“Daniel… please…”
“When?”
She covered her face.
“I asked you when.”
“It didn’t mean anything.”
He nodded slowly.
“How many Tuesdays?”
She couldn’t answer.
Because she knew he already had.
Every Tuesday.
The same day she borrowed sugar.
The same day she returned my mixing bowls.
The same day she complimented my garden.
The same day she hugged me goodbye.
Officer Reynolds looked toward me.
“Mrs. Carter, would you show us the recording?”
I nodded.
“The control system is inside.”
Ethan grabbed the edge of the pool.
“Lauren.”
I stopped walking.
“Don’t do this.”
I looked back at the man I had married twelve years earlier.
“You’re still asking me to protect you.”
“You’re ruining our lives.”
“Our lives?”
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
“I don’t.”
“You ruined your marriage.”
“You ruined Daniel’s.”
“I didn’t install those cameras.”
“You’re simply afraid they worked.”
His shoulders dropped.
He knew.
Inside the kitchen, I entered the security code.
Four camera feeds appeared across the monitor.
Driveway.
Front porch.
Side gate.
Backyard.
The backyard image showed the entire patio.
The pergola.
The outdoor kitchen.
The swimming pool.
Everything.
Officer Reynolds looked at Ethan.
“I thought you said this camera didn’t record.”
Ethan said nothing.
I selected Tuesday.
Then the Tuesday before.
Then the one before that.
Each recording opened with a timestamp.
12:58 p.m.
Brooke entering through the side gate.
1:02 p.m.
Ethan arriving home in his truck.
1:05 p.m.
