“They were six at the time, they shouldn’t have been in the pool at all, left alone unattended. Gabrielle was supposed to have been watching them,” Mr. Morgan said, his jaw taut. “It was Claudia’s day off.”

The pain that spread across Mrs. Morgan’s face was heart-wrenching. It was as if the children had died today. Val winced. She thought Mrs. Morgan couldn’t be hurt any further by the revelations coming out today, but Val was wrong. She was reliving tragedy, old wounds were being ripped open.

Mrs. Morgan glanced at her husband, then back to Gavin, as if waiting to get his approval, before proceeding. She finally spoke without waiting for it. “We never blamed Gabrielle for this. This was our fault for not having a better supervisor look after the twins. Gabrielle was barely more than a child herself.”

“She was sixteen, Rachel.” Mr. Morgan’s voice came out sharp, cutting to the point.

Another look passed between the Morgans. And too long a moment of uncomfortable silence before Mr. Morgan spoke. “Detective, please don’t get us wrong.” Mr. Morgan cast his head down, shaking it regretfully. After a few seconds, he rose his gaze to those in the room. “We loved our daughter very much. We loved—and continue to love—all of our children. Every family can tell you things that are unpleasant, especially if heard out of context. Snippets of stories are no substitution for having a well-rounded account of the person you’re talking about. We stayed by Gabrielle’s side and supported her as best we could throughout her entire life. But there is only so much you can do. The past is in the past but today, our grandson is dead and I want to know why. If Gabrielle was responsible, I want to know it.”

Val could see no love lost between this father and his daughter. Mrs. Morgan just seemed torn apart. Though Gabrielle wasn’t blamed for her brother and sister’s death, it was obvious Mr. Morgan did hold her responsible. He also seemed to think Gabrielle was capable of taking her own son’s life.

Val hated to press forward. Mrs. Morgan almost looked like she couldn’t bear to go through any more today but there were a few more things Val wanted to know. “You said you cut Gabrielle off because she wanted to marry a musician. This wasn’t Adam’s father, then?” Val asked.

“No. Adam’s father was a wonderful man. He died of cardiac arrest when Adam was two,” Mr. Morgan said.

“That’s an awfully young age to die from something like that. Did heart disease run in his family?” Gavin took over the questioning.