Chapter 8 - The Rescue That Never Happened
For three hours, I tried not to imagine Evie waiting underwater for a grandmother who had promised to save her.
Detective Park sent a child-interview specialist the next morning. She spoke with Evie gently, without Daniel or me putting words in her mouth. Afterward, she told us only that Evie had described being promised a "big rescue" if she followed Grandma's instructions.
"A rescue from what?" Daniel asked.
"We're still working that out," Park said.
I went to Margaret's house with a deputy to collect Evie's clothes. Margaret had been told to stay away during the visit. Yet her perfume seemed to hang in every room.
At the pool, the water was blue and clean. I hated it for looking innocent.
Lena met us by the garden door. "The staff schedule changed on the morning of the accident," she said. "I was sent upstairs. Caleb was sent to town. The afternoon swim instructor was canceled."
"Who changed it?"
"Mrs. Bell."
A gardener named Caleb confirmed he had been ordered to buy replacement filters from a store forty minutes away, even though a sealed box of filters already sat in the supply closet. He'd kept the receipt because Margaret demanded one for everything.
I pictured the house emptying, one person at a time, until only Margaret and Evie remained near the pool.
Then Lena showed us a calendar invitation she had received by mistake. The title read Family Safety Demonstration, 3:15 p.m. It had been canceled minutes after the ambulance arrived.
The guest list included an unfamiliar name: Mason Reed.
"Who's Mason?" I asked.
May you like
Lena looked from me to the detective.
"He's a private swim instructor," she said. "Mrs. Bell hired him to film something that afternoon."
