Chapter 11 - Seven Minutes
Richard did not come willingly this time.
Police brought him in for questioning.
Nathan waited at Beth’s house while rain tapped the kitchen window.
Lily colored a dog purple.
Noah slept on the couch.
The world kept offering ordinary things.
A dishwasher to empty.
A permission slip.
A child asking whether dogs could wear rain boots.
Nathan answered yes.
Then his phone rang.
Shaw.
Richard had admitted receiving Claire’s call.
She had said Vanessa was following her.
He had told her to pull over so they could talk.
Seven minutes later, Claire’s phone called him again.
That call lasted forty-three seconds.
Richard had not called emergency services.
A passing motorist reported the crash afterward.
Nathan stepped into the laundry room and closed the door.
“Why?”
“His account is that he panicked.”
“What did she say?”
“He says she was hurt. He says he couldn’t understand everything.”
Nathan bent forward until his forehead touched the washing machine.
The metal was cold.
“Did he go there?”
“He says Vanessa called him and told him there had been an accident. We’re comparing his statements with the available records.”
Nathan squeezed his eyes shut.
There was no sentence large enough for what his father had done.
No argument that could reach back four years and put a phone in his hand.
That evening, Richard left another voicemail through his attorney.
Nathan’s lawyer sent a transcript.
I never wanted Claire hurt. I thought calling the police would destroy your life too. Vanessa said Claire was already gone.
Nathan read it once.
Then he went upstairs to check on Lily.
She was awake.
“Did you catch the bad people?” she asked.
“We’re working on finding out exactly what happened.”
“Did I get Mommy in trouble?”
He sat beside her.
“No.”
“She said not to tell.”
“Sometimes grown-ups say things because they’re scared. You did nothing wrong.”
Lily picked at a loose thread on her blanket.
“Vanessa said Mommy wouldn’t have left if I’d been quieter.”
Nathan felt something inside him go white and hot.
He kept his voice steady for his daughter.
“Your mom loved you. Being loud didn’t make her leave. Spilling things didn’t make her leave. Nothing you did caused what happened.”
Lily searched his face.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She reached for him.
He held her until her breathing slowed.
Downstairs, Beth waited with his phone.
His attorney had sent a new message.
Vanessa’s lawyer had requested an emergency hearing.
She wanted immediate access to Noah.
Attached was a sworn statement accusing Nathan of becoming unstable.
May you like
And beneath it sat a photograph of Nathan gripping Vanessa’s arm.
A photograph he had never seen before.
