Chapter 3 - The power came back thirty seconds later.By then, Officer Harris had already reached the staircase.
The bathroom door was open.
The window was shut.
No one was there.
But Sophie was shaking so badly that she couldn't hold the stuffed rabbit.
I carried her into the living room.
“Sweetheart, what man were you talking about?”
She looked at me.
“The man Daddy said would come if I talked.”
Mark was standing near the wall.
“I never said that.”
Sophie flinched.
Officer Harris noticed.
He turned toward Mark.
“Sir, please step outside with me.”
Mark didn't move.
“I want a lawyer.”
“You're not under arrest.”
“Then I'm not going anywhere.”
The officer took one step closer.
“You can either walk outside voluntarily, or we can make this more complicated.”
Mark finally left.
Two officers searched the house.
They checked closets.
Bedrooms.
The garage.
The basement.
Nothing.
Then one officer returned carrying a small black device.
It was a digital recorder.
He had found it underneath the sink in the bathroom.
My throat tightened.
“What is that?”
“Audio recorder.”
I looked toward the front door.
“Mark was recording her?”
“We don't know yet.”
They checked the device.
There were dozens of recordings.
Most were only a few minutes long.
The final file was almost twenty-three minutes.
Officer Harris pressed play.
Mark's voice filled the kitchen.
“Let's try again, Sophie.”
A little voice answered.
“I don't want to.”
“You have to.”
“I forgot.”
“The answer is Mommy.”
Silence.
Then Mark said:
“Who makes you scared?”
Sophie whispered:
“Mommy.”
I covered my mouth.
“No.”
The recording continued.
Mark's voice stayed calm.
“When Mommy gets angry, what does she do?”
“I don't know.”
“You do know.”
“I don't remember.”
“What happens when you make a mess?”
Silence.
Then Sophie said something so softly that we nearly missed it.
“She says it's okay.”
Mark immediately stopped the recording.
Officer Harris stared at the device.
The female officer looked at me.
“Your daughter just contradicted the answer he was trying to get.”
I felt sick.
Mark hadn't been teaching Sophie to remember.
He had been teaching her a story.
But why?
The question wasn't answered until they searched his car.
In the trunk they found a folder.
Inside were photographs.
My stomach dropped when I saw them.
Pictures of Sophie sleeping.
Pictures of Sophie in the playground.
Pictures of me carrying groceries.
Pictures of our house.
Some had dates printed across the bottom.
Others had handwritten notes.
7:42 a.m. Mother leaves.
4:15 p.m. Child returns.
No witnesses.
I couldn't breathe.
Officer Harris looked at me carefully.
“Do you recognize these?”
“No.”
The next photograph made my hands shake.
It was taken through our kitchen window.
I was standing inside.
Sophie was sitting at the table.
And behind us, reflected in the glass, was Mark.
He wasn't looking at us.
He was looking at the camera.
As if he knew exactly where the photographer was.
Officer Harris turned the photograph over.
There was one sentence written on the back.
Phase One complete.
The police immediately locked down the house.
Mark was taken away for questioning.
But before they put him in the cruiser, he looked directly at me.
And mouthed four words.
You don't know him.
I watched the car disappear into the rain.
Then Officer Harris came back inside.
“We need to find out who 'him' is.”
That was when Sophie pulled my sleeve.
“Mommy?”
“What?”
May you like
She pointed toward the staircase.
“He's already inside.”
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