Chapter 2 - The Video Doesn't Blink
The video had no sound, but it didn't need any. Daniel enlarged the image with two fingers. Vanessa stood at the drinks table, glanced toward the kitchen window, and pulled a small object from her pocket. She held it over his glass. A few seconds later, she returned the object to her dress and carried the tea toward the grill.
“That's not what it looks like,” Vanessa said.
“What does it look like?” Daniel asked quietly.
She looked around at the guests, searching for someone who would rescue her from the question. Daniel's sister, Rachel, had already put down her plate. His neighbor Mr. Ellis stood with his phone in his hand, uncertain whether to call for help.
Jake kept his eyes on the screen. “I saw her do it through the glass door. I didn't know what was in the dropper. I just knew she wasn't supposed to be putting anything in your drink.”
Daniel set the phone on the outdoor table and called emergency services. He told the dispatcher there might have been an attempt to poison a drink and asked for medical help and police. Vanessa's mouth fell open.
“You're calling the police on your wife?”
“I'm calling them because my son believes you tried to hurt me, and the video shows you tampering with my drink.”
“I was adding lemon extract!” she snapped. “I wanted the tea to taste better.”
“Then you won't mind telling that to the officers.”
Vanessa's eyes flicked toward the side gate. Jake noticed. So did Rachel, who stepped away from the gate and quietly stood in front of it.
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As a paramedic checked Daniel and explained that he should not eat or drink anything until the officers arrived, Vanessa leaned toward Jake and whispered, “You have no idea what you've just done.”
She wasn't upset because he'd embarrassed her. She was afraid because he'd ruined something that had been planned.
