Chapter 5 - The Camera That Went Dark
Denise met Malcolm at a coffee shop near the hospital. She refused to come to my room. "Sloane has friends in every charity office in this city," she told him over speakerphone. "I can't afford another lie about me."
Denise had been the housekeeper for six years. In April, she found Maya crying behind the laundry door. When she asked why, Maya said she'd dropped a plate. Denise had photographed an oval bruise on the girl's upper arm. Two days later Sloane accused Denise of stealing a bracelet and dismissed her.
"Did you take it?" Malcolm asked.
"The bracelet was in Sloane's jewelry drawer. Her assistant admitted finding it. Your wife still told my agency not to place me anywhere."
The camera was worse. There were two separate systems: a live app Sloane could turn off, and a local recorder in the locked utility cabinet. Denise had watched a technician install both when the house was renovated.
"The technician told me it keeps a copy when the Wi-Fi fails," Denise said. "Unless someone goes into the cabinet and wipes it."
Malcolm asked for the cabinet code. Denise didn't know it, but she remembered a narrow scratch across its silver lock. Sloane once tried to pry it open after an argument with his mother.
He drove straight home, then called Alvarez rather than forcing it open himself. I was proud of him for that. A desperate person can ruin evidence faster than a clever criminal.
Meanwhile, I received a message from Sloane: I HOPE YOU REST. MALCOLM IS UPSET. PLEASE DON'T MAKE MAYA'S LIFE HARDER WITH STORIES YOU CAN'T PROVE.
I showed it to the nurse, who helped me save it for Alvarez. Then I began a list of dates on the back of a hospital menu: the first time Sloane hid my car keys, the birthday dinner when Maya wasn't allowed dessert, the night I heard crying through the vent.
My phone chimed again. It was Denise.
THE TECHNICIAN'S NAME IS BEN CARTER. HE TOLD ME HE KEPT A SERVICE COPY.
May you like
Then came a second message.
SLOANE IS ON HER WAY TO HIS OFFICE RIGHT NOW.
