Chapter 6
The investigation moved slowly.
Richard's lawyers filed motions. The Hales released a statement calling our claims "absurd and malicious." Daniel was fired from his job — "restructuring," they called it.
We were burning through savings. The stress was constant. But every time I looked at May, I knew we couldn't stop.
Detective Ortiz called us three weeks in. She'd found something.
"Richard Hale was married before," she said. "Linda Cartwright. They had a daughter. Emily. She drowned in the Hales' pool in 2018. She was five years old."
I felt the air leave the room.
"Who was watching her?" Daniel asked.
"Vanessa," Ortiz said. "She was the nanny at the time. The drowning was ruled accidental. But Linda Cartwright fought it. She claimed Vanessa was responsible. She had no proof. Richard married Vanessa six months after Emily died."
I sat down hard.
"Detective," I said. "Where is Linda now?"
"Small town upstate. She's lived alone since the divorce. We've tried to contact her. She doesn't talk to anyone about it."
"I want to talk to her," I said.
Daniel looked at me. "Are you sure?"
"Emily was five. She was Vanessa's responsibility. She drowned. And then Vanessa married the grieving father. Daniel — if Emily was afraid of Vanessa, if Vanessa hurt her—"
I couldn't finish the sentence.
We drove upstate the next weekend.
Linda lived in a little house with a overgrown garden. She answered the door with wary eyes. She was younger than I expected, but something in her face looked very, very old.
I told her who we were. I told her about May. About Leo. About the bite marks.
She didn't say anything for a long time. Then she stepped aside and let us in.
Inside, there were photos of a little girl everywhere. Emily. Smiling. On a swing. Blowing out birthday candles.
"She was scared of Vanessa," Linda said, her voice flat. "The last three months of her life, she woke up screaming every night. She said the lady with the sharp teeth was going to get her. I thought it was nightmares. I thought it was a phase."
She paused.
"The day she drowned, I was at work. Vanessa was supposed to be watching her. The police said Emily wandered outside and fell in the pool. But Emily knew how to swim. I'd had her in lessons since she was three. She knew how to swim."
Tears ran down her face. She didn't wipe them.
"Vanessa killed her," Linda said. "I know she did. I've known for eight years. And nobody would believe me."
She went to a closet and pulled out a box. Inside, drawings. A five-year-old's crayon drawings.
A woman with a big mouth. Sharp teeth. Red marks on a little girl's arm.
"Emily drew these," Linda said. "The police said they were just drawings. I've kept them all these years. I knew they meant something."
I picked one up. The woman in the drawing had red hair. Vanessa had red hair.
"Linda," I said. "We need these. The police need these. It's not too late. We can still get justice for Emily."
May you like
She looked at me. For the first time, something like hope flickered in her eyes.
"Take them," she said. "Take all of it. I've waited eight years. I can wait a little longer."
