Chapter 2 - DAISY WAS SAFE
Daisy had never been harmed.
The meat in the hot pot was store-bought duck.
Claire found the packaging in the trash.
The neighbor, Susan Hale, explained that Linda had brought Daisy over an hour earlier.
“She said you asked me to watch her during dinner.”
Claire stared.
“I never asked that.”
Susan’s face changed.
Daisy had been placed safely in the fenced garden.
Water.
Feed.
No injury.
Linda had removed the bow.
That was the part Claire could not stop thinking about.
Why remove it?
Why stage proof?
Why make the lie convincing?
Ryan tried to explain.
“My mom wanted you to see how ridiculous this obsession with Daisy has gotten.”
Claire looked at him.
“You watched me think she was dead.”
“I knew she wasn’t.”
“That is not better.”
Ryan said:
“We thought you’d calm down once you realized.”
Claire laughed.
“You mean once you broke me enough to prove a point.”
Ryan had no answer.
Then Claire saw another expression on Linda’s face.
May you like
Not embarrassment.
Calculation.
