Chapter 5: The Yellow Backpack
I couldn't look away from the photograph.
The little girl in the hotel footage was walking beside Rebecca Cole, her yellow backpack hanging from one shoulder. Her face was turned toward the camera, but the image was grainy enough that I couldn't be certain who she was.
Then I noticed the small purple ribbon tied around the backpack's zipper.
Lily had tied that ribbon herself.
She'd found it in a drawer at home and insisted it was lucky because purple was the color of royalty.
My daughter had worn it every day for nearly a month.
“That's Lily,” I whispered.
Officer Brooks studied the image.
“We're verifying the identity.””
“It's her backpack.””
Danielle moved beside me.
When she saw the photograph, she made a sound I will never forget.
“No.””
She leaned closer to the screen.
“That's Lily's bag.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. That can't be right.””
I turned toward her.
“Why would your mother bring my daughter to the hotel?””
“I don't know.””
“Stop saying that!””
“I don't know, Marcus!””
Her voice cracked, but this time I didn't care whether she was frightened or sincere.
I cared about the fact that my daughter had apparently been taken to the same hotel where I'd spent the weekend pretending I didn't have a family.
Officer Brooks enlarged the image.
“Do you recognize the clothing?””
Danielle nodded slowly.
“That's her yellow raincoat. She wore it when she went to school on Friday.””
I felt my stomach twist.
“But she was at school,” I said.
“She got sick at school. Danielle took her to the hospital.””
“Yes,” Danielle replied.
“She was at school that morning.””
Her eyes remained fixed on the image.
“Then the school called me. I left work and drove straight to the hospital. I never saw her again until—”
Her voice broke.
She couldn't finish.
Officer Brooks lowered the phone.
“Let's establish the timeline before we draw conclusions. The footage may have been recorded on a different day, and the image needs to be verified.””
I nodded, though I could barely think.
“Can you contact the school?”” I asked.
“Can you find out whether Lily left with anyone?””
“We'll contact them.””
Vanessa sat down heavily.
“My mother wouldn't hurt a child.””
Danielle turned toward her.
“You already told us your mother threatened my daughter.””
“She wanted to frighten her. That's not the same thing.””
Danielle stared at her.
“Tell that to the little girl who was afraid her father didn't love her.””
Vanessa began crying again.
I wanted to scream at her.
Instead, I walked toward the kitchen because I couldn't bear to remain beside her for another second.
On the counter sat Lily's pink plastic cup.
Danielle had washed it and placed it beside the sink, perhaps because putting it away would mean admitting she wouldn't need it again.
A small stain of strawberry juice remained near the rim.
I picked it up.
It was so light.
It shouldn't have been possible for something so small to hurt so much.
I remembered Lily standing on a chair beside me while I made pancakes, stealing strawberries from the cutting board and pretending she hadn't.
"Daddy, you can't prove it was me," she'd say, her cheeks bulging with fruit.
I'd tickle her until she laughed.
Then she'd wrap her arms around my waist and whisper, "You're my favorite person.""
I pressed the cup against my chest.
My phone vibrated.
For one irrational moment, I thought it might be Lily.
I pulled it from my pocket.
It was a notification from my email account.
A message had been received at 4:06 p.m. on Friday.
The sender was an unfamiliar address.
The subject line contained only two words.
*YOUR DAUGHTER*
My fingers went numb.
I opened it.
There was no greeting.
No explanation.
Just a photograph.
Lily stood in a hotel corridor, her yellow backpack hanging from one shoulder. She was holding a folded piece of paper in both hands.
Below the photograph was a sentence.
You need to know what she found.
I stared at the screen.
Then I shouted for Officer Brooks.
She came into the kitchen immediately, followed by Danielle.
“What is it?”” she asked.
I showed her the email.
She studied the photograph without touching my phone.
“When did this arrive?””
“Friday afternoon. I never saw it.””
“Has anyone else accessed this account?””
“I don't know.””
She asked me to leave the message open while she contacted the digital investigator.
Danielle stood beside me, staring at Lily's face.
“She was trying to tell you something,” she whispered.
I nodded.
“I'm sorry.””
She looked at me.
“Stop saying you're sorry when what you mean is that you wish you hadn't been caught.””
I flinched.
“I mean that I failed her.””
“Yes,” Danielle said.
“You did.””
She turned away.
I couldn't argue.
Officer Brooks's phone rang.
She answered, listened, and began asking questions in a low voice.
When she hung up, she looked at Vanessa.
“Your mother has been contacted. She says she never brought Lily to Savannah.””
Vanessa immediately stood.
“See? I told you.””
Officer Brooks continued.
“However, she confirmed that she entered the hotel room on Friday afternoon.””
Vanessa's relief vanished.
“What did she say she was doing?””
“She claims she was retrieving a document you left behind.””
Vanessa looked confused.
“What document?””
Officer Brooks held her gaze.
“She says it was a printed photograph of Mr. Reed and his daughter.””
I stared at Vanessa.
“Why would my photograph be in your hotel room?””
Vanessa's lips parted.
“I don't know.””
Officer Brooks waited.
Vanessa looked toward the window.
Then she slowly reached into her handbag.
She removed a small envelope.
I recognized the handwriting on the front.
It was Lily's.
FOR DADDY.
My heart stopped.
“Where did you get that?””
Vanessa held it against her chest.
“I was going to give it to you.””
“Give me what?””
She looked at Danielle.
“I found it in the hotel room.””
Danielle stepped forward.
“Give it to him.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know what was inside.””
“Then open it,” I said.
Her fingers trembled as she slid a nail beneath the flap.
Inside was a photograph of Lily sitting at our kitchen table, wearing her favorite purple pajamas.
She was holding up a drawing.
Behind her, reflected in the dark window, was a figure standing in the hallway.
A woman.
Long hair.
A dark coat.
Vanessa stared at the photograph.
I took it from her.
The woman in the reflection looked familiar, but I couldn't place her.
On the back of the photograph, Lily had written a message in purple crayon.
Daddy, I saw her take your phone.
My hands began to shake.
Danielle covered her mouth.
Officer Brooks leaned closer.
“Do you know who the woman is?””
I stared at the reflection.
Then I recognized the coat.
It was the same dark coat Rebecca Cole wore in the hotel footage.
I turned toward Vanessa.
“Your mother was in my house?””
Vanessa's face had gone completely blank.
“She visited once.””
“When?””
“Last month.””
“You told me she had never met Lily.””
“I lied.””
I felt something inside me go cold.
“What did she do here?””
Vanessa looked at the photograph.
“She came to talk to me.””
“About what?””
“About you.””
I stepped closer.
“Why was she taking my phone?””
“I don't know.””
Officer Brooks took the photograph from me and placed it carefully inside a clear evidence sleeve.
“Did Lily say anything to you about seeing Ms. Cole in the house?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know she saw her.””
“Did your mother tell you she had been there?””
“No.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Lily had seen someone taking my phone.
She'd tried to tell me.
And I hadn't been there to listen.
Officer Brooks's phone rang again.
She answered, listened, then asked the caller to repeat the last sentence.
Her face tightened.
“What do you mean, the school has no record of her leaving with anyone?””
She listened for several seconds.
Then she ended the call.
Danielle grabbed her arm.
“What is it?””
Officer Brooks looked at both of us.
“The school confirms Lily was picked up by you, Ms. Reed, on Friday.””
Danielle nodded, confused.
“Yes. I took her to the hospital.””
“The school says she left with you at 12:41 p.m. They have no record of her being taken anywhere else that day.””
I felt a sudden wave of relief.
Then Officer Brooks continued.
“But the hotel footage is time-stamped 4:06 p.m. Friday.””
The relief disappeared.
“That can't be right,” Danielle whispered.
“Lily was in the hospital by then.””
Officer Brooks nodded.
“That's why we need to verify the footage.””
I looked at the image again.
The girl had Lily's backpack.
Her coat.
Her ribbon.
But there was something else.
Something I'd missed because I'd been staring at her face.
The photograph in Lily's hands.
The folded paper.
It was the same purple construction paper I'd seen on our coffee table, the drawing she'd made for me.
Except in the hotel footage, the paper was open.
And there was writing on the back.
I enlarged the image on my phone.
The words were blurry, but I could make out a few letters.
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS...
My breath caught.
I showed Officer Brooks.
She stared at the screen for a long moment.
Then she looked at me.
“Mr. Reed, did your daughter have any reason to believe someone might hurt her?””
I looked at Vanessa.
She was staring at the photograph as if she had seen a ghost.
“Vanessa?””
She shook her head.
“Please don't.””
“Don't what?””
“Don't make me say it.””
Officer Brooks's voice sharpened.
“Say what?””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Then, through her fingers, she whispered:
“Lily saw my mother put something in Marcus's suitcase.””
The room fell silent.
I looked toward the suitcase still lying near the front door.
The same suitcase I'd carried home from Savannah.
The same suitcase Vanessa had packed for a weekend she believed would change our lives.
“What did she put inside?”” I asked.
Vanessa began to sob.
“I don't know.””
I stared at her.
“Then why was Lily trying to tell me?””
Vanessa's eyes met mine.
“Because she thought it was something dangerous.””
Officer Brooks immediately contacted the officers outside.
They secured the suitcase and arranged for it to be examined.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody went near it.
We waited in the living room while the afternoon light faded behind the curtains.
Danielle sat on the sofa with Lily's drawing in her hands.
Vanessa stared at the floor.
I stood by the window, trying to remember every moment of the weekend.
Every time I'd left my phone unattended.
Every time I'd turned away from Vanessa.
Every time I'd chosen not to ask a question because I was afraid of the answer.
After nearly an hour, Officer Brooks returned from the hallway.
Her expression was grim.
“We found something inside the suitcase.””
I swallowed.
“What?””
She paused.
Then she looked directly at me.
“A second phone. It's switched off, and it's been wrapped in a child's drawing.””
My blood turned to ice.
“Can you tell whose phone it is?””
Officer Brooks shook her head.
“Not yet.””
Vanessa rose so quickly that the sofa cushion slid to the floor.
“No,” she whispered.
I turned toward her.
“You know what it is.””
She shook her head, crying.
“No, Marcus. I swear I don't.””
Officer Brooks's radio crackled.
She listened, then looked up.
“The digital team has just identified the phone's owner.””
I waited, barely breathing.
Officer Brooks's gaze shifted toward Vanessa.
“It's registered to Rebecca Cole.””
Vanessa staggered backward.
May you like
Then she whispered something that made Danielle stand frozen beside the sofa.
“My mother told me she destroyed that phone.””
