My eyes stung when I saw the blue thread Madison had chosen from her small craft box on the living room floor.
Daniel stared at the bag, his index finger hovering over his watch face.
“Our daughter makes those,” Daniel said, his delivery turning flat and cold. “Elena must have dropped it when she went out to water the plants. It has nothing to do with her falling down the stairs.”
Dr. Morris reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a manila folder, setting it down next to the plastic bag.
“The X-rays show three separate healed fractures,” Dr. Morris said, her measured, clinical authority cutting through the room. “One on the left wrist from two years ago. Two on the ribcage from last winter. They do not match a single fall.”
“She is clumsy,” Daniel said, his voice rising slightly. “She hikes. She falls. Ask her.”
Officer Vance did not look at me. He looked at Patricia.
“Ma’am, we need to talk about your personal calendar,” Vance said, pulling a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. “The one you had in your bag earlier.”
Patricia’s hand stopped moving on her rosary.
“My calendar is private,” she whispered.
“Your partner at the office was very helpful, sir,” Vance said to Daniel. “And your mother’s calendar has three specific dates marked with notations about Elena’s medical recovery. They match the dates of the older hospital visits exactly.”
Daniel turned to his mother, his face turning the color of dry plaster.
“Mother?” he said.
“I had to keep a record, Daniel,” Patricia whispered, her face shrinking into her collar. “To protect the family name. In case she ever tried to make a scene.”
“We also spoke to your neighbor, Mr. Henderson,” Officer Vance said.
Daniel laughed, a short, dry sound that had no humor in it.
“Henderson has a dummy camera,” Daniel said. “It is a plastic toy to keep teenagers away from his pool.”
“He upgraded the system three weeks ago,” Vance said. “The hard drive was scheduled to overwrite the file at seven tonight. We secured the digital copy an hour ago.”
The room went completely silent, save for the hum of the air conditioning vent overhead.
“We have the patio recording, sir, and it does not show a fall down the stairs,” Vance said.
Daniel’s eyes darted from the officer to the plastic evidence bag containing my daughter’s silver beads.
