Julia tried to get Erika’s attention, but her friend wouldn’t look her way. What was that all about? Did she have something to hide? Perhaps she was nervous that Lucas had lied to them, claiming he had never even spoken to Fiona.In fairness, it’s hard to chat when your lips are locked together.But did Erika know more than she was letting on? If so, Julia couldn’t fathom why she was keeping secrets.
Julia let her ruminations go, refocusing on her priority—protecting her daughter above all else. “I’ll talk to Taylor and let you know if there’s anything important to share.”
“I’d appreciate that,” said Baker. “Depending on how this goes, I may need to talk to all of you later, including Lucas. Here, take my card.” Julia accepted the business card Baker removed from her wallet. “And what’s your name?” Baker asked.
Julia gave the detective her information. Baker jotted it down and asked, “Anything else to add? Did you see anything out of the ordinary?”
Julia shook her head. “No, nothing really,” she said. “You mentioned David and Fiona’s argument, so I guess you already know about that. I only overheard some of it.”
Erika wouldn’t let an opportunity to deflect attention away from Lucas pass her by. “Oh, and don’t believe David, that was hardly alittlefight,” she said to Baker.
Wisely, the nanny stayed in the kitchen as she stole glances up the stairs, likely wondering how the kids were faring without her.Julia occasionally heard the stomp of little feet and soft giggles emanating from one of the rooms above. Luckily, the children seemed unbothered by the morning’s events.
“Did you happen to hear the argument?” Baker asked Erika.
“Parts of it. And it was pretty intense,” Erika said.
“Any idea what it was about? Oh, and your name, please.”
“I’m Erika Sullivan. My husband is Rick Sullivan, and Lucas is my son. And David and Fiona had a big blowout about David sleeping with the nanny.”
“Not me!” Izzy exclaimed as heads turned in her direction. “He slept with the other nanny—or not, because I don’t know for sure. I don’t know who he’s slept with. I’m new here.”
Poor thing is nervous as a fawn,thought Julia.
Baker tapped her pencil against her notebook. She gave David an assessing stare. “That sounds like an argument I’d remember,” she said. “Now, I’m assuming the fight happened after the kiss, right?”
“Yes,” Izzy said with confidence.
“And the boy who kissed Fiona, he’s your son?” Baker asked Erika. “And he’s how old?”
“He’s eighteen andallegedlykissed,” Erika clarified.
“Right, allegedly kissed,” Baker corrected herself.
David strode into the center of the group. “Couples fight. People kiss. Sometimes people take off and then return, especially after a night like Fiona’s. So like you said, Detective, unless the person vanished under suspicious circumstances, or you find her body in the water, God forbid, there’s not much to do but wait this out.”
Baker put her notebook away, preparing to leave. She paused to check out David’s new digs once more. Julia could imagine what she was thinking. This modern, gleaming, glass-faced edifice looked entirely out of place compared with the neighboring homes.
“You sure do have a fancy place, Mr. Dunne. I assume you have a security system.”
With that, David’s whole face lit up. “I’m not thinking straight,” he said, admonishing himself. “I’ve been so stressed I forgot theobvious. I guess I’m not used to the house yet, but yes, I have a brand-new security system with cameras, all connected to an app. I can see precisely when Fiona left, down to the second.”
David took out his phone and got to work. Everything was online these days. Erika even bragged that her new smart fridge had a camera that allowed her to peek inside from the grocery store to see what produce was rotting.
Judging by David’s sour expression, something other than fruit had gone bad.
He stood stock-still, gaping at his phone. He practically vibrated with unease.
The phone fell away from his face, his expression bemused. “It’s gone,” he said, almost to himself.
“What is?” asked Baker.
“The security camera footage—it’s blank.” He held up the phone, showing a square aperture—a video playback window which was entirely black. “It didn’t record anything. Since midnight last night, the whole system has been out of commission. I just restarted it.”
“Why would that be?” Baker wanted to know.
“I dunno,” said David, his voice almost a whisper. “Maybe the internet was out, or it could have been a system malfunction.”
