Chapter 6 - THREE MINUTES
Daniel called the security company from the dining room.
An officer stood nearby while he verified the account.
“Yes,” he said. “Preserve whatever records you have. Don’t delete anything.”
Vanessa walked into the doorway.
“I turned the camera off because I was changing.”
“Outside?”
“I didn’t want employees watching me.”
“You were sitting by the pool.”
“You weren’t here.”
There it was.
The one thing she could say that he couldn’t argue with.
He hadn’t been there.
He had missed dinner on Tuesday.
And Thursday.
He had flown to Chicago after promising to attend Lily’s school concert.
He had accepted photographs instead of showing up.
Officer Bennett gently took the phone when the security representative needed to explain how the records could be requested.
Daniel stepped into the kitchen.
Mrs. Brooks stood beside the broken frame, gathering glass into a dustpan.
“Leave that,” he said.
She stopped.
“How long?”
Her shoulders fell.
“I don’t know when it started.”
“What did you see?”
“Sharp words. Taking things away. Making her sit by herself.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The morning you left for Denver. I said Lily didn’t seem happy.”
He remembered.
He had been looking for his passport.
Children have moods, he’d answered. Vanessa’s doing her best.
Mrs. Brooks’s eyes filled.
“I should’ve said it plainly.”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
He let the word remain.
Then he added, “So should I.”
His phone rang.
Kate.
“They’ve examined her. She’s okay to come home with us. The doctor is documenting the mark.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Put her on.”
There was a rustle.
“Daddy?”
“I’m coming.”
“Can I sleep at Aunt Kate’s?”
“Of course.”
“With you?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Can we leave the lights on?”
“As many as you want.”
When the call ended, Rosa was standing in the kitchen doorway.
Vanessa appeared behind her.
“Rosa’s tired,” she said. “She wants to go home.”
Rosa stared at Daniel.
Her lips trembled.
Then she reached into her apron.
“I didn’t tell the officer everything.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Rosa.”
The nanny flinched.
Daniel moved between them.
Rosa held out a folded envelope.
Inside was a photograph of her teenage son leaving school.
May you like
On the back, in Vanessa’s handwriting, were four words.
KEEP OUR FAMILY PRIVATE.
