Chapter 6 - The Phone in the Clutch.
The second phone stopped ringing the moment Reese lifted it from Celeste's clutch.
No one moved.
The device was small, black, and inexpensive, the kind sold without a contract at convenience stores and airport kiosks.
Celeste stared at it as if it had appeared by magic.
"That is not mine."
Reese did not touch the screen.
"It was in your purse."
"Someone put it there."
Daniel gave a short, humorless laugh.
"Of course they did."
Celeste snapped toward him.
"You think she couldn't?"
She pointed at Evelyn.
"She has been arranging this from the beginning."
Evelyn stayed seated.
"I was at the hospital while your purse was here."
Celeste hesitated.
"Lillian could have done it."
The accusation hit the older woman like a slap made of words.
Lillian's face went cold.
"After everything I have done for you?"
"Then stop acting like I'm already guilty."
Reese sealed the phone in an evidence bag.
"No one is deciding anything in this room."
He looked at Celeste.
"But I am going to find out who activated this device and what numbers it contacted."
Celeste folded her arms.
"Do what you want."
The arrogance returned too quickly.
Evelyn noticed it.
So did Reese.
He turned to Lillian.
"I also need permission to examine the security system's local cache."
"You have it."
Celeste's head snapped around.
"Why?"
Lillian did not look at her.
"Because I am tired of not knowing what happened inside my own house."
The smart-home installer arrived before noon.
He explained that the staircase camera sent live video to the central server but also stored brief motion snapshots in a local cache for system diagnostics.
Turning off the live feed did not always erase those images.
Celeste became visibly restless.
"This is turning into a circus."
Reese remained focused on the installer.
"How long does the cache last?"
"Usually twenty-four hours unless it is manually cleared."
The installer opened the maintenance panel.
A password prompt appeared.
Lillian entered her administrator credentials.
The system accepted them.
Then another message appeared.
CACHE PURGE SCHEDULED - 12:00 P.M.
Everyone looked at the clock.
11:54.
"Cancel it," Reese said.
The installer typed quickly.
The command failed.
"Someone locked the purge with a secondary admin token."
Daniel looked at Celeste.
"You scheduled this too?"
"I don't even know what an admin token is."
"Convenient."
The installer connected a service laptop directly to the system.
11:56.
Evelyn's pulse quickened.
Reese called his digital unit and put them on speaker.
They guided the installer through a recovery process.
11:58.
The first command failed.
11:59.
The second command unlocked the cache.
The installer hit cancel with seconds left before noon.
The purge status disappeared.
No one spoke for a moment.
Then the installer opened the stored snapshots.
Most were useless images of empty hallways and changing light.
One showed Lillian walking toward the dining room.
Another showed Celeste holding Lillian's tablet outside the study.
The timestamp was 7:41 p.m.
Celeste stared at the screen.
"That proves I had the tablet."
"You already admitted that," Reese said.
"It does not prove I changed anything."
The installer clicked the next file.
The image showed Celeste standing beside the wall-mounted control panel at 7:42.
Her right hand was extended toward it.
The next image was darker.
It showed her looking up at the staircase camera.
Reese leaned closer.
"Keep going."
The installer clicked again.
A corrupted thumbnail appeared.
Only half the frame loaded.
The visible portion showed Evelyn at the top of the stairs.
A red sleeve entered the frame beside her.
Then the file broke into gray digital blocks.
Celeste exhaled.
Reese did not.
"Can you recover the rest?"
The installer hesitated.
"Maybe."
Celeste smiled faintly.
"Maybe is not evidence."
Reese looked at her.
"Neither is confidence."
His phone vibrated.
He read the incoming message once, then again.
"The prepaid phone just came back from the carrier search."
Celeste's smile vanished.
"It was activated three weeks ago."
May you like
Reese raised his eyes.
"And the first number it contacted was Evelyn's."
