Chapter 6: The Phone in the Locked Drawer
Nobody spoke as Detective Ross delivered the news.
Naomi held Lily's note in one hand, the paper trembling between her fingers.
Marcus stood beside the dining table, his eyes fixed on the hallway that led to his office.
“Who opened that drawer?”” he demanded.
Ross remained calm.
“An officer secured the room after we received information about the device. The phone has not been examined yet.””
“You can't just go through my office!””
“We have the appropriate authorization to secure the items identified during this investigation.””
Marcus turned toward Naomi.
“Did you tell them about the drawer?””
Naomi stared at him.
“I didn't even know there was a phone in it.””
His expression changed.
For the first time, he seemed to understand that she wasn't accusing him merely because she wanted someone to blame.
She was asking because their daughter had left her a clue.
And the clue had led directly to something he had hidden.
Detective Ellis approached Naomi.
“Mrs. Reed, may I see the note?””
Naomi handed it over carefully.
Ellis photographed both sides, then placed the paper inside a protective sleeve.
“Thank you. We'll preserve this and determine whether the information is connected to the device.””
Marcus shook his head.
“This is ridiculous. It's an old phone. I probably forgot about it.””
Ross looked at him.
“You told us earlier that you destroyed the document Ms. Cole described.””
“I did.””
“Then why are you surprised that we want to examine another item that may be relevant?””
“Because it's my property!””
“Your property can still contain evidence relevant to an investigation.””
Marcus turned away, his jaw clenched.
Vanessa sat rigidly in her chair. Her eyes followed Ross whenever he moved.
Naomi noticed.
“You know what's on that phone.””
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“Look at me.””
Vanessa did.
Naomi's voice trembled.
“You recognized Lily's message. You knew about the flash drive. You knew my husband was hiding documents. And now you're telling me you have no idea what's on that phone?””
“I don't know what's on it.””
“But you suspect something.””
Vanessa looked toward Marcus.
He gave her a warning glance.
Naomi saw that, too.
“Whatever he thinks he can protect you from,” she said, “he already failed to protect our daughter.””
Marcus slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough!””
The candles beside Lily's photograph flickered in the movement of air.
Naomi flinched, then straightened.
Marcus looked at her, breathing hard.
For one second, his face resembled the man she had married: the man who used to carry Lily on his shoulders through the grocery store, who danced badly in the kitchen, who promised that no one would ever hurt their little girl.
Then she remembered the empty space beside Lily's hospital bed.
“Don't raise your voice at me,” Naomi said.
Marcus's shoulders dropped.
“I'm sorry.””
She shook her head.
“You keep saying that as though those words can take us backward.””
Ross interrupted gently.
“Mr. Reed, I'd like you to explain your relationship with the phone. When did you last use it?””
Marcus took a long breath.
“Maybe eight months ago.””
“Why did you stop using it?””
“I upgraded.””
“Did you transfer its contents to your new device?””
“Some of them.””
“Why keep the old phone locked away?””
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“I kept it because it had old work files. That's all.””
Ellis wrote something down.
“Was Lily ever allowed to use it?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Sometimes she played games on it.””
Naomi turned toward him.
“You told me she didn't know the password.””
“She didn't. I unlocked it for her.””
“What did she do with it?””
“Games. Videos. Normal kid stuff.””
Naomi looked at Lily's photograph.
“Did she ever take pictures?””
Marcus's expression tightened.
“I don't remember.””
“Did she ever record anything?””
“I don't know, Naomi!””
His voice rose again, but this time he stopped himself.
He looked at the detectives.
“I want legal counsel before I answer anything else.””
Ross nodded.
“That's your right. We'll respect that.””
He stepped toward the foyer and spoke quietly to the officer stationed outside. Ellis remained with Naomi and Vanessa.
Naomi sat down slowly.
Her body felt exhausted, but her mind would not stop moving.
A phone.
A hidden document.
A photograph of a message.
A note written by an eight-year-old girl who had somehow become frightened of secrets she shouldn't have had to understand.
She looked at Vanessa.
“Did Lily ever speak to you directly?””
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Once.””
Naomi gripped the edge of her chair.
“Where?””
“In the house.””
Marcus, who had been speaking with Ross near the doorway, turned around.
“You said you never came here!””
Vanessa began to cry.
“I lied.””
Naomi stared at her.
“When was it?””
“About five months ago. Marcus asked me to bring him some paperwork. He said you were at the hospital with Lily.””
Naomi remembered that day.
Lily had undergone a series of tests. Naomi had stayed beside her for hours while Marcus claimed he was stuck in an important meeting.
“You were in my house while my daughter was sick?””
“I didn't know she was home.””
“She was home?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She had been sent back after an appointment. I came in through the side door. Marcus told me nobody would be there.””
Naomi closed her eyes briefly.
Then she opened them.
“What did Lily say to you?””
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“She asked who I was.””
“And what did you tell her?””
“That I worked with her father.””
“Did she believe you?””
“I don't know.””
“Vanessa.””
The younger woman looked up.
“She looked at me for a long time. Then she asked why I had a picture of her father on my phone.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“That's enough.””
Ross raised a hand to stop him.
“Let her finish.””
Vanessa's voice became a whisper.
“I told her it was a work picture.””
“What did Lily say?””
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“She said, ‘Then why does Daddy kiss you in it?’”
Naomi's breath caught.
Marcus turned away.
Vanessa continued, each word becoming more difficult.
“Lily didn't scream. She didn't cry. She just walked toward the hallway and asked whether her mother knew.””
Naomi pressed a hand against her chest.
“What did you say?””
“I told her it was complicated.””
“She was eight years old.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't.”” Naomi's tears fell freely now.
“You stood in my house, lied to my child, and left her to figure out that her father was betraying us.””
Vanessa covered her face.
“I thought she'd forget.””
Naomi stared at her in disbelief.
“You thought she'd forget?””
“I was scared she'd tell you.””
“And you were more worried about losing Marcus than hurting Lily?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Marcus turned toward her.
“You told me she never saw that picture.””
Vanessa looked up.
“I thought she hadn't recognized you.””
“She knew it was me!””
“I didn't know that!””
Their argument rose in frantic bursts until Ross stepped between them.
“That's enough. Neither of you will interfere with the investigation.””
A moment later, an officer entered the foyer carrying a sealed evidence container.
Inside was an older smartphone with a cracked corner and a strip of blue tape around its case.
Naomi recognized it immediately.
Marcus had used that phone to take thousands of pictures of Lily when she was younger. He had let her hold it during family vacations and record herself singing in the back seat.
Ross placed the container on the dining table.
“The device is secured. Our technical team will examine it according to the investigation procedures.””
Marcus stared at the phone.
“There's nothing on there.””
Ross didn't respond.
Ellis leaned closer to the evidence label.
“There's a note attached to the device.””
Naomi looked at it.
A small adhesive label had been fixed to the back of the phone case.
The handwriting was faint, but the words were legible.
*IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, LOOK AT THE LAST RECORDING.*
Naomi stopped breathing.
Marcus took one step backward.
Vanessa began shaking so violently that her chair scraped against the floor.
Detective Ross read the label again.
Then he looked directly at Marcus.
“Mr. Reed, who wrote this?””
Marcus stared at the phone.
His lips moved, but no sound emerged.
Naomi already knew the handwriting.
She had watched Lily form those uneven letters at the kitchen table, her small tongue poking out in concentration.
It was Lily's.
And whatever she had recorded, she had been frightened enough to leave instructions for someone to find it.
Ross carefully lifted the evidence container.
“We'll need to determine whether the recording can be recovered.””
Naomi rose.
“Please tell me when you know.””
“We will.””
Marcus suddenly reached toward the container.
“Wait.””
Ross stepped back, keeping the evidence secure.
“What is it?””
Marcus's face was white.
He stared at the phone, then at Lily's photograph.
Finally, he whispered, “If that recording still exists, you need to understand something before you listen to it.””
Naomi turned toward him.
“What?””
Marcus's eyes filled with tears.
“The last time I heard Lily's voice on that phone, she wasn't asking me to come home.””
He swallowed hard.
“She was asking me why I had put something in her medicine.””
Naomi went completely still.
Detective Ellis closed her notebook.
Detective Ross looked at Marcus.
May you like
And Vanessa, standing beside the open doorway, whispered a name none of them had expected to hear.
“Danielle.””
