Chapter 3 - THE STORY LENORA TOLD FIRST
The police came in already expecting a dangerous woman.
They just expected that woman to be Elise.
Officer Hall kept one hand near his belt as Lenora spoke first. She said Elise had been "unstable since the birth." She said I had attacked her after she tried to rescue Owen from an unsafe situation. She said the baby had been left alone in the laundry room.
Then she pointed at the bruise near her temple.
"Her sister hit me with a vase."
I touched my swollen mouth. "After she hit me and grabbed the baby."
Elise interrupted. "Why did you tell them I was unstable?"
Lenora's answer came too quickly. "Because you are."
Daniel stepped between them. "My mother had Owen inside the washer when Claire found them."
The officer asked if the machine was running. It wasn't. I told him I heard Owen crying before I saw the lid lifting.
Then Daniel remembered the nursery camera.
We had installed a smart monitor two weeks before Owen was born. It recorded motion in the hallway and laundry-room doorway because the nursery shared that corridor.
Daniel opened the app.
"No connection," he said.
Elise stared at him. "It was working this morning."
Officer Hall asked to see the router.
The power cable had been pulled from the wall.
Lenora folded her arms. "Convenient."
I wanted to scream.
Instead, Elise walked to the kitchen counter and checked the home-security panel. The front-door camera still had local storage.
At 6:14 p.m., Lenora entered the house.
At 6:16, she walked down the hall carrying Owen.
At 6:18, the security feed went black.
Officer Hall's expression changed.
"Mrs. Voss, you told dispatch you arrived after hearing the baby crying."
Lenora said nothing.
Then the officer's radio crackled.
A second voice came through.
"Unit Twelve, be advised. Child Protective Services is en route. We have an open emergency report involving this infant."
Elise whispered, "Open report?"
May you like
Officer Hall looked at his screen.
"It was filed yesterday."
