Chapter 2 - The Camera Under the Maple Tree
Deputy Reed didn't touch my phone until another deputy arrived.
That detail mattered later.
At the time, all I could think about was Lily.
I held her against my chest while Deputy Carla Mendoza photographed the mower, the tire tracks, the gardening cart, and the bassinet.
Diane was loaded into the ambulance.
Before the doors closed, she shouted toward Dad.
"Robert! Don't let them take her phone!"
Reed looked up.
So did I.
Dad seemed confused.
"Why would they take her phone?"
Diane realized her mistake.
"I mean because she'll delete things!"
But the fear in her face had already changed the atmosphere.
Reed turned to me.
"Don't delete anything."
"I won't."
"Don't edit anything either."
"I understand."
He asked me to open the baby-monitor application myself.
My hands shook so badly that I entered the passcode incorrectly twice.
Finally, the recordings appeared.
There were dozens.
Most were meaningless clips triggered by movement.
Tree branches.
Birds.
Me adjusting Lily's blanket.
Diane crossing the yard.
Then Reed saw the timestamp.
10:42 a.m.
"Play that one."
I tapped it.
The video opened.
The camera angle was wider than I remembered.
Lily's bassinet filled the bottom of the frame.
Beyond it was the lawn.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then Diane appeared.
She wasn't on the mower yet.
She walked toward the bassinet.
Stopped.
Looked directly at Lily.
Then looked at the camera.
My stomach tightened.
But she didn't seem to recognize what it was.
She turned and walked away.
Thirty seconds later, the mower appeared in the distance.
Deputy Reed leaned closer.
Diane drove slowly.
Not mowing.
Positioning.
She stopped the machine.
Then the recording captured something none of us expected.
Diane climbed off.
She walked ahead of the mower.
She looked at the bassinet.
Then she walked back to the machine.
Dad whispered:
"Oh, God."
The video continued.
The mower started moving.
Then my voice could be heard faintly.
"Diane!"
No response.
"STOP!"
Then came Diane's voice.
Clearer than I remembered.
"I sharpened the blades so it'll be quick."
Dad staggered backward.
"No."
Deputy Reed immediately paused the video.
"Nobody touch this phone."
Diane's ambulance hadn't left yet.
Reed walked toward it.
I couldn't hear what he told the paramedics.
But I saw Diane's face through the open rear doors.
She looked at him.
Then looked past him toward me.
Her expression wasn't frightened anymore.
It was furious.
The ambulance left under police escort.
Dad sat down on the porch steps.
I had never seen him look old before.
Not really.
Now he looked seventy.
Maybe eighty.
"Emily."
I didn't answer.
"I didn't know."
"You didn't believe me."
He lowered his head.
"I thought you were tired."
"I was tired."
"I thought Diane was frustrated."
"She was."
"I didn't think—"
"That's the problem, Dad."
He looked up.
"You didn't think she could do something terrible, so every warning I gave you became something wrong with me."
He closed his eyes.
I wanted to scream at him.
Instead, Lily began fussing.
I adjusted her blanket.
That tiny movement steadied me.
Deputy Mendoza approached.
"Emily, we're going to need a formal statement."
"Am I being arrested?"
"No decision has been made regarding your actions. But based on what we've seen so far, we're investigating the entire incident."
I nodded.
"What about Diane?"
"She's receiving medical treatment."
That wasn't an answer.
I understood why.
The deputies couldn't promise me anything yet.
Dad stood.
"Can I go with Emily?"
I almost said no.
But before I could answer, Reed returned.
"Mr. Hale, I need to ask you some questions separately."
Dad nodded.
Then Reed looked at me.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Mrs. Hale told paramedics you planned this."
I nearly laughed.
"Planned what?"
"She claims you've been threatening her for weeks."
"That's insane."
"Do you have messages between you?"
"Yes."
"Don't delete those either."
I unlocked my phone.
There were texts.
Most looked ordinary.
But once I began scrolling, I noticed something.
Diane had rarely insulted me in writing.
She was careful.
Instead, she sent messages that could make me appear unstable if someone read them without context.
You seem emotional today. Maybe you should rest.
Are you sure you remember that correctly?
I'm worried about how little you're sleeping.
Then one message stopped me.
It had arrived two nights earlier.
Emily, you really need to stop imagining that anyone wants to hurt Lily.
I stared at it.
I had never accused her of wanting to hurt Lily.
Not then.
Not in writing.
Deputy Reed saw my expression.
"What?"
I showed him.
His eyes narrowed.
"When did you tell her you thought she might harm the baby?"
"I didn't."
"Never?"
"Never."
He photographed the screen.
Then another patrol car arrived.
A deputy stepped out carrying a clear evidence bag.
Inside was something metallic.
He walked directly toward Reed.
"We checked the garage like you asked."
Reed looked inside the bag.
"What is it?"
The deputy glanced at me before answering.
"A mower blade sharpening tool."
Dad stared.
The deputy continued.
"And there's something else in the garage you're going to want to see."
Diane hadn't merely sharpened the mower blades.
May you like
She had left behind evidence suggesting she had been preparing for this morning long before I ever walked into that yard.
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