Chapter 10 - What the Camera Saw
Grant didn't answer.
He sent the message to Ruiz and put his phone away.
At home, Rose stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
Her eyes followed the hall toward Vanessa's old room.
“Can I sleep where you are?”
“Tonight, yes. We'll put your little mattress beside my bed.”
“Just tonight?”
“We'll talk about tomorrow when it comes.”
He wouldn't promise a miracle.
He could promise the next safe night.
Later, while Nora sat with Rose, Ruiz called.
She had reviewed the footage with investigators and spoken again with the witnesses.
“Vanessa has been arrested,” she said.
“The charges will be handled by the prosecutor. I'll explain what happens next as the case moves.”
Grant sat on the kitchen floor because the chair seemed too far away.
“Tell me what happened.”
Ruiz did.
The service door had opened.
Rose had stepped onto the landing after Vanessa, still holding the flowers.
Vanessa had turned toward her.
Her hand had closed around Rose's upper arm.
Then she'd pushed her away.
Rose had lost her balance at the top step.
For several seconds afterward, Vanessa stood above her.
She bent, picked up a loose rose from the landing, and went back inside.
The door shut.
It stayed shut until Grant opened it.
“There's no audio on that camera,” Ruiz said.
“But the movement is visible.”
Grant pressed his palm against the cold tile.
The flower.
She had picked up the flower.
He thanked the detective because he couldn't find any other words.
That night, Rose spilled water across his bedside table.
She jerked backward so quickly she bumped her cast against the mattress.
“Sorry. Sorry. I can clean it.”
Grant picked up a towel.
“It's water.”
Her mouth shook.
“Just water, baby. Watch.”
He wiped the table, dropped the towel into a basket, and sat down.
“All done.”
She watched the doorway as if the real consequence might still be coming.
After she fell asleep, Grant found an old message thread while collecting records for the detective.
Nora had sent a voice message seven weeks earlier.
Rose was audible in the background.
May you like
Then his own voice began in the next recording.
“Tell Rose she needs to stop making everything so difficult.”
