Chapter 2 - THE FIRST LIE
Detective Maya Torres entered the house with two uniformed officers.
She was forty-two.
Calm.
Observant.
The kind of detective who listened longer than people were comfortable with.
Ryan carried Ava upstairs while an officer remained with them.
Natalie stayed in the kitchen.
She had already recovered.
By the time Maya sat across from her, Natalie looked like the victim.
“My husband is having some sort of breakdown.”
Maya glanced toward the shattered glass.
“Why?”
“Stress.”
“About what?”
“His company.”
“His daughter?”
Natalie’s eyes hardened.
“Ava has behavioral problems.”
Maya did not react.
“What kind?”
“Lying.”
“About being hurt?”
Natalie sighed.
“That child falls constantly.”
Maya placed photographs on the table.
Natalie stared at them.
“Those could come from anything.”
“Four finger-shaped bruises?”
“She grabs herself when she tantrums.”
Maya looked at her for several seconds.
“Interesting.”
Natalie shifted.
“Why?”
“Because a four-year-old cannot grip the back of her own upper arm that way.”
Silence.
Maya gathered the photographs.
“Let’s talk about Daniel Kerr.”
Natalie leaned back.
“My first husband died in an accident.”
“That investigation is being reviewed.”
“Why?”
“New evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Maya smiled slightly.
“I’m asking the questions.”
Upstairs, Ava sat on Ryan’s bed.
He knelt in front of her.
“Did Natalie tell you about Daniel?”
Ava nodded.
“When?”
“When she was mad.”
“What did she say?”
Ava looked toward the door.
Ryan’s chest tightened.
“Natalie isn’t coming in here.”
“She said bad people fall.”
Ryan swallowed.
“What else?”
“She said Daniel fell because he didn’t listen.”
Ryan felt physically sick.
“Did she ever say what happened to Daniel?”
Ava nodded.
“She pushed him.”
Ryan froze.
“What?”
Ava touched her own chest.
“Like this.”
She pushed lightly.
Ryan stared.
“Did you see her push Daniel?”
Ava shook her head.
“Then how do you know?”
“She told Uncle Evan.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
“When?”
“At night.”
“In this house?”
Ava nodded.
“Where were you?”
“Under the table.”
“Why?”
“Natalie was looking for me.”
Ryan sat down slowly.
Ava continued.
“She said Uncle Evan should stop being scared because Daniel was already dead.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
His younger brother had spent years being the reckless one.
Bad investments.
Gambling.
Women.
Debt.
But murder?
Ryan could not make the idea fit.
His phone vibrated.
Evan.
Ryan answered.
“Where are you?”
Evan sounded breathless.
“Ryan, listen to me.”
“I’m listening.”
“You called the police?”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Ryan looked at Ava.
“Were you there when Daniel Kerr died?”
Silence.
“Evan.”
“I can explain.”
Ryan’s stomach dropped.
“Then explain.”
“Not over the phone.”
“Where are you?”
“Don’t trust Natalie.”
Ryan laughed bitterly.
“That advice is about fourteen months late.”
“I mean it.”
“Did you kill Daniel?”
Another silence.
Then Evan whispered—
“No.”
Ryan almost felt relief.
Until Evan added—
May you like
“But I helped her cover up what happened.”
The call disconnected.
