Chapter 11 — The Recordings

I downloaded every recording from the previous six weeks, and I watched them the way I watch evidence for a client — not with my heart, which I set aside for later, but with my full, cold, professional attention, building the timeline as I went.

The first video I needed showed my mother entering our home just two days after Wendy came back from the hospital with our newborn.

On the screen, Wendy sat on the couch, pale and exhausted and holding the baby, and my mother walked in as though she owned the place.

“I need the debit card,” Jessi said.

“For groceries?” Wendy asked.