Chapter 8 - What the Recorder HeardDetective Reynolds returned that evening with another officer and a small audio speaker.
He asked whether Katie was asleep.
She was resting, so we moved to the consultation room.
“I need you to understand that we haven't established the identity of everyone speaking in these recordings,” he said. “Some portions are distorted. Our technicians are still working on them.”
I nodded, barely breathing.
He played the first file.
At first, there was only muffled noise: movement, a door closing, and the distant sound of traffic.
Then Andrew's voice emerged.
“Friday is the deadline. If she signs, we can finish this without a fight.”
Barbara answered.
“And if she doesn't?”
“Then we use the other agreement.”
There was a pause.
“You promised me she wouldn't interfere,” Barbara said.
Andrew gave a short, irritated laugh.
“She won't have time to interfere once everything starts.”
Reynolds stopped the recording.
I gripped the edge of the table.
“What does that mean?”
“We're examining the context. Listen to the next section.”
He resumed the file.
Barbara's voice was clearer this time.
“What about the girl?”
Andrew answered after a few seconds.
“She saw the paperwork.”
“Then you should have been more careful.”
“I was careful. She wasn't supposed to be in the car.”
Barbara sighed.
“Andrew, I told you from the beginning that Amanda was going to become a problem.”
“And I told you I'd handle it.”
The file ended with a burst of static.
For several seconds, I could not speak.
The room seemed too small to hold what I had just heard.
Barbara knew Katie had seen the papers. Andrew had been aware that my daughter might expose the plan. And both of them had discussed me as though I were an obstacle to be removed.
“Was this recorded before the collision?” I asked.
“The timestamps suggest some portions predate it. We are checking the device's internal clock against other digital records.”
“Can you arrest them?”
“Not on the strength of this excerpt alone. We need to establish what they meant and how the recording relates to the incident.”
I stared at the speaker.
“Play the last part.”
Reynolds hesitated.
“You may find it upsetting.”
“Detective, my daughter is in that hospital bed because of them. I need to know what they said.”
He nodded and played the next recoverable section.
A different voice appeared, male and unfamiliar.
“Mercer says the buyer is ready. Once the title transfers, the money goes where it needs to go.”
Andrew replied, “Good. I don't want this dragging on.”
Barbara asked, “And Amanda?”
A chair scraped.
Andrew's voice dropped.
“She'll be too busy dealing with Katie to notice anything until it's too late.”
I shut my eyes.
There was no direct admission that Andrew had intended to injure our daughter. But there was something equally terrifying: he had counted on her suffering to keep me occupied.
He had expected me to be overwhelmed.
He had believed grief, fear, and exhaustion would make me blind.
Reynolds switched off the speaker.
“We need the rest of this recording. We're also examining the document trail associated with Northstar.”
“Who is the man named Mercer?”
“Paul Mercer, the company's director. His phone records and financial connections are being reviewed.”
“Does he know Barbara?”
“We have reason to believe they have communicated.”
I remembered the proposed buyer's name and the email Grace had discovered.
“What if the property sale is covering up something else?”
“That is one possibility.”
He gathered the papers.
“Your attorney is taking the right steps to protect the house. Let us handle the criminal investigation.”
After he left, I returned to Katie.
She was awake, watching the doorway.
“Did they find out what was inside Buttons?”
“Yes.”
“Will Daddy be angry?”
I sat on the edge of the chair and thought about all the lies I had swallowed to keep peace in our home.
“No one gets to hurt you for telling the truth.”
She looked unconvinced.
I took her hand.
“I mean it, Katie. Not Daddy. Not Grandma. Nobody.”
Later that night, Grace called with news of her own.
The emergency application had been accepted, and the proposed transfer was suspended pending investigation.
But the buyer had not withdrawn.
In fact, Northstar had made another move.
A representative had contacted the property office claiming there was a second document proving that I had agreed to the sale.
A document I had never seen.
May you like
And this time, the representative claimed it had been witnessed by someone who knew me personally.
Someone from inside my own family.
Related Stories
