Chapter 14 - Somebody Saved Copies
The photocopies changed the missed doses from possible negligence to something that looked deliberate.
They also created a new question.
Who had copied the notebook before Rachel removed it from the house?
Detective Ruiz would not let me keep the pages.
She photographed them, bagged the originals from the envelope, and sent them for processing.
"These are copies, not the notebook itself."
"I know."
"We need to establish authenticity."
"The handwriting is Rachel's."
"That helps, but it is not enough by itself."
"Whoever sent them has the notebook."
"Or had access to it."
"Denise?"
"Maybe."
"Rachel's sister?"
"Maybe."
"The anonymous texter?"
"Likely connected."
"Can you trace the numbers?"
"The first was a prepaid line."
"And the second?"
"A messaging service."
"So no."
"So not yet."
Ruiz studied the envelope again.
"Who knows Rebecca's address?"
"Rachel."
"Denise?"
"Probably."
"Rachel's sister?"
"Yes."
"Anyone else close to Rachel?"
I thought of her sister, Monica.
Monica lived forty minutes away and had two sons.
She and Rachel spoke almost daily.
I had always assumed they were close.
Recently, though, Monica had stopped coming to family dinners.
Rachel said they were arguing over their mother's estate planning.
I never asked for details.
"Monica."
Ruiz wrote the name down.
"Do not contact her."
"I know."
"I mean it."
"I know."
Two hours later, Monica contacted me.
She called from a number I recognized.
I almost did not answer because Ruiz had specifically told me not to reach out.
Then I remembered that receiving a call was not the same as making one.
"Daniel?"
Her voice shook.
"Monica."
"Is Sophie okay?"
"She is recovering."
"I saw the swelling."
I sat up straight.
"How?"
"Rachel sent Mom a picture."
"When?"
"The night it happened."
"What picture?"
"Sophie in the kitchen after you left."
My stomach turned.
"After I left, Sophie was with me."
Monica went silent.
"Then it was before you left."
"Describe it."
"She was sitting at the table."
"Was I in the picture?"
"No."
"Was Rachel?"
"No."
"What did the message say?"
Monica started crying quietly.
"She said, look what Daniel is going to blame on me."
I gripped the phone.
Rachel had photographed Sophie's swollen face before I even left for the hospital.
She had sent the picture to Denise as part of her defense.
"Monica, did you send an envelope to Rebecca's house?"
Silence.
"Do not answer if you don't want to."
"I need you to understand something first."
"Okay."
"I did not know everything."
"What did you know?"
"I knew Rachel was hard on Sophie."
"How hard?"
"Too hard."
Anger entered my voice before I could stop it.
"What does that mean?"
"Daniel, I am trying to tell you."
I forced myself to be quiet.
"Last year, Mom showed me the camera app."
"Denise had access."
"Yes."
"Did you?"
"Not directly."
"Then what did you see?"
"Mom would watch sometimes when Rachel complained Sophie was acting up."
I felt sick.
"Like entertainment?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Mom thought Rachel needed backup."
"Backup for what?"
"Discipline."
The word sounded obscene now.
"Did you see Rachel lock Sophie in the laundry room?"
"No."
"The garage?"
Monica stopped breathing for a second.
"I saw part of that later."
"Later?"
"Mom screen-recorded some camera clips."
I stood so fast the chair scraped the floor.
"She saved them?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"She said she needed proof in case you accused Rachel of being too strict."
The cruelty of that logic stunned me.
Denise saved evidence of mistreatment because she thought it would defend Rachel.
"Does she still have them?"
"Some."
"Do you?"
Monica whispered.
"Yes."
"Did you send the notebook copies?"
She began crying harder.
"I took pictures of the notebook in March."
"Why?"
"Because I saw the notes about the medication."
"And you did nothing?"
The question came out sharper than I intended.
Monica did not defend herself.
"I told Mom."
"Denise knew?"
"Yes."
"What did she say?"
"She said Rachel was bluffing and would never actually withhold seizure medication."
"But the notes said she did."
"I know."
"Did you tell me?"
"No."
"Did you tell Sophie's doctor?"
"No."
"Did you tell anyone who could protect her?"
"No."
I closed my eyes.
"Then why now?"
Monica took a long breath.
"Because I saw the video of Rachel hitting her."
"Who showed you?"
"Mom."
"Denise has the kitchen clip?"
"Rachel sent her a screen recording from the camera app before she deleted the archive."
That stunned me.
Rachel had tried to erase evidence while preserving her own copy.
"Why would she keep it?"
"She thought the beginning made Sophie look careless and the end made Rachel look provoked."
I could not understand how anyone could watch that clip and see provocation.
Monica continued.
"Mom agreed with her at first."
"At first?"
"Then they argued."
"About what?"
"Mom told Rachel the slap looked worse than she described."
"And Rachel?"
"She said if everybody stayed consistent, nobody would believe Sophie because of the surgery."
I stopped moving.
"Say that again."
Monica repeated it.
"If everybody stayed consistent, nobody would believe Sophie because of the surgery."
The sentence was not panic.
It was strategy.
"Do you have proof she said that?"
Monica hesitated.
"Yes."
"What kind?"
"Mom records phone calls when she fights with family."
I almost laughed at the absurdity.
"Denise recorded Rachel?"
"Yes."
"Do you have the recording?"
"I copied it from Mom's phone."
"Why?"
"Because after I heard it, I realized the notebook wasn't a bluff."
"Monica, you need to call Detective Ruiz."
"I already did."
I looked toward the window.
A dark sedan had just pulled up outside Rebecca's house.
Detective Ruiz stepped out.
Monica's voice dropped to a whisper.
"I gave her everything."
Then she said the words that made the hair rise on my arms.
May you like
"Daniel, the garage video is not the worst file my mother saved."
