“Emma, it’s me. Umm . . . listen. I’m hearing some crazy things right now. It’s all very chaotic and I don’t know what to believe. Terrorists and airplanes. There was another explosion and people are saying a second plane hit the tower. Or the South Tower. I don’t . . . there’s nowhere for us to go. The door to the roof was locked, so we’re going to try to go down again. Someone said they know a different stairwell that might be open. So . . . I’m going now. But . . .”

A long pause hollowed the air on the patio and Avery noticed she had stopped breathing. She was leaning closer to the answering machine, waiting for Victoria Ford’s next words. There was a softness to this recording that was not present in the first. A lack of background noise and absence of the chaos that had been present in the first recording lent a stillness to this message that gave Avery the impression that not only Victoria Ford, but the building itself had given in to its fate. Victoria’s voice finally came.

“Everything that’s happening with me. Everything with the investigation. Please know . . . It’s important to me that you know . . . I didn’t do the things they’ve accused me of. I loved Cameron, that much is true. But I didn’t kill him. You know me, Em. You know I’m not capable of that. They said they found my blood and urine at the scene. But that can’t be true. None of it can be true. Please believe me. If I . . . Emma, if I’m not able to get out of this building . . . Please believe that I’m innocent. Please . . .”

Avery waited through several seconds of silence. For a moment she thought the recording was finished, but Emma made no move to stop the machine. Finally, Victoria Ford’s voice came back to them one last time.

“Find a way, Em. Find a way to prove it. Please? Just find a way to prove to the world that I’m not the monster they’ve painted me to be. I’ve gotta go now. I love you. ”

Emma reached to the center of the table and stopped the recording. She looked up at Avery.

“So there you have it. My sister’s dying request was for me to prove her innocence. I’ve tried for twenty years but have made little progress. The people who were involved with the case back then, like the rest of the world, became overwhelmed by the aftermath of 9/11. When things returned to some state of normal, my sister and the case against her was packed away. The matter was considered finished. I tried to keep the investigation going, knowing that the things they claimed my sister did could not be true. But no one wanted to hear from me. No one wanted to talk to me. No one cared.”

“I care,” Avery said.