“Mrs. Pierce, where is Richard Pierce?”
“He left.”
“When?”
“Right after Daniel took Emma.”
“Which door?”
“The back.”
The second officer looked toward the hallway while the first asked me not to touch anything else.
I pointed to the jar, the lid, the ribbon, and the box.
I showed them the photographs on my phone without stepping closer.
One officer crouched beside the skincare set.
The other remained standing near Daniel.
Then I turned toward the side table.
Richard’s coffee mug was still there, exactly where he had left it.
Beside the mug sat a small plastic bottle I had never seen before.
For one second, my mind refused to read the label.
Then the words came into focus.
Industrial drain cleaner.
The officer stepped between me and the table.
He pulled on gloves and told Daniel to keep me back.
He photographed the coffee mug, the bottle, and the path from the living room to the kitchen before touching anything.
