Chapter 4 - THE CAMERA THAT STOPPED AT 2:14
The yacht had eight cameras.
Interior hallways.
Engine room.
Aft deck.
Bow.
Two exterior side views.
Only one camera covered the section where Margaret fell.
It stopped recording at 2:14 p.m.
Margaret went overboard at approximately 2:26.
Twelve minutes.
Daniel claimed electrical failure.
The yacht engineer disagreed.
The cable had been manually cut.
Then another detail.
Daniel had spent twenty minutes alone on deck before departure.
He said:
phone call.
Marina security showed him carrying a small tool pouch.
Daniel’s attorney explained:
he had tightened a loose cabinet handle.
Possible.
Then the broken railing.
Not catastrophic failure.
One bracket had been loosened.
A technician found fresh tool marks.
Could someone have prepared the railing to fail?
Yes.
Did it actually fail during Margaret’s fall?
Unclear.
Claire felt sick.
She asked Daniel:
“Did you touch the railing?”
“No.”
“Were you fixing anything outside?”
“No.”
“What was in the pouch?”
“Basic tools.”
“Why?”
He snapped:
“Because it’s a boat, Claire.”
First flash of anger.
Then he softened.
“I’m sorry.”
She stared.
He had used apology quickly.
Too quickly.
Then Thomas asked about the bracelet.
Daniel said he never saw it.
Claire looked up.
“You were right beside her.”
“I was trying to save her.”
Thomas did not argue.
He only wrote:
May you like
DENIES KNOWLEDGE OF BRACELET.
That sentence would matter later.
