Chapter 3
The digital-forensics report arrived two days later.
The teddy bear had not recorded continuously.
Its battery was too weak.
The memory card contained short motion-triggered clips from the previous twenty-six days.
Ryan watched them with Rebecca and a child-welfare attorney.
Not alone.
That had been Rebecca’s condition.
The first clip showed nothing terrible.
Lily playing on the floor.
Vanessa walking past.
The second showed Lily crying near the kitchen while Vanessa stood over her.
No audio survived.
The third showed Vanessa removing Lily’s plate and placing it on a high counter while the child reached upward.
Ryan stopped the video.
“Keep going,” Rebecca said.
He did.
Another clip showed the cage.
Empty.
Positioned behind a garden storage wall.
That meant it had been on the property before the afternoon Ryan discovered Lily inside it.
Another showed Vanessa dragging it toward the grass.
Another showed Lily standing several feet away, backing up.
The recording ended before anything else happened.
The final clip mattered for a different reason.
Vanessa was crouched beside the teddy.
Her face filled the frame.
She picked it up.
Turned it over.
Pressed along its seams.
Then put it down.
Ryan stared at the frozen image.
“She was looking for the camera.”
Rebecca nodded.
“She didn’t find it.”
“Why was she looking?”
“We don’t know.”
The footage proved some of Vanessa’s explanation false.
The cage had not simply been abandoned outside from an old pet.
She had moved it herself.
But the camera did not contain a complete history.
No miraculous recording explained everything.
Ryan needed the rest from people, records, and decisions.
Then Caleb called.
He had reviewed the estate’s regular surveillance schedule.
Several interior cameras had been disabled during the same periods Vanessa sent staff away.
Ryan’s eyes narrowed.
“Disabled by whom?”
Caleb paused.
“Maintenance requests.”
“From?”
“Your office.”
Ryan looked at Rebecca.
“I didn’t request anything.”
Caleb continued.
“The orders used your executive authorization code.”
Ryan went still.
May you like
Vanessa had apparently gained access to more than household schedules.
Someone had helped her make parts of the estate blind.
