Chapter 7 - Theo Remembered Headlights Behind the Trees
Luciano did not interrogate Theo.
He brought in a child psychologist named Dr. Claire Warren and let her talk with both boys separately through play.
Theo chose model cars immediately.
Of course he did.
Dr. Warren placed a simple paper road on the floor and asked him to show what he remembered about Uncle Adrian’s track.
Theo put the red car on the inside lane.
Then he placed a larger white block beside the paper.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Bernadette’s truck.”
Luciano’s chest tightened.
Bernadette drove a pearl-white SUV at the time.
“Where was it?”
Theo pointed behind the imaginary trees.
“Here.”
“Did you see it moving?”
Theo nodded.
“Lights.”
“What happened next?”
He pushed the red car forward.
Then he moved the white block toward the track.
The red car swerved sharply.
It fell off the paper.
Theo stopped.
He did not look frightened.
He looked concentrated.
As if reconstructing a puzzle.
“Did you see the real crash?” Dr. Warren asked.
Theo shook his head.
That mattered.
He wasn’t claiming more than he remembered.
“I saw lights.”
From where?
The model showroom.
Its large windows overlooked part of the real track through the garden.
Theo had been playing with Elliot that evening while adults argued elsewhere.
He remembered Adrian driving onto the track.
He remembered the white SUV’s lights behind the tree line.
Then someone closed the showroom curtains.
“Who?”
Theo pointed toward a toy figure representing Marcus.
Luciano felt cold.
Marcus had been in the showroom.
Not at the garage, as he later claimed.
Dr. Warren stopped the session before pushing further.
Afterward, she told Luciano:
“The memory is fragmentary but internally consistent. Don’t turn it into more than it is.”
Luciano agreed.
Theo could establish that he remembered headlights and Marcus closing curtains.
Not who drove.
Not intent.
Not the crash itself.
Still, combined with Hank’s open gate and tire marks, the possibility of another vehicle was no longer hypothetical.
Then Dr. Warren mentioned Elliot’s session.
“He remembers his mother leaving the house in her SUV.”
“When?”
“Shortly after Adrian.”
Luciano closed his eyes.
Another piece.
May you like
Bernadette had followed Adrian toward the track.
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