Chapter 14 - The Announcement
The news clip was only ninety seconds long. West stood in front of a glossy rendering of new lakefront homes and talked about jobs, progress, and "a property assembled with the cooperation of local families."
Willow Point was visible behind his shoulder.
I called Becca. She was furious.
"No sale has occurred," she said. "I checked the public records this morning. The trust still owns the property."
Priya sent the station and West's firm a formal correction. Park asked for a copy of the broadcast. The announcement might have been marketing bravado, but it could also mislead potential buyers and pressure us into a decision.
Elaine called me from an unfamiliar phone.
"We could have paid off the cottage's repairs," she said. "You have no idea what it's costing us."
"It's not yours to sell."
"I raised you. I kept this family together after Nora died."
"Wren lost her mother. You took her pictures. You scared her into silence."
"Celia was supposed to handle the girl," Elaine snapped.
The words sat between us.
"Handle her?" I repeated.
Elaine didn't answer.
"Were you there when the soup hit her?"
"You saw me in the kitchen."
"You didn't stand up."
"I didn't know she'd use something hot."
I closed my eyes. "But you knew she was going to do something."
Elaine began to cry. For the first time in my life, I didn't hurry to comfort her.
"I need you to tell the investigators what you know," I said. "And you will stay away from Wren."
May you like
After the call, Rose held out her notebook. She'd found an old entry I'd overlooked: Celia had told Wren to practice spilling cold water on her own sweater for a video.
The date was three days before the soup attack.
