The Messages They Buried

Marcus stared at Vanessa.

“What did you just say?””

Vanessa's hands flew to her mouth.

“I didn't mean that.””

“You said you thought she'd never tell anyone.”” Marcus moved toward her.

“Tell anyone what?””

“Marcus, please.””

“What did my daughter know?””

Detective Ross raised one hand.

“Mr. Reed, stay where you are.””

Marcus stopped, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath.

“No. No, she doesn't get to do this. She doesn't get to stand in my house and talk about my daughter like that.””

“Our priority is establishing what happened,” Ross said.

“We need everyone to remain calm.””

Naomi sat beside the memorial table, staring at Lily's photograph. The child in the picture had two missing front teeth and a tiny dimple in her left cheek. She had insisted on wearing the pink dress for picture day because, according to Lily, pink made people look at you twice.

Naomi had looked at her twice every morning.

She had kissed her forehead every night.

And now she had to listen to strangers discuss her daughter's final messages while the people who should have protected her stood on opposite sides of the room.

Ellis pulled a chair toward Vanessa.

“Please sit down.””

Vanessa didn't move.

“Ms. Cole,” Ellis repeated, “sit down.””

Finally, Vanessa lowered herself into the chair. Her handbag slid from her shoulder and landed on the floor.

Marcus pointed at her.

“You told me Lily was getting better.””

Vanessa looked up through her tears.

“I told you what you wanted to believe.””

The confession seemed to empty the air from the room.

Marcus shook his head slowly.

“What does that mean?””

“It means you kept asking me to help you avoid fighting with Naomi. You said every conversation about Lily turned into an argument about your responsibilities.””

Naomi's face tightened.

“My responsibilities?””

Vanessa looked at her.

“I know how that sounds.””

“No,” Naomi said.

“You don't.””

Ross opened his notebook.

“Let's return to the messages. Ms. Cole, did you receive communications from Lily during the trip?””

Vanessa hesitated.

“I received one.””

Marcus stared at her.

“You said you never spoke to her.””

“I didn't speak to her. She sent me a message.””

“What did it say?””

Vanessa's eyes dropped to her hands.

“I don't remember.””

Ross's voice hardened slightly.

“You remember receiving it, but you don't remember its contents?””

“It was a long time ago.””

Ellis glanced at the clock.

“The records indicate that the communication occurred less than a week ago.””

Vanessa swallowed.

“I was dealing with a lot.””

Naomi rose from her chair.

“So was Lily.””

Her voice remained quiet, but every word cut cleanly through the room.

“She was dealing with doctors. Needles. Medicine that made her sick.

Nights when she couldn't sleep because she was scared. And she was dealing with the fact that her father had chosen a beach over her.””

Marcus flinched.

“Naomi, I made a terrible mistake.””

“You made a decision.””

“I didn't know she was going to die!””

“No,” Naomi replied.

“But you knew she needed you.””

Marcus lowered his head.

Ross placed the tablet on the dining table.

“We have recovered some metadata and fragments of the message history. We haven't verified everything yet, and we won't speculate about the contents.””

Naomi looked at the device.

“Can you tell whether the messages were deleted before or after Lily died?””

“We're still establishing that timeline.””

“Can you tell who deleted them?””

“Not conclusively.””

Vanessa released a breath.

It was almost inaudible.

But Detective Ellis heard it.

“So you understand why we're concerned,” Ellis said.

Vanessa straightened.

“I haven't done anything wrong.””

“Then the facts should help establish that.””

Marcus dragged a hand through his hair.

“Can we see the messages?””

“Not until we've completed the appropriate examination,” Ross answered.

“We won't risk altering evidence.””

Naomi nodded, trying to absorb the words.

Then she remembered something.

“Lily had a habit,” she said.

Everyone turned toward her.

“When she was afraid, she recorded voice notes. She said writing took too long, and sometimes she forgot what she wanted to say.””

Ellis made a note.

“Do you know whether she used that feature on the tablet?””

“Every day.””

“Could any recordings still exist?””

“I don't know. She used to show me how to find them, but I never understood all the folders.””

Ross looked at the tablet through the clear plastic.

“That's something our technical team can examine.””

Naomi's fingers trembled.

“Please. If she left anything, I need to know.””

“We'll follow the evidence,” Ross promised.

Marcus looked toward the photograph.

“Lily used to record me singing to her.””

Naomi's expression changed.

He continued, his voice breaking.

“She'd laugh because I was terrible. She'd say, ‘Daddy, stop. You're hurting the song.’”

For a brief moment, the room seemed to soften around the memory.

Then Naomi looked at him.

“She asked you to sing to her on the phone the night before you left.””

Marcus closed his eyes.

“I remember.””

“What did you tell her?””

He pressed his lips together.

“I told her I was busy.””

Naomi turned away.

Vanessa began crying again.

But when she reached into her handbag for a tissue, something small slipped out and skidded across the floor.

A child's pink hair clip.

It stopped beside Detective Ellis's shoe.

Naomi stared at it.

She recognized the tiny silver star attached to the clip. Lily had worn it the last time she visited the hospital. She had complained that the clip pinched her hair, then insisted on taking it home because it was her favorite.

Naomi slowly walked toward it.

“Where did you get that?””

Vanessa looked down.

Her mouth opened.

No answer came.

Marcus bent to pick it up, but Ellis gently stopped him.

“Please leave it where it is.””

Ellis photographed the clip before carefully placing it into a separate evidence container.

Naomi looked at Vanessa.

“That belonged to my daughter.””

Vanessa shook her head.

“I can explain.””

“Then explain.””

Vanessa pressed both palms against her knees.

“I found it in Marcus's car.””

Marcus stared at her.

“My car?””

“Yes. It was under the passenger seat.””

“Why didn't you tell me?””

“I didn't think it mattered.””

Naomi's voice became barely audible.

“When were you in my daughter's room?””

Vanessa looked at her.

“I wasn't.””

“Don't lie to me.””

“I never went into her room.””

Ross watched Vanessa closely.

“Ms. Cole, think carefully before you answer. Have you ever been alone with Lily?””

“No.””

“Have you ever visited her at the hospital?””

Vanessa's lips trembled.

“No.””

Marcus stared at the hair clip inside the container.

“Then how did you get something that belonged to her?””

Vanessa looked at him, and for the first time, her fear seemed directed at someone other than the detectives.

“I told you,” she whispered.

“It was in your car.””

Ross's phone vibrated.

He glanced at the screen, stepped a few feet away, and listened to a brief update. His expression remained controlled, but when he returned to the table, he looked directly at Detective Ellis.

“We have another development.””

Ellis straightened.

“What is it?””

Ross turned the phone so she could see the screen, then placed it facedown.

“Our team recovered a fragment of a scheduled message associated with Lily's account. The timestamp is the night before she died.””

Naomi grabbed the back of a chair.

Marcus went completely still.

Vanessa began shaking her head.

“No.””

Ross looked at her.

“We haven't read the recovered text aloud.””

“No,” Vanessa repeated, louder this time.