Edie strapped the baby to her chest and followed her parents inside while Nathan and Dave unloaded the car. The bottle of wine and the plate and napkin and handful of utensils Trevor had used were still on the coffee table. Chief Frank Kittery, a tall, thick-necked man with a moustache and a military haircut, guided the family to the dining room table. Edie remained standing, swaying and lightly bouncing, trying to keep Lydia quiet. The chief explained that Trevor had been cooperative at first but that his story was inconsistent, that he had a juvenile record, and that he’d resisted an officer at the jail facility.

“He says he doesn’t know where Claudia is,” said Lt. Braga.

“Do you believe him?” asked Gabe.

“I do, actually,” said Lt. Braga. “But I could be wrong. We’re not done with him. Especially now that he’s made an accusation against Ridley Drake.”

The chief eyed Michelle. Apparently he read the Post, too.

“What sort of accusation?” asked Edie.

“He claims Mr. Drake’s son recorded a sexual encounter with Claudia,” said the chief. “He also claims that Mr. Drake stole his phone, which he says has a copy of the encounter on it.”

“He called it an encounter?” asked Edie.

“What’s important is—”

“What’s important,” said Michelle, “is that Chad Drake filmed himself raping my daughter.”

Without even a glance between them, Gabe took the iPhone from his pocket and handed it to Michelle, who handed it to the chief. Edie considered leaving the room but it occurred to her that she was probably going to have to deal with this video for a long time, and she’d better start getting used to it. She’d better start getting strong. Claudia had to endure it; the least she could do was bear to watch it. She put her hands over Lydia’s ears.

Fifty-eight seconds felt like an hour.

The chief spoke first. “I’m not sure what I’m looking at here.”

Asshole, Edie thought. He probably got off on porn like that every night. He could take the video as evidence and get off on it at home. He could pass it to a friend. Or ten. That’s what Claudia was running from, Edie realized. And the truth was that she’d never be able to run far enough.

“Ridley knows,” said Michelle “Ask him.”

“Did you know that Mr. Drake was here the day before yesterday?” asked Lt. Braga.

The chief glared at his subordinate. “Lieutenant,” he said.

“Here? At this house?” asked Michelle.

Lt. Braga nodded; the chief appeared annoyed.

“I did not know. What was he doing?”

“After we took the boy from Ohio into custody we asked your neighbors for any footage from security cameras. The people just across from you captured a white Tesla driving up and the driver getting out early yesterday. It was Mr. Drake.”

“Lieutenant,” said the captain, “Mr. Drake explained that.”