Chapter 9 - THE PROBLEM
Celestine said “the problem” meant a packaging shortage.
Owen agreed.
Lark & Thread records showed there was, in fact, a packaging shortage that week.
That was the frustrating part.
Innocent explanations existed.
The message did not prove murder.
Then another message:
O:
I was at her place. Bad idea.
C:
Did she see you?
O:
No.
That changed things.
Owen had been at our house.
When?
Timestamp:
The night of the garage video.
Celestine’s attorney said Owen sometimes delivered samples personally.
At 10:30 p.m.?
Possible.
We lived fifteen minutes from Bellbird’s warehouse.
Still strange.
Mara’s camera showed Celestine.
Not Owen.
Maybe he stayed outside.
Then forensic examination of the video audio track recovered faint background sound.
A male voice.
Not enough for identification.
Door closing.
Metal clink.
Celestine saying:
“Give me the small one.”
That line mattered.
Small what?
Tool?
Package?
Key?
We did not know.
Owen’s lawyer stopped cooperation.
Smart.
Police sought additional warrants.
Meanwhile, Poppy returned to school.
Normal life reasserted itself rudely.
She had a spelling test.
She got seven of ten.
Cried because Mara used to help.
I realized I had spent days discussing brakes while forgetting my daughter needed to spell “because.”
That evening we sat at the kitchen table.
B-E-C-A-U-S-E.
She asked:
“Is Celestine going to jail?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she hurt Mommy?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she burn Dolly because Mommy hid the shiny thing?”
“Yes.”
That part we knew.
“Why?”
“Because she was afraid of what was on it.”
“What’s on it?”
“Things Mommy saved.”
“Like pictures?”
“Some.”
“Of me?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
There were twelve photographs of Poppy on the USB.
Completely unrelated.
Mara.
Even building a secret archive, she copied pictures of our daughter.
Poppy smiled.
Then:
“Can I see?”
I showed her only the ordinary photos.
No recordings.
No adult evidence.
Children should not become evidence custodians.
The next morning, police arrested Owen Trask.
Not for murder.
Financial fraud.
The Bellbird invoices.
Bank transfers.
False statements.
Celestine was not arrested yet.
Her financial exposure remained under review.
Owen began negotiating.
His lawyer offered a proffer.
Truth in exchange for consideration.
Detective Ellis told me nothing until agreement was formal.
Good.
Then Daniel received the forensic report on one audio file previously held back.
Mara and Celestine.
Same garage night.
Authentication strong.
The prosecutor scheduled a private review.
This was the file that would finally answer the question we had been circling for nine chapters.
Not whether Celestine was cruel.
We knew that.
Not whether she profited from Bellbird.
We had enough to suspect.
The question was whether Mara’s death belonged to the same story.
At 9:00 the next morning, the prosecutor pressed play.
May you like
And Celestine’s voice said:
“You were supposed to get scared enough to stop digging, not take the car out.”
