Chapter 4 - What Vanessa Did When I Was Gone
The second clue came from the simplest thing in the world.
Lily started crying whenever I picked up my keys.
It happened once on a Thursday morning.
Then again on Saturday when I left for the gym.
Then a third time when I told her I would only be gone for an hour.
At first, I thought she was becoming clingy.
Then I realized she never cried like that when Vanessa left.
Only when I did.
One afternoon I came home early because a meeting was canceled.
I found Lily sitting alone in the family room, red-eyed and silent, while Vanessa scrolled through her phone on the sofa.
“Why’s she crying?” I asked.
Vanessa didn’t even look up.
“She dropped a cracker and acted like the world ended.”
Then Margaret came in from the kitchen carrying tea as if she lived there, which by then she nearly did.
“She’s spoiled,” Margaret said. “You coddle her.”
Lily reached for me without a word.
That night, after both women went upstairs, I checked the baby monitor recordings.
There was nothing useful.
Too much of the house had no coverage.
The next morning, I ordered two additional indoor cameras.
I told Vanessa they were for package theft and household security.
She smiled and said that was smart.
Then she asked if I wanted her to help pick the placement.
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That was the first time I wondered whether she was afraid.
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