He wanted to ask me where the documents had come from and whether I had altered them
I told him the originals were still with Irene and that I had not changed a word
He thanked me and arranged a time when she could speak with him directly
Before hanging up he warned me that reporters were contacting homeowners
He said I should not discuss evidence that had not been publicly released
I agreed
That evening Tyler appeared outside my house without Meredith
He stood beyond the property line with his hands tucked into his jacket
I walked toward him but stopped several feet away
He looked older than he had on the day he tried to take the Mustang
He said his mother had told him the car was supposed to be his graduation present
He said he had believed her because she had already promised him the keys
I asked whether he knew the brakes were unfinished
He stared at the driveway
He admitted that he had seen a warning tag on the steering wheel
His mother had told him it was a mechanics reminder and nothing serious
He said he had pulled the tag off because it made the car look unfinished
I felt anger rise so quickly that I had to stop speaking
Tyler mistook my silence for disbelief
He reached into his pocket and showed me a photograph on his phone
The picture showed the Mustang in my garage with the warning tag still attached
He had taken it before the tow truck arrived
I asked why he had kept the photograph
He said he had wanted to show his friends the car he thought he was getting
He looked at me and asked whether he could send me the original file
I said he could provide it directly to the investigator
He agreed and wrote down Marcuss office number
Then he said something I had not expected
He told me his mother had insisted that Laura had abandoned the Mustang before she died
I told him Laura had been working on that car until her health made the work impossible
Tyler swallowed hard
He said he had never known her
I told him she had loved driving with the windows open even when the weather was cold
He asked whether she had chosen the red paint
I said she had chosen it after looking at more samples than I could remember
