about?”
Margaret’s gaze shifted to Malcolm.
He said, “You can answer.”
“We had disagreed about your refusal to update the guardianship papers after Anna ended her engagement.”
Daniel frowned. “What?”
“Nora worried Anna’s life was unstable.”
“Anna’s engagement ended four years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Nora and I updated our wills after that.”
“I did not know.”
“You never asked.”
“I did ask. Nora said she had handled it.”
“And she had.”
“Then why was the letter missing?”
“Because maybe there was no letter.”
Margaret’s fingers pressed together. “She said there was.”
Detective Bell said, “How does Mr. Mercer enter this?”
“Charles has performed investigative work for former clients and acquaintances. I asked him to determine whether a private letter or later draft existed among the stored documents.”
“By searching your son’s home?”
“My personal papers are stored there.”
“In his office.”
“In the room that was formerly my husband’s study.”
Daniel leaned forward. “You gave Mercer a code to my house. You had Laura disable my cameras. You sent him into my office while I was home.”
“I asked him to review boxes belonging to me.”
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“Did he open my desk?”
Margaret’s silence answered.
“Did he access my computer?”
“No.”
“Did he photograph anything?”
Malcolm intervened. “Any materials collected are subject to review.”
Detective Bell looked at him. “Not if they were obtained during unauthorized access related to an investigation involving child endangerment.”
“No one authorized child endangerment,” Malcolm said.
Margaret’s control fractured at the edges. “Charles did not put Emily in that freezer.”
“How do you know?” Daniel asked.
“Because he left before it happened.”
“You called him back before I called 911.”
“Laura found his folder.”
“Where?”
“On the small table outside my sitting room.”
“Emily said she saw him in your room.”
“She likely did.”
“Why did you deny it?”
“I was frightened.”
Daniel stared at her.
Margaret looked almost offended by her own admission.
“I entered the kitchen,” she said, “and saw you holding Emily beside the freezer. I heard her identify Charles’s vehicle. For a moment, I understood how everything would look.”
“How it would look.”
“Yes.”
“Not what happened to her.”
“Do not do that.”
“Do what?”
“Turn every imperfect sentence into evidence that I do not love my granddaughter.”
Daniel’s chair moved slightly beneath him.
Detective Bell said, “Mrs. Hayes, where were you between five twenty and five thirty-seven?”
“In my suite.”
“Your attorney says the call ended at five twenty-nine.”
“I remained there afterward.”
“Alone?”
“For several minutes.”
“Then?”
“Laura entered with Charles’s folder. We looked through it. I told her to call him. She said I should do it because he would answer me faster. I texted him.”
“What time?”
“Five thirty-three, apparently.”
“Then what?”
“We heard Daniel shouting Emily’s name.”
Daniel looked up. “I called her name before I opened the freezer.”
“Yes.”
“You heard that from upstairs.”
“The house carries sound.”
“Why did it take you four minutes to come down?”
Margaret glanced toward Malcolm.
Daniel’s pulse began to pound in his jaw.
Detective Bell repeated, “Why didn’t you go downstairs immediately?”
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“I was reading the folder.”
“What was in it?”
She did not answer.
Malcolm opened the leather portfolio and removed a clear document sleeve. Inside was a photograph of a printed email.
He placed it on the table.
The email was from Daniel to the Seattle firm. It discussed school districts, relocation timing, and the possibility of beginning work in September.
Someone had photographed the screen of Daniel’s office computer.
The message had never been sent.
It was a draft.
Daniel looked at his mother.
“You entered my password.”
“I did not,” she said.
“Mercer?”
“He photographed the screen. The computer was open.”
“I locked it before I took the call.”
“Then perhaps it had not completed the process.”
“You read this while Emily was knocking.”
Margaret’s face turned pale.
“I did not know she was in danger.”
“You heard me call her.”
“I heard your voice. I did not understand the words.”
“You said you heard me shouting her name.”
“I understood that afterward.”
Detective Bell lifted one hand. “Let’s slow down.”
“No,” Daniel said. “She had a photograph proving I might move, and that mattered more than whatever was happening downstairs.”
Margaret’s voice sharpened. “I remained upstairs for less than four minutes.”
“Fourteen minutes was enough for Emily to believe she was going to die.”
Malcolm said, “Daniel.”
“Don’t use my name like we’re at the lake.”
The older man lowered his gaze.
Detective Bell studied the email. “Who took this photograph?”
“Charles,” Margaret said.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel laughed once. “Now you don’t know.”
Margaret’s lips compressed.
Bell said, “Did Mr. Mercer speak to Emily?”
“He says he did not.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“I did not see him speak to her.”
“Did you?”
Margaret blinked. “Did I what?”
“Speak to Emily about a game.”
“No.”
“Did Ms. Bennett?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you touch the freezer yesterday?”
“No.”
“Your fingerprints were found on the lid and handle.”
For the first time, Margaret looked frightened rather than offended.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel watched her.
Margaret turned to him as if he could correct the room. “I never use that freezer.”
“You complained about it every week.”
“I may have moved something placed on top.”
“Nothing is kept on top.”
“I don’t remember.”
Detective Bell said, “When did you last open it?”
May you like
“I told you, I do not use it.”
“Could you have opened it for any reason yesterday?”
