Neither of us made a dramatic declaration.
We agreed that we would keep talking even when circumstances were difficult.
The next morning I realized how much of that ordinary work Patricia had tried to interrupt.
A stolen private conversation was not merely embarrassing.
It could distort a relationship before either person understood what was happening.
I told Elena I was sorry for asking whether she had spoken to Patricia.
She accepted the apology, then asked me not to use fear as an excuse to doubt her again.
I promised to try.
It was the first promise I had made in weeks that did not involve lawyers or police.
Chapter 17: A Doorbell Recording
Helen Cho called with a detail she had almost forgotten.
Her doorbell camera had been disconnected during the afternoon Patricia visited me, but it had worked again that night.
She had reviewed the footage because the silver car’s damaged taillight bothered her.
The camera showed the man returning to Patricia’s driveway at nine forty-two.
He carried a narrow cardboard carton and left with the canvas tote.
Patricia stood beside him and pointed toward my house.
The recording did not show their faces clearly enough for Helen to identify him.
It did capture the license plate and a distinctive white repair patch on the rear bumper.
Helen gave the original file to Detective Sato rather than sending it around the neighborhood.
I thanked her when she told me.
She asked whether I was sleeping.
I admitted that I had moved temporarily to Elena’s apartment.
Helen said the street felt different since the police visited.
Neighbors were asking questions about cameras they had installed at Patricia’s suggestion.
Some were embarrassed that they had accepted her recommendations.
Others defended her because she had helped them through illness or loss.
Helen told them both things could be true.
A person could bring soup to a sick neighbor and still cross a line that must never be crossed.
I repeated that sentence in my head during the drive back to Fenton Avenue.
I had been trying to turn Patricia into a stranger in my memory because her betrayal made more sense that way.
Helen reminded me that the unsettling truth was more complicated.
Patricia had been helpful.
Patricia had also harmed me.
Those facts did not cancel each other.
Chapter 18: The Insurance Application
My attorney Leah Foster asked me to bring every document related to the machine shop’s proposed sale.
