Daniel has already spoken to the lawyer.”
Daniel’s voice shook through the speakers.
“You said we were only going to scare her.”
“Then stop standing there and help me clean.”
A mop bucket rolled across the tile.
For nearly two minutes, the only sounds were coughing, scraping, and Lily whimpering.
Then Clara’s voice became very close to the microphone hidden inside Miss Button.
“Hold the doll,” she whispered to Lily.
“Keep holding it.”
The toy struck the floor.
Fabric dragged through spilled soup.
Clara had deliberately pressed the doll into the liquid.
She had preserved a sample while Evelyn was trying to erase it.
The audio continued.
Daniel asked whether Clara and Lily were still breathing.
Evelyn said they were and ordered him to leave before Michael arrived.
“What about the bottle?” he asked.
“Behind the water heater.
I’ll take care of it later.”
A door closed.
For several minutes, Evelyn moved around the kitchen alone.
She washed dishes, filled the mop bucket, and rehearsed sentences under her breath.
“Clara refused to eat.
Clara became violent.
Clara must have mixed something into the soup.”
Then a third person entered the kitchen.
Michael recognized the voice immediately.
It belonged to Mrs.
