Chapter 6 - The HearingThe stuffed fox frightened Evan more than Daniel’s disappearance.
Finn had several toys, but there was only one fox he carried everywhere. Evan called his sister and heard her search the house while he waited on the line. A minute later, she found Finn’s fox beneath the sofa.
The one in Daniel’s car was a copy.
Detective Brooks treated it as a message. So did Evan.
Police found Daniel the next afternoon in a motel outside Fort Worth. He had checked in under his own name, then turned off his phone. He told Brooks he had been afraid to attend the meeting because Graham knew where he was going.
He also said the fox had been left in his car while he was inside a gas station.
Daniel had brought documents to the motel: invoices, account statements, and messages in which Sloane instructed him to approve charges for rides that never happened. He admitted he had approved them. He said he had told himself the foundation would repay the money later, once an investment recovered.
The investment did not recover. The charges grew.
Daniel asked for a lawyer before he said more. Brooks took the records and arranged another interview.
At the same time, Evan’s attorney sought a temporary order setting out Finn’s care and Sloane’s visits while the nursery incident was investigated. Sloane filed her own request. She said Evan had removed their son from the family home and was relying on a housekeeper who had become too involved with the child.
My name appeared six times in her written statement.
She described me as possessive. She said I had refused to return Finn after naps and had made decisions about his care without permission. Each claim took an ordinary moment and changed its meaning. I had carried a sleeping baby to his father. I had suggested calling Dr. Chen when Finn had a fever. I had learned which song settled him.
Reading the statement made me wonder how long Sloane had been collecting moments to use against me.
My agency wrote to say its review was still ongoing. I sent the director the police case number and asked her to correct the message it had sent employers. She replied that she could not do so until the investigation ended.
I stopped waiting for the agency to speak for me.
Lila drove me to the hearing. Irene, the former night nurse, met us outside the courthouse. Neither had to testify that day, but both wanted Sloane’s lawyer to see they were willing.
Evan sat with his attorney on one side of the room. Sloane sat on the other in a navy suit. She looked toward me only once. Then she leaned over and whispered to her lawyer.
The hearing was short compared with everything that had led to it. Dr. Chen’s report said Finn had not been burned and had shown no sign of illness or injury. Brooks described the recording and how it had been collected. Priya explained the camera’s local storage and the gap between its clock and the network clock.
Sloane’s attorney argued that the camera image did not reveal her intention. He said she might have been removing an iron someone else had left in the room.
The judge watched the original file. On the screen, Sloane plugged in the iron herself. She placed it near Finn. She waited for me.
When the lights came back on, she was staring at the table.
The judge ordered Finn to remain in Evan’s care for the time being. Sloane could see him at a supervised visitation center until the court reviewed more evidence. The order was temporary. The judge said so several times.
I heard the word temporary too. It meant Finn was safe today. It did not tell us what next month would bring.
Outside the courtroom, a reporter called my name. Lila stepped beside me, but I stopped walking.
“I’m grateful the baby is safe,” I said. “I gave my account to the police. Please ask them about their investigation.”
I kept moving. My voice shook, but I had spoken for myself.
That night, Brooks called. She had received the records from Daniel’s motel. They linked Northline to an account controlled by Sloane and another held by Graham. They also showed that Daniel had been paying Graham separately for “site protection.”
“Do you have enough to arrest them?” I asked.
“Daniel’s cooperating now. I need to establish who directed which acts,” Brooks said.
Before she hung up, she asked if I remembered the device Graham handed Sloane in the nursery. I did.
“It was found in her jacket when she left the hospital,” Brooks said. “Her attorney gave it to us today. We’re checking whether it saved audio.”
The next morning, Brooks called Evan first. He called me.
The device had recorded Sloane’s voice in the nursery.
May you like
It had also recorded Graham’s, before I arrived.
And after hearing him speak, Evan knew why Sloane had gone ahead with the iron while the camera was still running: Graham had told her it was off.
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