Chapter 10 - BEFORE THE THEFT
The times did not prove everything by themselves.
Claire could claim she noticed the loss before calling the police.
The detective said so, and Graham listened.
He was finished turning convenient facts into complete stories.
But the insurance claim said something more specific.
I discovered the bracelet in the employee's personal bag at approximately 1:10 p.m. today.
A claim describing a discovery that had not yet happened.
The insurer preserved the submitted form and its records.
Benton Estate Jewelry supplied sales documents and the identification Claire had shown.
The necklace and ring had both left her possession weeks before Monday.
They had never been available for Maya to steal that afternoon.
Graham sat across from the detective while the evidence settled into a shape he could no longer soften.
“Did she plan all of this?”
“We're following what we can establish,” the detective said.
“Your son's account matters.
So do the documents.
We'll keep those separate until the facts connect them.”
At Rosa's apartment, Maya received an email from a cleaning agency.
They could not move forward while the accusation remained unresolved.
She closed the laptop.
Rosa put a hand on her shoulder.
“Denise says the evidence is getting stronger.”
“My rent doesn't care.”
It came out harsher than she intended.
She covered her face.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't apologize for being scared.”
Graham sent the wages owed under Maya's employment agreement through Denise, along with reimbursement for missing personal items.
He asked whether he could also cover temporary housing without conditions.
Maya agreed only after Denise put the terms in writing.
She chose the apartment herself.
A small place above a bakery, with an uneven kitchen floor and a door only she could lock.
That night, she took Luke's paper dinosaur from her coat.
One leg had bent.
She straightened it carefully.
Her phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
“Maya?”
Owen's whisper.
She sat upright.
“Are you with your dad?”
“No.
Mom picked us up from after-school.”
Behind him, Luke was crying.
“Mom says we're going on a trip.
She says Dad won't want us after what I did.”
May you like
Then Claire's voice cut through the line.
“Who are you talking to?”
