Chapter 6 - The Report
Anna sat at the kitchen table while another officer spoke with Richard in the study. Vanessa stayed near Leo, performing concern with such precision it made Anna sick.
“Have you ever struck Leo?” Daniels asked.
“No.”
“Grabbed him?”
“To keep him from running into the street once.”
“Any disciplinary issues?”
“I don’t discipline him. I redirect him.”
Daniels studied her. “The caller said you become angry when the child prefers his stepmother.”
Anna nearly choked. “Leo does not prefer Vanessa.”
“Sorry. I mean, this report is backwards.”
“Backwards how?”
Anna leaned forward. “I believe Vanessa pushed him.”
“Did you see physical contact?”
“I saw her hand near his back, and then he fell.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
“Leo said she pushed him.”
“He’s two.”
Daniels closed the notebook. “Any video?”
“Maybe.”
Across the room, Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
Anna told him about the disconnected camera and missing files. She did not mention the memory card. Without it, the story sounded too convenient.
Daniels went to speak with Richard.
Vanessa approached Anna quietly.
“You should leave before this gets ugly.”
“It’s already ugly.”
“You have no idea.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Anna stared at her. “Why are you doing this?”
Vanessa’s face remained calm.
Then she said, “Because people believe the mother before they believe the help.”
“You’re not his mother.”
For one second, rage flashed in Vanessa’s eyes.
Then Officer Daniels called her name.
She turned sweet again.
That night, Richard insisted Anna stay in the guest room until the police decided whether Leo could remain in the home during the investigation.
At 1:13 a.m., Anna woke to a soft knock.
Leo stood in the hallway clutching his dinosaur.
“Hey, buddy. What are you doing up?”
He held out the toy.
Something was taped beneath its belly.
The missing memory card.
Anna stopped breathing.
Leo whispered, “Mama hide.”
May you like
Anna’s blood ran cold.
Leo’s biological mother had been dead for eighteen months.
