I asked whether she had ever considered the effect on Elena, Daniel, or the cleaning staff.
The letter grew to four pages.
Then I read it and realized it contained questions Patricia was unlikely to answer honestly.
I put it in a drawer and did not send it.
Elena found me sitting beside the desk with the envelope in my hand.
She asked what I hoped a reply would give me.
I said I wanted Patricia to understand how much damage she had caused.
Elena said understanding was not something I could force into another person.
I could explain the harm in court, in a statement, or in a private conversation if I chose.
I could not make Patricia receive it.
We put the letter away together.
I kept it because it documented my own understanding of what had happened.
I did not keep it because I expected Patricia to change.
Chapter 32: The Missing Week
Detective Sato asked me to reconstruct my schedule during the week after the second cleaning visit.
I used calendar entries, delivery receipts, and physical therapy appointments.
The work was tedious and emotionally exhausting.
Each ordinary item reminded me that someone might have watched its beginning or end.
On Tuesday I had taken a video interview from the couch.
On Wednesday Daniel had visited about the shop.
On Thursday Elena had stayed late after our argument.
On Friday Patricia brought soup and asked whether I was sleeping well.
I had answered that the new pain medication made me drowsy.
Sato asked whether I had taken any photographs of the bookshelf that week.
I searched my phone and found a picture of a new houseplant beside the clock.
The image was taken on the morning of the cleaning visit.
The back of the clock lay flush against the wall.
A photograph taken the next afternoon showed it slightly angled.
The differences were small but visible.
Sato requested the original image files rather than screenshots.
I sent them through the method she provided.
That night I remembered Patricia offering to adjust the clock because it looked crooked.
I had laughed and said she was welcome to straighten it.
The memory made me sick.
Permission to move a clock was not permission to hide a camera.
Yet I knew Patricia would try to turn that casual remark into something broader.
I made a detailed note of the conversation while I could still recall it.
Chapter 33: A Brother’s Decision
Daniel called one Saturday and asked me to come to the machine shop before the morning shift ended.
