Chương 7
“Could that happen normally?”
“Yes.”
“Did it?”
“Sometimes. But we’re looking at whether this interruption was caused manually.”
Rachel swallowed.
“David knows electrical systems.”
“He runs a flooring company.”
“He used to work with Mark.”
“We know.”
Rachel stared at the time.
11:02.
Abby’s voice message was sent at 10:58.
Rachel had found her at 11:09.
The official timeline suddenly felt too narrow to breathe inside.
“What did the camera show before it went off?”
Ortiz hesitated.
“You’ve seen the clip of him approaching Abby.”
“Yes.”
“Another clip was recovered.”
Rachel gripped the kitchen counter.
“What?”
“The system captured motion at 11:01.”
“Show me.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“We’re still examining it.”
“Lena.”
It was the first time Rachel had used the detective’s first name.
Ortiz looked at her.
“Does it show Abby?”
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
“Does it show David?”
“A person consistent with the first individual.”
“Doing what?”
Ortiz paused.
“Going inside through the patio door.”
“With Abby?”
“Yes.”
Rachel opened her eyes.
“Then what?”
“The recording stops.”
For the next week, Rachel learned how much uncertainty could fit inside a fact.
David had flown from Hawaii to California.
Fact.
He had not gone to Maui.
Fact.
His credit card showed a purchase at a gas station nineteen miles from Rachel’s house at 9:48 p.m.
Fact.
A traffic camera captured a rental sedan of the same make and color traveling toward her neighborhood.
Fact.
The rental company confirmed he had rented the vehicle using his driver’s license.
Fact.
His attorney nevertheless insisted there was no proof David was the person in Rachel’s backyard.
The turquoise shirt had been mass-produced.
The video did not show a clear face.
Abby’s voice message established what a frightened seven-year-old believed she saw, not necessarily what was there.
Rachel listened to Ortiz explain the distinction and wanted to throw something.
Instead she folded a grocery receipt into smaller and smaller squares.
“What about the safe?”
“No usable prints beyond yours and people who had legitimate reasons to be in the house.”
“Coins?”
“Nothing yet.”
“What about the second clip?”
“Still not something I can discuss.”
Rachel unfolded the receipt.
Then folded it again.
“His lawyer is going to say Abby imagined him.”
“His lawyer may say many things.”
“She knew her uncle.”
“I know.”
“That sounds like you don’t believe her.”
Ortiz leaned back.
They were sitting in a small interview room at the police station because Rachel had begun showing up often enough that the receptionist knew her coffee order.
“I believe Abby believed she saw David.”
Rachel pushed the receipt across the table.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Making language smaller than reality.”
Ortiz looked at the folded paper.
“No. I’m making it strong enough to carry reality.”
Rachel hated that too.
Vanessa came to Rachel’s house on a rainy Thursday carrying nothing.
No food.
No flowers.
Rachel appreciated that.
She nearly did not let her in anyway.
Vanessa stood on the porch getting wet.
“Five minutes.”
Rachel stepped aside.
Vanessa entered.
Her hair was damp around her shoulders.
She looked toward the empty hook where Abby’s backpack used to hang.
Rachel had finally moved it upstairs.
“Police talked to me again.”
“I assumed they would.”
“I gave them my phone.”
Rachel watched her.
“Voluntarily?”
“Yes.”
“David know?”
“No.”
“You’re still talking to him?”
Vanessa looked offended.
Then ashamed.
“He called.”
“And you answered.”
“He’s my husband.”
“He might have killed my child.”
“I know.”
The words came out louder than Vanessa intended.
She lowered her voice.
“I know.”
Rachel folded her arms.
“What did he want?”
“He wanted me to confirm he told me he was coming back for business documents.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“Did you tell the police?”
“Yes.”
Rachel studied her.
Vanessa had always cared about appearing composed. Even at their father’s funeral she had reapplied lipstick in the bathroom because, as she put it, grief didn’t require looking dehydrated.
Now she looked exhausted.
“What else?”
Vanessa reached into her purse.
She removed a hotel envelope.
Inside was a folded receipt.
“I found this in his suitcase.”
Rachel did not take it.
“What is it?”
“Parking receipt.”
“For what?”
“Airport parking here. Tuesday night.”
“That isn’t surprising anymore.”
“Look at the time.”
Rachel took it.
8:57 p.m.
Entry.
12:06 a.m.
Exit.
“That places the rental car?”
“It places a car in the garage.”
“Give it to Ortiz.”
“I will.”
Rachel handed it back.
Vanessa did not put it away.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there was.
People always said that after they had already delayed the thing that mattered.
Rachel waited.
Vanessa stared at the receipt.
“David called me Wednesday morning from the airport.”
“What time?”
“Six fourteen.”
“He was flying back.”
“Yes.”
“He told me he’d fixed the business problem.”
Rachel said nothing.
Vanessa continued.
“He said something strange.”
“What?”
“He asked if the pool camera still worked.”
Rachel felt cold.
“What exactly did he say?”
“He said, ‘Does Rachel still have that camera over the pool?’”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“I forgot.”
Rachel stared at her.
“You forgot.”
“I had just found out Abby was dead. David came back that evening. You were calling. Police were calling. I—”
“You forgot the man who secretly left Hawaii asked whether there was a camera pointed at the place where my daughter died?”
“It didn’t mean anything then.”
“That is the definition of something you tell police.”
“I know.”
Rachel walked away.
She stopped at the window.
Rain tapped softly against the glass.
“Get out.”
“Rachel.”
“Give that receipt to Ortiz and get out.”
“I’m trying.”
Rachel turned.
“No. You’re arriving at the truth in pieces small enough that you can still live with yourself.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
“That isn’t fair.”
“There’s that word again.”
“I loved Abby.”
Rachel’s anger broke loose.
“Then why did protecting David come first?”
Vanessa stood very still.
Rachel heard her own breathing.
She had promised herself she would never scream at Vanessa.
May you like
She had almost succeeded.
Vanessa whispered, “Because I didn’t know she needed protecting from him.”
