Chapter 6 - The Footage
The audio feed began with a sharp hiss of autumn wind rustling the yellow wisteria leaves, followed by the crisp crunch of car tires over dry driveway gravel. Then, the sensitive directional microphone embedded in the birdhouse picked up the muffled, furious shouting from inside the cabin of the SUV.
""Turn up the volume,"" Evelyn ordered, her eyes locked onto the screen.
I maxed out the speakers. The interior voices became horrifyingly distinct.
""...tell you she won't stop screaming, Greg!"" Kate’s voice shrieked, hysterical and cracked with panic. ""The makeup is already flaking off her leg! If she looks down when I hand her over, she's going to see the swelling immediately!""
""Shut up and pull yourself together!"" Greg’s booming, aggressive voice snarled back from the passenger seat. He turned around violently toward the rear car seat. ""She's crying because the bone shifted when you forced her into the snowsuit! If you back out now, those loan sharks are coming to our house tonight! Do you want them taking the car? Do you want them breaking my legs?""
""You shouldn't have shoved her bassinet off the bed, Greg!"" Kate sobbed violently. ""You were drunk on Thursday night, and you lost your temper! It was an accident, but this is insane! Allyson is my sister!""
""Your sister has a three-hundred-thousand-dollar house completely paid off, with no husband and no children!"" Greg hissed, his face twisted in vicious fury as he leaned closer to Kate. ""She takes the fall. She gets a plea deal with probation because she's a first-time offender with no criminal record! The insurance pays out the catastrophic claim to us as the victims, we clear the mortgage, and we pay off the syndicate. Now reapply the concealer, wrap her in the thick wool blanket so she can't kick, and get out of this damn car!""
On the video, Kate could be seen leaning into the backseat, frantically dabbing something onto Paige’s lower body while the baby’s muffled, agonizing cries pierced through the closed vehicle windows. Kate then emerged from the driver’s side, holding the tightly swaddled infant. Her face was pale, streaked with sweat and tears.
As Kate walked up the porch steps toward my front door, Greg remained in the passenger seat. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and spoke clearly through his open window toward the driveway:
""Hey, Terry. It’s Greg. The bait is delivered. Have your attorney draft the emergency premises liability notice against Allyson Vance's homeowner policy. We’ll have the police report filed by noon. Make sure the private adjuster is ready to push the expedited payout.""
Evelyn slammed her hand onto the conference desk with the force of a thunderclap. ""My God. It’s all here. The premeditation, the prior domestic violence on Thursday night, the insurance fraud conspiracy, the planting of evidence, and the deliberate frame job.""
Tears streamed down my face, but they were no longer tears of fear. They were tears of pure, burning rage. ""They knew that poor baby was suffering for nearly two days with a broken femur. They didn't take her to a doctor because they were figuring out how to monetize her agony.""
""Download three separate copies immediately,"" Evelyn instructed with military efficiency, plugging in two encrypted flash drives. ""One copy stays on this cloud server. One goes onto this hardware drive in my pocket. The third goes directly to the personal terminal of District Attorney Sarah Lawson. I went to Harvard Law with Sarah. She detests corrupt cops, she despises child abusers, and she has zero tolerance for predatory insurance scams.""
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""Will they arrest them tonight?"" I asked, my voice trembling with urgency. ""Paige is still in that hospital! What if they let Kate and Greg take her home?""
Evelyn grabbed her coat and car keys. ""CPS has Paige on a twenty-four-hour hospital hold under medical supervision. Dr. Evans cannot release her to anyone without protective clearance. Allyson, wipe your tears. We are going to the county courthouse, and we are going to drop an atomic bomb on Katherine and Gregory’s neat little world.""
