Chapter 9 - THE FOURTH PERSON
The fingerprint didn't belong to anyone in the family.
That changed everything.
Detective Collins asked us to list everyone who had been inside the house that morning.
Family.
Friends.
Delivery drivers.
A repairman.
A babysitter.
The list grew longer.
Then I remembered something.
"The plumber."
Ben looked at me.
"What plumber?"
"The one your mother called last week."
"Why?"
"The kitchen sink."
Detective Collins wrote down the name.
"Did he enter the kitchen?"
"Yes."
"Did he have access to the mug?"
"I don't know."
The next day, police confirmed the fingerprint didn't belong to him either.
The investigation expanded.
Meanwhile, Linda's attorney filed another motion.
This time, they claimed the video had been manipulated.
Rachel laughed when she read it.
"That's desperate."
"Can they really say that?"
"They can say anything."
"Will the court believe it?"
"No."
Then Rachel became serious.
"But this tells me they're scared."
The police laboratory examined the original recording.
No edits.
No cuts.
No manipulation.
The metadata matched the date.
The phone's storage history matched the recording.
Everything was intact.
Then something unexpected happened.
Ben came into the room holding a folder.
"I found this in Mom's office."
Rachel looked up.
"What is it?"
"Receipts."
"For what?"
"Coffee."
He placed them on the table.
There were several.
Different brands.
Different temperatures.
Different dates.
I didn't understand.
Then I saw one dated the morning Ellie was hurt.
A specialty coffee shop.
Two large drinks.
One was iced.
One was extremely hot.
Rachel stared at the receipt.
"Where did she buy this?"
"Three blocks from the house."
"Who ordered it?"
"Mom."
I felt cold.
Linda had told police she had been drinking coffee left from breakfast.
But the receipt proved otherwise.
She had specifically purchased the coffee shortly before the incident.
Detective Collins was notified.
Then we found something even stranger.
The coffee cup from the shop had been photographed in the security footage.
Linda carried it into the kitchen.
She placed it beside the mug.
Then she walked away.
I watched the video.
"Why two?"
Ben shook his head.
"I don't know."
Detective Collins had an idea.
She checked the trash.
The second cup was gone.
But the shop's camera footage showed Linda buying two coffees.
One remained.
One disappeared.
Who took the second?
We didn't know.
Then the unidentified fingerprint came back.
It belonged to someone who had been in Linda's circle before.
A woman named Marissa.
Linda's close friend.
Marissa had visited the house that morning.
I remembered her.
She had arrived shortly before lunch.
She hugged Linda.
Then left before the ambulance came.
When police questioned her, she initially denied touching anything.
Then investigators showed her the fingerprint evidence.
She changed her story.
"I only moved the cup."
"Which cup?"
"The coffee."
"Why?"
Marissa began crying.
"Linda told me to."
I felt sick.
"What did she want you to do?"
Marissa looked at Detective Collins.
"Put it where the little girl could reach it."
Silence.
"Why?"
"Linda said she needed proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That Ellie was out of control."
I stared at the floor.
Marissa continued.
"She wanted everyone to believe Ellie caused it."
"Did Linda tell you to throw the coffee?"
"No."
"Did she tell you what she planned to do?"
Marissa hesitated.
"She said she would scare the child."
I closed my eyes.
"So Linda had help."
"Yes."
Marissa gave investigators her phone.
There were messages.
Linda:
PUT THE CUP CLOSER.
Marissa:
ARE YOU SURE?
Linda:
YES.
Then:
SHE NEEDS TO LEARN.
I felt tears roll down my face.
It wasn't an accident.
It wasn't a flinch.
It wasn't a misunderstanding.
It was planned.
And now we had the messages to prove it.
But the most shocking message was the last one.
Linda had sent it the night before the incident.
IF SHE STILL REFUSES TO LET ME HAVE TIME ALONE WITH ELLIE, WE DO IT TOMORROW.
I stared at those words.
Time alone.
That was the part that frightened me most.
Linda hadn't only wanted to hurt Ellie.
May you like
She had wanted access to her.
And she had been planning something before the coffee ever entered the room.
