Chapter 3 - THE ROOM WHERE THE SUN WAS THE CLOCK|
I did not sleep that night.
I sat in my study with the laundry-room camera sealed inside a clear plastic bag, wondering how a small device had appeared in my house without my knowledge.
I had installed a basic security system after Sarah died. It covered the front entrance, the driveway, the garage, and the backyard. I had deliberately kept cameras out of the bedrooms and children's spaces.
The laundry room wasn't on the system map.
Neither was the upstairs hallway.
At six in the morning, I called Marcus Bell, the security consultant who had installed the original equipment.
He arrived before eight, carrying a laptop and a toolbox.
After examining the device, he frowned.
"It's wireless, but it isn't one of your system cameras. Someone installed it separately."
"Can you recover the recordings?"
"Possibly. Don't switch it on or connect it to anything yet."
He examined the casing, then removed a small memory card.
"Someone wanted this footage preserved."
"Why?"
Marcus looked at me.
"That's what we need to find out."
Upstairs, Hannah was helping Lily get dressed. My sister had stayed overnight because she didn't trust the calm expression Meredith wore whenever anyone questioned her.
When I entered Lily's bedroom, my daughter immediately looked toward the door.
"Is Meredith coming?"
"No, sweetheart. It's just us."
She held Bunny against her chest.
"Can I show you something?"
She walked to the closet and pulled out a small plastic basket containing crayons, paper, and several drawings. Most showed our house: the front door, the staircase, my car, and her bedroom window.
One drawing was different.
It showed a tall rectangle with a tiny square near the top. Inside the rectangle, a little girl sat beside a washing machine. Above the room, Lily had drawn a yellow sun.
"Is this the laundry room?"
She nodded.
I sat on the rug beside her.
"Why did you draw this?"
"So you can see."
"See what, sweetheart?"
"Where the bad time happens."
My stomach tightened.
"Do you mean when Meredith makes you sit there?"
Lily nodded again.
I kept my voice gentle.
"Is there anything else you want me to know?"
She turned to a second page.
This one showed the hallway outside her bedroom. Near the ceiling was a dark circle, and beneath it stood a woman with yellow hair.
"That's Meredith," Lily said.
"And what's that circle?"
"The other camera."
I looked at the drawing closely.
"Where did you see it?"
"Mommy showed me before."
I froze.
"Mommy showed you a camera?"
Lily nodded.
"She said it watches the door. She said if someone comes in when Daddy isn't home, the little red light will blink."
Sarah had installed a few smart-home devices before she died, but I had never heard her mention a camera in the hallway.
"Do you remember when Mommy showed you?"
"Before she went to heaven."
I swallowed hard.
"Did Mommy tell you what the camera was for?"
Lily thought for a moment.
"She said it was a secret helper."
I kissed her forehead.
"Thank you for telling me."
When I returned downstairs, Marcus was staring at his laptop.
He had managed to recover a series of video files from the laundry-room camera.
The first showed an empty room.
The second showed Meredith entering with a folded towel.
The third showed Lily standing near the washing machine, holding Bunny.
I leaned toward the screen.
Meredith was speaking, but the audio was faint.
Marcus increased the volume.
Her voice became clear.
"If you tell your father again, I'll make sure he knows exactly how difficult you are."
Lily's tiny voice answered.
"I want my daddy."
Meredith leaned toward the camera.
"Then learn to behave."
The recording ended.
Marcus turned toward me.
"There's something else."
He opened the device's settings.
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The camera had been configured to upload copies of its recordings to a private account.
And the account's recovery email belonged to a woman named Meredith Shaw.
