Every time my brother-in-law drove me home, I would lose consciousness and wake up with unexplained aches and pains. My husband would only laugh and say, “You’re just out of shape, that’s all.” After the fourth ride, I secretly slipped a voice recorder into my purse and said nothing. That night, I listened to a phone conversation between the two of them that revealed my blackouts had never been accidental.

What unsettled me most was a line Ellis shared after the information became part of the case: Marcus claimed he had initially been told the rides were part of an intervention designed to help me.

He said he came to understand that I had not agreed to the appointments, yet kept taking the money and continued driving.

I thought about how easy it would have been for him to stop.

He could have refused one ride, made one call, told me one true thing.

Instead he had offered me water with a smile.

In a separate meeting, Ellis asked me about a watch Julian had given me for our tenth anniversary.

I told her we had not reached our tenth anniversary.