Chapter 4 - The Alibi in the Bedroom
By noon, police had closed the mansion's east wing. Graham insisted on returning with Detective Sloane while Lena stayed at the hospital.
Victoria stood in the foyer beside her attorney, Peter Kessler, wearing a charcoal suit and a face arranged into patient sorrow.
“My client is being blamed for a child's imagination,” Kessler announced.
“Your client's story will have to survive the evidence,” Mara replied.
The security manager opened his laptop at the dining table. A camera showed Ellie walking toward the laundry hallway at 8:41. Then the screen froze on a perfectly still image of the corridor.
At 9:19, movement returned.
“Nobody went in or out for thirty-eight minutes?” Graham asked.
“That's what the recording says,” the manager replied.
Mara pointed at the screen. “The shadow on that wall doesn't move. This isn't live footage. Someone replaced it with a still frame.”
The manager swallowed. “Only an administrator could do that.”
“Who has administrator access?”
“Mr. Whitlock. Mrs. Whitlock. And Mr. Crane.”
Graham looked at Victoria. “You told me Elliot hadn't been here in weeks.”
“He stopped by this morning to discuss the foundation,” she admitted. “I forgot.”
“You forgot?”
“Graham, our daughter is in a hospital. Must you interrogate me?”
Mara requested the bedroom camera log. Victoria's private wing had no cameras, but the smart lock recorded every door opening. Her bedroom had been opened at 8:57, not at 8:00 as she claimed.
“And you stayed inside until Graham shouted?” Mara asked.
“Yes.”
The detective leaned closer to the screen. “Then explain why the bedroom lock was opened from the inside at 9:06.”
Victoria's attorney reached for his briefcase.
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But Graham had already seen the username attached to that entry.
It was CLAIRE.WHITLOCK.
