Chapter 8 - The Missing Camera
Daniel caught Marcus by the arm before he made it outside.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“No.”
Marcus pulled free. “You don’t get to detain me.”
Rachel’s voice came from behind them.
“He doesn’t. But I can advise him to preserve evidence, and I can call the police if there’s reason to believe a child was harmed.”
Everyone turned.
Rachel Kim stood in the foyer holding a leather work bag and wearing the expression she used in court when someone had just made a bad mistake.
“Rachel,” Marcus said.
“Marcus.”
She looked at Daniel. “Start from the top.”
He did.
Rachel watched the videos without interrupting. Then she photographed the closet, the padlock, the marks on Noah’s wrist, and the scratch marks inside the door.
Finally she turned to Rosa.
“You said there may be more evidence?”
Rosa nodded. “There was a small camera in the nursery. Mr. Hale installed it when Noah was a baby.”
Daniel frowned. “The cloud camera? Vanessa said it broke.”
“It didn’t break,” Rosa said. “It disappeared.”
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed.
Rosa continued. “I saw it last week in the storage room above the garage.”
Rachel looked at Daniel. “Do you know the password?”
“Yes.”
They went to the garage.
The camera was gone.
So was the storage box Rosa had seen.
Marcus smiled slightly. “You see? She’s guessing.”
Rosa pointed to dust on the shelf.
A clean rectangle showed exactly where the box had been.
Rachel took another photograph.
“When did you see it?”
“Last Thursday.”
Daniel pulled up the house security app.
The garage camera history had a six-hour gap from 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Friday.
“Who has administrator access?” Rachel asked.
Daniel swallowed.
“Me. Vanessa. And Marcus.”
Marcus’s face tightened.
Rachel held out her hand. “Your phone.”
He laughed. “Absolutely not.”
“No problem. I’ll ask the court for it.”
Marcus turned to leave again.
Then the house alarm chimed.
Front gate opened.
Daniel looked at the monitor.
A white delivery van rolled up the drive.
Rosa frowned. “We’re not expecting anything.”
The van stopped by the garage.
A man in coveralls jumped out, grabbed a large black storage box from the back, and ran toward the side gate.
May you like
Daniel recognized the box instantly.
“Stop him!”
