Chapter 3 - Thirteen Missing Minutes
Detective Rowan Park came to the hospital before dinner. He listened without interrupting, then asked for the orange top.
"I gave it to Lena," I said. "She put it in a clean paper bag."
"Good. Keep everything exactly as it is."
Margaret stood beside the window. "This is absurd. A child had an accident."
"Possibly," Park said. "That's what we're checking."
He asked to review the cameras around Margaret's lakeside house. She handed him her phone with an expression that made me want to throw it.
"The system was offline for a while," she said. "Bad internet out here."
Park scrolled. "From 3:04 to 3:17."
My mouth went dry. Evie had gone into the pool during that exact gap.
"A storm could do that," Margaret offered.
"The sky was clear," Lena said.
Margaret turned on her. "Must you contradict every word I say?"
Park asked whether anyone else had access to the security settings. Margaret said no. Daniel said he'd forgotten the password months ago.
After the detective left, Margaret leaned toward me.
"Do you understand what you're doing? You're turning a terrible afternoon into a family scandal."
"A little girl almost died. That's already terrible."
"Then maybe you should have watched your child."
Daniel caught my arm before I could answer. His hand was shaking. "Nora, please. Not here."
At nine that night, Lena sent me a photo. It showed Evie's orange top hanging on the pool-house hook at 2:51 p.m. The padded sides were plainly visible.
Under the picture she wrote: I took this while recording a leak for maintenance.
May you like
A second message followed.
I also saw Mrs. Bell take it off the hook. She was alone.
