Chapter 8: The Witness Who Never Left
I called Darius back immediately.
The call went straight to voicemail.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Then I sent him a message.
*Where are you? Call me now.*
Three dots appeared beneath my message, vanished, and appeared again.
Finally, he replied.
*I'm coming to the hospital. Don't leave Zuri alone.*
I looked at my daughter.
She was watching a cartoon, her rabbit tucked beneath one arm. She hadn't noticed the change in my face.
I sat beside her and put my phone away.
“Everything okay?”” she asked.
“I'm waiting for your uncle.””
“Is he coming to see me?””
“If you want him to.””
She thought about it.
“Maybe later.””
“That's fine.””
She returned to the cartoon.
I watched her for a moment, then looked out the window.
Someone had helped Imani create a false accusation against me. Someone had been present after my arrest. Someone had apparently known enough about our family to manipulate events without drawing attention to himself.
I kept thinking about the voice on the recording.
It sounded familiar.
Not familiar enough to identify, but familiar enough to make my stomach tighten.
At 5:40 p.m., Darius arrived.
He looked over his shoulder twice before entering the hospital room.
I stepped into the hallway to meet him.
“You said you knew who the man was.””
Darius nodded.
“I think I do.””
“Who?””
He hesitated.
“Your old friend. The one who helped you build the workshop.””
For a second, I didn't understand.
Then the name came to me.
“Calvin?””
Darius looked down.
“I'm almost certain.””
Calvin Brooks had been my closest friend before I married Imani. We'd met in college, worked on sound installations together, and spent years sharing equipment, ideas, and opportunities.
He had helped me build the detached workshop behind my house. He'd installed the backup system and configured the microphones I used for location recordings.
When Imani and I married, Calvin gave a speech at our reception that made everyone laugh.
He called me the most stubborn man he'd ever met and said he hoped my wife would eventually teach me how to listen.
After Zuri was born, he brought her a tiny set of toy headphones.
He'd held her in the hospital and whispered, “You're going to hear the world differently, little one.””
I hadn't seen him in almost three years.
I'd assumed he'd moved to Nashville for a contract with a production company.
“What makes you think it was Calvin?”” I asked.
Darius rubbed the back of his neck.
“Because he was at the house that night.””
I stared at him.
“You told me you were there.””
“I was. Calvin arrived after the police took you away.””
“Why didn't you mention that before?””
“Because I didn't understand what was happening. I thought he was there to help Imani.””
“Help her do what?””
Darius shook his head.
“I don't know.””
I grabbed his arm.
“Darius, I need the truth. Every part of it. No more deciding which details I can handle.””
He looked at my hand, then met my eyes.
“Calvin came to the house carrying a black equipment case. He said he needed to collect something from the workshop.””
“What?””
“I didn't ask.””
“Why not?””
“Because Imani told me not to interfere.””
I released his arm.
“You keep using that as an excuse.””
“I know.””
He swallowed.
“After he went into the garage, I heard them arguing. Imani said she wanted the recording erased. Calvin told her it wasn't that simple.””
I felt my pulse quicken.
“Which recording?””
“I don't know. But he said, 'You promised this would be about getting him out of the house. You didn't tell me you were going to involve the child.''”
I stared at my brother.
“That was on the bedroom recording.””
Darius nodded.
“I heard the same words in the file you sent Evelyn. When she played the excerpt for me, I recognized his voice.””
I leaned against the wall.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“Because I thought Calvin had left town. I thought he was gone.””
“And now?””
“Now I think he's been closer than we realized.””
I looked through the glass at Zuri.
“Did you see him after that night?””
Darius hesitated.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“About six months later. At a restaurant downtown.””
I waited.
“He was with Imani. They were sitting in a booth near the back. When I walked in, they stopped talking.””
“Did you ask why they were together?””
“I did. Calvin said they were discussing a project. Imani said she'd been helping him with a business problem.””
“And you believed them?””
Darius looked ashamed.
“I wanted to.””
I closed my eyes.
For four years, I had believed my brother's silence was the result of cowardice.
Now I was beginning to see that his cowardice had given other people room to keep lying.
I opened my eyes.
“Did you tell anyone about the restaurant?””
“No.””
“Did you take a photograph?””
“No.””
“Did you save any messages?””
Darius shook his head.
I stepped away from him.
“You need to tell Evelyn everything you just told me.””
“I will.””
“Now.””
He nodded and walked toward the consultation rooms.
I remained in the hallway until my breathing settled.
Then I returned to Zuri.
She was drawing again.
This time, she'd drawn three people standing beside a green door.
One had long legs.
One had silver hair.
The third was a small figure holding a rabbit.
“Who's that?”” I asked, pointing to the third figure.
“Patrice.””
I smiled.
“She's going to be very happy about that.””
Zuri added a yellow flower to the door.
“Daddy, can we make a recording?””
I sat beside her.
“What kind?””
“A happy one.””
I felt something tighten in my chest.
“Of course.””
I took out my phone, opened the voice recorder, and placed it on the bedside table.
“Okay,” I said.
“What should we record?””
Zuri thought carefully.
“The sound of the rain.””
I started the recording.
Outside, rain tapped against the hospital window. A cart rattled down the hallway. Somewhere nearby, a nurse laughed.
Zuri listened.
Then she whispered, “I like this sound.””
“Me too.””
“Can we keep it?””
“Yes.””
She smiled.
I saved the file as *RAIN_WITH_ZURI*.
It was the first recording I'd made since finding her in the shed.
For a few minutes, I allowed myself to believe that we could build something new from the pieces of our old life.
Then Evelyn entered the room.
“Malcolm, could I speak with you privately?””
I kissed Zuri's forehead and followed her into the hallway.
She closed the door behind us.
“Your brother has provided a statement identifying Calvin Brooks as a possible witness. We've located a current address and made contact with him.””
“Where is he?””
“He agreed to come in for an interview.””
“When?””
“Tomorrow morning.””
I looked at her.
“Why not tonight?””
“Because we're arranging the interview properly, and we need to preserve the evidence before questioning him.””
I understood the procedure.
I hated the waiting.
“Can you tell me whether he's been in contact with Imani recently?””
“We're looking into that.””
I rubbed my face.
“Evelyn, he helped build my workshop. He installed the equipment that recorded the files. He knew where everything was.””
“That information is relevant. We'll include it in our investigation.””
I thought about the black equipment case Darius had described.
“Could he have altered the recording?””
“We don't know. The audio specialist will examine the files for signs of alteration. For now, don't make assumptions about what he did or didn't do.””
She left me with that warning.
At 7:12 p.m., my phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A man's voice came through.
“Malcolm. It's Calvin.””
I went completely still.
“Where did you get this number?””
“Darius gave it to me.””
“Why are you calling?””
“Because I heard what's happened to Zuri.””
I gripped the phone.
“You've heard a lot of things, haven't you?””
Silence.
Then Calvin said, “I need to explain something about the recordings.””
“Then explain it.””
“Not over the phone.””
“That's convenient.””
“Malcolm, I know what this looks like.””
“You don't know what this looks like. You know what it sounds like, because you were there.””
He exhaled.
“I'm not denying that.””
“Were you in my house the night I was arrested?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
“Did you help Imani?””
Another pause.
“I thought I was helping you.””
I almost dropped the phone.
“What does that mean?””
“I can't explain everything in a call. But there's something you need to know about the bedroom recording.””
I pressed the phone harder against my ear.
“What?””
“The file doesn't start at the beginning.””
My blood ran cold.
“What do you mean?””
“Someone cut the first section off the original recording. The archive you found contains only the portion that survived the backup.””
“Who cut it?””
“I don't know.””
“You installed the system.””
“Yes.””
“You configured the microphones.””
“Yes.””
“You were in my house that night.””
“Yes.””
“And you expect me to believe you don't know who removed the beginning?””
His voice broke.
“I know you have every reason not to believe me. But if you listen to the complete original, you'll understand why I stayed away.””
“Where is it?””
“I don't have it anymore.””
“Then why are you calling?””
“Because I found something else. A copy of a message Imani sent me before the police arrived.””
“What did it say?””
He took a breath.
“She told me that if anything happened to you, I had to make sure Zuri never learned what her father had done.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did she mean?””
“I didn't know at the time.””
“And now?””
Calvin was silent for so long I thought he'd hung up.
Then he said, “Now I think she was afraid the child would remember.””
I looked toward Zuri's room.
“What did Zuri see?””
“I don't know.””
“What did you see?””
“I saw enough to understand that Imani wasn't telling the truth.””
I closed my eyes.
“Then tell the investigators.””
“I will.””
“Tomorrow morning?””
“Yes.””
“Calvin, if you're lying to me again, I will make sure they know every word you've said.””
“I understand.””
He ended the call.
I stood in the hallway, staring at my phone.
Then a message appeared from an account I hadn't seen in years.
It contained a photograph of a handwritten note.
The handwriting was Imani's.
*If Malcolm remembers what happened before the police arrived, the entire plan falls apart.*
Below it, Calvin had written a single sentence.
*I think he already remembers.*
I stared at the screen.
Because suddenly I did remember something.
Not clearly.
Not enough to explain.
But I remembered standing in my kitchen that night, looking at Imani beside the broken glass.
And I remembered a second voice coming from the hallway.
A voice that sounded like mine.
Except I had been in the garage.
And I had never said the words Imani later claimed to have heard.
Someone had been imitating me.
May you like
Someone had been trying to make a recording sound like a confession.
And the person who knew how to manipulate sound had been my closest friend.
