Chapter 9 - Anna's Voice
The tape couldn't be played at the house.
Detectives took it downtown.
For six hours, nobody told me what was on it.
Those six hours felt longer than the entire previous night.
Lily was discharged with instructions for rest, reduced screen time, and immediate return if vomiting or confusion worsened.
My sister Rachel took us to her apartment.
I did not go home.
I did not tell Ryan where we were.
At 8:11 p.m., Officer Patel called.
"We listened to the tape."
I sat down.
"And?"
"It appears Anna recorded herself using a child's cassette recorder. She says she was scared of her mother."
I closed my eyes.
"Does she mention the stairs?"
"No. The tape appears to be from the night before she died."
"What does she say?"
Patel paused.
"She says Diane told her if she told Frank about something she saw, Matthew would be punished instead."
"Saw what?"
"Anna never says."
Of course she didn't.
A dead child's secret opened another door instead of closing one.
"Is Ryan mentioned?"
"Yes."
My chest tightened.
"Anna says Ryan was crying because Diane made him clean blood off the kitchen floor."
I stopped breathing.
"Whose blood?"
"She doesn't say."
The line went quiet.
Then Patel added, "There's more. At the end of the tape, another voice comes into the room."
"Diane?"
"Male."
"Frank?"
"We don't know."
"Ryan?"
"He would have been ten. The voice sounds adult."
A knock came at Rachel's door.
My whole body went rigid.
Rachel looked through the peephole.
"It's Ryan."
I whispered, "Don't open it."
He knocked again.
"Megan, I know you're in there."
Lily looked up from the couch.
Her face changed when she heard his voice.
That reaction made the decision for me.
I told Patel, "Ryan found us."
"Do not open the door. Officers are on the way."
Ryan knocked harder.
"I just want to see Lily."
I stood behind the door.
"She doesn't want to see you."
Silence.
Then, "You put that in her head."
"She asked me not to let you come to the hospital."
Another silence.
When Ryan spoke again, his voice cracked.
"Mom got arrested again."
"Good."
"Megan."
"What?"
"They found Dad."
I stared at the door.
"What do you mean?"
"The police traced his phone."
My heart accelerated.
"Where is he?"
Ryan's answer came through the wood.
"At Mom's old lake property."
"Alive?"
"Yes."
I almost sagged with relief.
Then Ryan added, "But that's not why they're bringing him in."
"Why are they bringing him in?"
A police siren sounded in the distance.
Ryan lowered his voice.
"Because the adult voice on Anna's tape is his."
I pressed my forehead to the door.
"What does he say?"
Ryan answered with seven words.
"Diane, get the knife away from Matthew."
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