Ivy nodded and closed the computer. “He was hitting her. It started soon after they moved into the house. That bloodstain on the counter? They say it was from blueberries but everyone knows the truth. He gave her a bloody nose. They were fighting over something stupid, and she mouthed off to him, and he punched her in the face. It wasn’t the first time. It definitely wasn’t the last.”

“Did you ever see him hurt her?”

“Not directly, no. But I’d see the aftermath. The bruises. You should look at her phone. There are photos. I used to make her take a picture after every incident. I wanted her to go to the police, to file charges against him. She never would. They kept it all a secret.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the abuse when I asked before?”

“Because if Sutton is alive, she will be furious with me for telling you. Like I said, it was a secret. I’m the only one who knew.”

“There were calls to the police, domestic calls, when they were fighting. It wasn’t that much of a secret.”

“The public face of abuse is very different than the private. Look at OJ and Nicole. No one wanted to believe that their hero was an obsessed narcissist who slit her throat.”

“Did Ethan know you knew?”

“I don’t know.” A small sob escaped Brookes’s lips. “This is why I called. The email, and... I’ve been getting strange phone calls the past few days. Hang-ups, from a number I don’t recognize. I’m worried.”

“Do you have the number?”

“Yes. I’ll write it down for you.”

“Do you think Ethan might try and hurt you?”

“Like he did Sutton?” A little gasp, her hand over her mouth. “I mean, we don’t know for sure that he has hurt her. But I can’t see any other truth. Think about it. He waited for hours to tell anyone she was gone—and that’s according to him. It was the weekend. She could have been gone for much longer. None of us saw her in the few days before she left. Her last email to me was on Friday. He could easily be lying about when she actually disappeared. Combined with the abuse, the fear—Sutton was constantly afraid of him—it’s frightening. Alarming, really.”

“I will admit, it was odd to show up to take the report and see he’d already hired a lawyer. It doesn’t help his case.”

Ivy blushed. “Um...that was my fault. He suggested it and I agreed it was a good idea. I was still protecting him, protecting them. At the time, I didn’t think Sutton was in danger, and I didn’t want him to be railroaded. Looking back, if he wasn’t guilty, he would have told me I was insane and not done it.”