Chapter 9 - THE NEIGHBOR WHO KEPT THE SECOND KEY
Mrs. Ruth Calder had lived beside Diane for twenty-two years. She said Thomas gave her a sealed envelope shortly before his death and instructed her to open it if a child ever came to her house carrying stars.
She assumed he meant a drawing.
When Eli appeared with an astronaut backpack, she understood.
The envelope contained the second key and instructions for accessing an encrypted camera archive. Thomas had installed exterior cameras at Diane’s house after suspecting she moved Carol without reporting it. He mirrored selected footage to Ruth’s tablet because Diane controlled the home system.
Ruth never checked the archive. She feared becoming involved and believed Thomas’s legal work protected the woman.
“You saw Eli crying there,” Daniel said.
“I saw him arrive smiling sometimes and leave quiet. I told myself families have hard days.”
Her passivity had consequences, though it was not equal to Diane’s conduct.
The archive showed Carol visiting Diane regularly at night. Some clips depicted her walking freely. Others showed Diane guiding her by the arm after medication. Hannah appeared at six visits.
In one recording, Carol stood at the property line staring toward Ruth’s camera. She held up a handwritten card:
DANIEL DID NOT HURT ME.
Diane pulled her inside.
The footage authenticated Thomas’s account but did not locate Carol now.
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The final archived clip was dated that morning. A woman in a dark coat entered Diane’s house alone. Diane opened the door immediately.
Her face remained hidden.
