Chapter 7 - Two Monsters in One Family
I wanted one villain.
People like clean stories.
One monster.
One victim.
One truth.
The Walker family had none of that.
Ryan sat at our kitchen table while the officers stood nearby.
"After Dad recorded Mom, they fought," he said. "For days. He told Matthew and me he was going to the police. Mom told us he'd destroy the family."
"And then?"
"Dad started drinking."
Ryan's fingers trembled.
"One night he cornered Mom in the garage. He had a hammer."
Officer Patel asked, "Did he hit her?"
"No."
"What did he do?"
"Matthew came in. Dad swung at him."
I stared at Ryan.
"Your father attacked your brother?"
"He was drunk. He was angry. Matthew pushed him down. Dad hit his head on the workbench."
Ryan took a breath.
"He survived. But something changed after that. He became unpredictable."
"So why did he disappear?"
"Mom gave him money and told him to leave."
"And you knew he was alive."
Ryan looked at me.
"For a while."
There it was again.
The family language.
For a while.
Strict.
Accident.
Words built to soften hard things.
"When did you last speak to him?"
"Seven years ago."
My phone buzzed.
Frank: HE IS LYING ABOUT THE GARAGE.
Ryan saw my face.
"Don't listen to him."
Another message arrived.
MATTHEW DIDN'T PUSH ME.
RYAN DID.
I looked up.
Ryan stood so quickly his chair fell over.
"He's trying to turn you against me."
I almost laughed.
"Ryan, you told our injured six-year-old she made your mother angry. You don't need help turning me against you."
Officer Morales entered through the garage door.
He had returned after Patel called for backup.
"Mr. Walker, sit down."
Ryan did not.
"Am I under arrest?"
"Not currently."
"Then I'm leaving."
I stepped between him and the hallway.
"Where?"
"My mother's."
"The woman with a no-contact order involving your daughter."
"I'm allowed to see my mother."
"That's your choice."
He stared at me.
"Don't make this permanent, Megan."
I thought of Lily's bandage.
"You already did."
Ryan left.
At 6:30 a.m., I returned to the hospital.
Lily was awake, coloring a picture of a horse.
CPS investigator Nora Jensen sat near the window.
She asked me to step into the hall.
"We interviewed Lily briefly with a child specialist."
My stomach tightened.
"What did she say?"
"Enough that we are recommending no unsupervised contact with Diane."
"And Ryan?"
Nora's expression became careful.
"We have concerns."
"What kind?"
She lowered her voice.
"Lily described a room at Diane's house. She called it the quiet room."
I remembered Claire saying Ethan had been locked in a laundry room.
"What happened there?"
"According to Lily, children were sent inside when they upset Grandma."
"Children?"
Nora nodded.
"She said she wasn't the only one."
My throat tightened.
"Who else?"
"A boy named Noah."
I had never heard the name.
Nora continued.
"Lily says Noah still goes there every Wednesday."
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