Chapter 1 - I Recorded Everything
The first metal pellet Laura Bennett noticed was under the coffee table.
The second was beside her three-year-old daughter’s bare foot.
By the time she saw the black launcher in her husband’s hands, Sophie was already crying.
“Dad, please stop!”
Laura froze in the doorway.
For one impossible second, her brain refused to arrange the scene correctly.
Their Richmond, Virginia living room looked ordinary.
Afternoon sunlight through the blinds.
Television off.
A basket of folded laundry on the sofa.
Wooden floor.
Family photographs above the console.
And her husband Mark standing several yards from their little girl with a black pellet launcher pointed in Sophie’s direction.
Sophie’s pale legs had several small bruises.
Nothing fresh was bleeding.
That did not make the scene less horrifying.
“Hold still,” Mark said. “Move again and I’ll really fire.”
Laura’s body moved before her thoughts did.
She crossed the room and knocked the launcher downward.
“She’s only three! What is wrong with you?”
Mark looked irritated rather than ashamed.
“She needs to toughen up.”
Laura stared at him.
“What?”
“She cries about everything.”
“She is three years old.”
Sophie wrapped both arms around Laura’s leg.
Laura dropped to her knees and pulled her daughter against her chest.
Sophie was trembling.
Laura reached into her back pocket for her phone.
“I’m calling 911.”
That finally changed Mark’s expression.
He stepped forward.
“Laura.”
She unlocked the screen.
“Stay away from us.”
He moved faster.
His hand struck the phone from hers.
The device hit the hardwood with a violent crack.
The screen shattered.
Laura stared down at it.
Mark gave a short laugh.
“Ha! You don’t have any proof.”
A voice came from the hallway.
“I recorded everything, Mom.”
Everyone turned.
Twelve-year-old Emily stood in the doorway.
Laura’s older daughter looked terrified.
But she did not move.
She held a black tablet with both hands.
The camera was still recording.
On the screen was the same room from farther back.
The same gray shirt Mark wore.
The same launcher.
The same scattered pellets.
The same little girl.
Mark’s face changed.
Smugness disappeared.
His eyes widened.
“Emily.”
She stepped backward.
“Don’t.”
Mark took one step toward her.
Laura stood immediately, Sophie in her arms.
“Do not go near her.”
Mark stopped.
The house became silent except for Sophie crying against Laura’s shoulder.
Emily looked at her mother.
“There’s more.”
Laura’s stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
Emily’s lips trembled.
“I recorded him yesterday too.”
Mark shook his head.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
Emily looked directly at him.
“Yes, I do.”
Laura reached for the tablet.
“Can you call someone from this?”
Emily nodded.
Laura opened the messaging app with shaking fingers.
She called their next-door neighbor, Teresa Coleman.
“Teresa?”
“Laura?”
“Call 911. Please.”
“What happened?”
“Just call.”
Teresa heard Sophie crying.
Her voice changed.
“I’m calling now.”
Mark moved toward the front door.
Laura blocked the path only with her position, not touching him.
“You need to stay away from us.”
“I’m leaving.”
“No.”
“You just told Teresa to call the police.”
“Yes.”
“So why would I stay?”
“Because they need to speak to you.”
Mark laughed bitterly.
“You think they’re going to believe a kid’s video?”
Emily’s face went pale.
Laura looked at her.
“They don’t need to believe anything yet. They need to see it.”
Sirens sounded faintly outside.
Mark looked toward the window.
Then toward Emily’s tablet.
For the first time in fourteen years of marriage, Laura saw something in her husband that frightened her more than his anger.
Calculation.
His eyes moved around the room.
The launcher.
The pellets.
The cracked phone.
Sophie’s legs.
The tablet.
Evidence.
He was inventorying the room.
Mark lowered his voice.
“Laura, listen to me. This can still stay inside the family.”
Laura stared.
“What?”
“You know what happens if police come into this house.”
“Yes.”
“No, you don’t.”
The sirens grew louder.
Mark’s jaw tightened.
“You could lose both girls.”
Laura felt cold.
“Why would I lose them?”
Mark did not answer.
But something in his expression told her the sentence had not been spoken impulsively.
He had thought about this before.
The police cruiser stopped outside.
Emily whispered:
“Mom?”
Laura looked at her.
Emily held the tablet closer.
“There are videos where Dad talks about you too.”
A knock thundered at the front door.
“Richmond County Police.”
Mark closed his eyes.
Laura looked from her husband to the tablet.
May you like
She had entered the room believing she had caught the worst thing Mark had ever done.
She was beginning to realize she had only caught the first thing she could finally prove.
