Chapter 8 - The Camera That Was Supposed to Be Off.
Claire had seen the hallway camera dozens of times.
Robert installed it after a package disappeared from the porch and later expanded the system throughout the house.
He bragged constantly about it.
He could check the driveway from his golf club.
He could see the kitchen from his office.
He could receive alerts whenever the upstairs landing detected movement.
Yet during his first police interview, Robert had said the upstairs camera had been disabled for months.
The photograph proved otherwise.
Ruiz explained how officers found it.
"Robert gave consent for us to inspect the security system because he insisted it would support his story."
Claire almost could not believe it.
"He thought the camera was off."
"Apparently."
"But it wasn't."
"Not completely."
The live video feed had been disabled.
Motion snapshots were still being uploaded automatically to the security account.
Robert had forgotten about that feature.
Claire stared at the image again.
The timestamp was six minutes before Lily's outgoing call to her.
"Are there more?"
Ruiz nodded.
"Several."
She did not show Claire everything.
She did show her three images relevant to the timeline.
The first showed Patricia guiding Lily upstairs.
The second showed Robert entering the hallway several minutes later.
The third showed him leaving the guest-room area while holding Lily's phone.
None showed what occurred inside the room.
They did not need to.
They proved both grandparents had lied about where they had been and what they had handled.
Claire felt a terrible calm settle over her.
"Why lie if the truth was harmless?"
Ruiz answered carefully.
"That's a question we intend to ask them."
Patricia's attorney answered first.
By evening, he issued a statement to family members claiming everyone was drawing conclusions from an unfortunate accident.
Claire learned about it because relatives began texting her.
Some messages were supportive.
Others were not.
PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BECOME PUBLIC.
YOUR IN-LAWS ARE GOOD PEOPLE.
THINK ABOUT THE DAMAGE TO THE FAMILY.
Claire stared at those messages with disbelief.
No one wrote about the damage to Lily.
Everyone seemed worried about the family name, the anniversary party, the neighbors, Robert's career, Patricia's church group, and what people might say.
Claire finally shut off her phone.
Maya sat nearby.
"You don't owe anyone updates."
Claire nodded.
"They want me to make this comfortable for them."
"You don't have to."
Lily stirred in bed.
Claire moved beside her.
"Mom?"
"I'm here."
"Did Grandma say sorry?"
Claire froze.
"No."
Lily looked confused rather than angry.
"She said I made her mad."
Claire's chest tightened.
She kept her voice soft.
"You are not responsible for an adult's anger."
Lily hugged the rabbit.
"I only wanted to call you."
Claire held her hand.
"You should always be allowed to call me."
Lily nodded.
Then she said something that made Claire glance toward the door.
"Grandpa said the camera couldn't see inside."
Claire's heartbeat accelerated.
"When did he say that?"
Lily's eyes filled with uncertainty.
"Before he took my phone."
Claire did not ask anything else.
She pressed the call button for the nurse and requested Detective Ruiz.
May you like
Because Robert had not merely known about the camera.
He had been thinking about exactly what it could not see.
