Chapter 7 - THE SILENT CAMERA
"That's not an instruction," I said. "That's a receipt for a human being."
Laura slipped the invitation into a hospital belongings bag. She didn't photograph me crying. I was grateful for that.
My nurse, Elena Morales, came back with medication and stopped when she saw my face.
"Do you want security called if that visitor returns?" she asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Both of them?"
I stared at her. She had heard Alex in the hallway.
"Both."
Elena put a note in my chart and pulled the curtain half closed. "You don't owe anyone access to this room."
The next morning, Maddy arrived with a flash drive in a little plastic sandwich bag.
"I made three copies," she said, eyes bright with anger. "I didn't watch the whole thing. I mean—I tried not to."
"You can watch it with me," I told her.
"Are you sure?"
"No."
Laura propped her laptop on the rolling table. The office appeared in grainy gray color: my desk, the roses, Alex standing with his back to the camera. There was no sound. I couldn't hear the things we'd said, which somehow made watching worse.
The timestamp moved. I threw the papers. Alex jerked them away. His hand struck my arm.
I fell.
On the recording, the fall took less than a second. There was no music to warn anyone. No dramatic slow motion. I was standing and then I wasn't.
Alex leaned forward. He could see me. He looked toward the door, took out his phone, and answered a call.
"Pause," Laura said. "We have what we need to preserve, but keep going if you want."
I nodded.
Alex walked to my desk. The camera caught him opening the drawer where I'd left the white gift box. He lifted the lid. The silver ribbon hung over his fingers.
He took out the socks.
Then the ultrasound picture.
"Oh," Maddy said very softly.
He read the picture. His hand froze. For six long seconds, he didn't move.
Then he put everything back, closed the box, pushed it deep into the drawer, and walked out. He left the door open an inch.
The timestamp kept advancing. I lay on the floor beside the roses, one shoe half off. I tried once to lift my head. Then I stopped moving.
Eleven minutes later, Maddy rushed into view.
I didn't know I was crying until a tear hit the laptop's touchpad.
"I didn't even tell him," I said.
"He found out," Laura answered. Her voice was flat.
Alex called that afternoon. I let it ring. He left a voicemail.
"Erin, I heard you had tests. Let me know when you want to talk without making things worse."
He sounded tired. Annoyed. Like I was a meeting he'd missed.
Laura copied the video to the evidence folder and asked whether I was ready to tell the investigating detective what we'd found.
"Yes," I said.
May you like
Then Maddy handed me a second flash drive.
"This one is from the garage camera," she said. "I think you need to see where he went after he left you."
