CHAPTER FOUR The Backup
CHAPTER FOUR
The Backup
Detective Morrison didn't waste time.
He sat beside my bed and placed a digital recorder on the table.
"I have a few questions."
"I'll answer all of them."
"I know."
His voice was steady.
"That's why I'm here."
Emma silently handed him the blue USB drive.
"What's this?"
"Insurance," I said.
He raised an eyebrow.
Emma plugged the drive into the hospital computer.
Folders filled the screen.
LOANS
EMAILS
VOICE RECORDINGS
PROPERTY
TYLER
Morrison leaned forward.
"How long have you been collecting this?"
"Seven years."
His eyebrows lifted.
"You expected something like this?"
"I hoped I was wrong."
Emma clicked the folder marked TYLER.
A recording began to play.
Tyler's voice filled the room.
"If Grandma gives you that company..."
A loud crash echoed in the background.
"...I'll make sure you regret it."
Another recording.
"You think paperwork can protect you?"
Another.
"I always get what belongs to me."
The detective remained silent until the final recording ended.
Then he looked at me.
"You never reported these threats."
"I still believed he was my brother."
Morrison sighed.
"Sometimes family makes the worst witnesses."
His phone vibrated.
He answered immediately.
"What did you recover?"
A long pause.
He stood.
"You restored the backyard camera?"
Another pause.
"No video?"
His expression darkened.
"I'll be there."
He hung up.
"Marcus accessed the security panel after your fall."
"I know."
"He deleted most of the footage."
"Most?"
Morrison nodded.
"Our forensic team recovered twelve seconds."
"Twelve?"
"Not enough to show the push."
Hope faded almost instantly.
"But..."
He paused.
"We found something else."
He turned his tablet toward me.
A still image filled the screen.
Lauren.
Standing on the deck.
Looking directly at Tyler.
Her mouth was open.
She was shouting something.
"We're enhancing the audio."
He stood to leave.
"If she tells us what she saw..."
The door suddenly opened.
A child advocate entered quietly.
She whispered something into Morrison's ear.
His eyes widened.
"The little boy talked?"
She nodded.
"Mason just finished his interview."
"What did he say?"
The advocate looked at me with heartbreaking sympathy.
"He demonstrated it."
"Demonstrated what?"
She swallowed.
"He said..."
'Daddy put both hands on Aunt Bridget... and pushed.'
The room fell completely silent.
May you like
For the first time since the fall...
Tyler's own son had become the witness who could destroy him.
