Chapter 2 – Part 2: Every Camera Has a Memory
Chapter 2 – Part 2: Every Camera Has a Memory
Daniel hesitated just long enough for Officer Martinez to notice.
She didn't repeat the question.
She simply waited.
Experienced officers knew that silence often revealed more than words ever could.
Finally, Daniel cleared his throat.
"...Yes."
Officer Martinez glanced up at the small black camera mounted above the dining room archway.
"And it's recording?"
Daniel shifted his weight.
"I... think so."
"You think so?"
"I haven't checked it in a while."
Before he could say anything else, Gloria hurried to his side.
"My son works long hours, Officer. Those cameras were installed years ago. They barely function anymore."
Officer Martinez gave a polite nod, but her expression remained unreadable.
"I'll determine that."
Outside, the wail of an ambulance grew louder.
A moment later, two paramedics entered carrying a trauma bag and a stretcher.
One of them, a gray-haired man with kind eyes, approached me immediately.
"I'm Mark. Can you tell me where it hurts?"
"My ribs."
"Can you breathe?"
"Barely."
He knelt beside me carefully.
"I'm going to examine you. Try not to move."
His partner gently cut away part of my blouse to expose my side.
Dark purple bruises were already spreading across my ribs.
The younger paramedic inhaled sharply.
"That's significant bruising."
Mark lightly touched the area.
The instant his fingers made contact, a cry escaped my lips before I could stop it.
He withdrew his hand immediately.
"I'm sorry."
Then he looked toward Officer Martinez.
"I strongly suspect multiple rib fractures."
Daniel folded his arms.
"That's impossible."
The paramedic stood.
"Sir, unless you're a physician treating this patient, please don't interrupt my assessment."
Gloria scoffed.
"She's exaggerating."
Neither paramedic acknowledged the comment.
Instead, they began fitting an oxygen cannula beneath my nose.
The cool rush of air steadied my breathing just enough for me to think clearly.
Officer Martinez crouched beside me.
"Do you feel able to answer a few questions before we transport you?"
"Yes."
"What happened tonight?"
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Not because I needed to invent an answer.
Because I wanted to remember it exactly as it had happened.
"We were eating dinner."
I opened my eyes again.
"His phone received a message."
"A message from another woman."
Daniel stiffened.
"I never touched his phone."
"It lit up on the table."
"I saw an ultrasound picture."
Gloria rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Oh, here we go."
Officer Martinez ignored her.
"What happened next?"
"I asked him who she was."
Daniel interrupted.
"She accused me of cheating."
"I asked one question."
"You started screaming."
"I didn't."
"You threw a glass."
"I didn't."
Officer Martinez slowly stood.
"Sir."
Her tone remained calm.
"I've asked you several times not to interrupt."
Daniel looked away.
The officer continued.
"Ma'am, what happened after you asked him about the message?"
I swallowed.
"He demanded that I apologize."
"For what?"
"I asked the same thing."
My voice cracked.
"And then..."
I looked at Daniel.
"He slapped me."
Silence settled over the room.
The paramedics exchanged a brief glance.
Officer Martinez made a note in her notebook.
Then she looked directly at Daniel.
"Did you strike your wife?"
"No."
"Did you make physical contact with her?"
"I tried to stop her from falling."
"You just said she fell."
"I..."
He paused.
"I reached out afterward."
Officer Martinez wrote something else.
"What exactly happened?"
"I..."
Daniel's explanation unraveled.
He couldn't keep the story straight.
Gloria stepped forward.
"I saw everything."
Officer Martinez looked at her.
"Then I'd like to hear your account."
Gloria smiled confidently.
"She stood up."
"She became hysterical."
"She waved her arms around."
"She tripped over the chair."
"And she hit the table."
Officer Martinez nodded once.
"What caused the bruising on her face?"
Gloria hesitated.
"The table."
"The marble table slapped her?"
Gloria blinked.
"I meant..."
Officer Martinez waited.
No answer came.
The officer quietly closed her notebook.
"Interesting."
Daniel shot his mother a desperate look.
Gloria avoided his eyes.
The lies were beginning to collapse under their own weight.
Meanwhile, the younger officer returned from the hallway.
"Officer Martinez?"
She stepped aside with him.
Though they lowered their voices, I caught fragments of the conversation.
"...camera system..."
"...hard drive..."
"...recording indicator is active..."
"...storage cabinet..."
Officer Martinez nodded.
Then she returned.
"Mr. Collins."
Daniel looked up.
"Yes?"
"Where is the recorder for your security system?"
His shoulders tensed.
"I don't know."
"You installed the cameras."
"A company did."
"So you don't know where the recording equipment is?"
"I'd have to look."
"I can help."
"No."
The word came too quickly.
Too loudly.
Officer Martinez tilted her head.
"No?"
"I mean..."
Daniel forced a laugh.
"It's probably in the basement."
Gloria interrupted.
"It hasn't worked in years."
Officer Martinez looked from one to the other.
"So which is it?"
Neither answered.
The officer turned to her partner.
"Please secure the recording equipment before anyone accesses it."
"Yes, ma'am."
Daniel took a sudden step forward.
"Officer, that's private property."
Officer Martinez met his eyes.
"So is the victim's body."
The room fell silent.
Daniel slowly stepped back.
As the officers moved through the apartment, the paramedics helped me onto the stretcher.
Every movement felt like a knife sliding between my ribs.
Mark adjusted the blanket.
"We'll get you to the hospital as quickly as possible."
I nodded gratefully.
As they rolled me toward the front door, I caught sight of several neighbors standing in the hallway.
The flashing police lights had drawn them out.
Doors stood half open.
Faces peeked from behind them.
Some whispered.
Others simply stared.
Mrs. Alvarez from across the hall covered her mouth when she saw my bruised face.
"Oh my God..."
She had heard arguments before.
Everyone had.
No one had ever imagined it would end like this.
Daniel noticed the neighbors watching.
His face burned with humiliation.
"This is ridiculous."
"No one's arresting anybody."
Officer Martinez looked at him.
"No one has said the word 'arrest.'"
Daniel realized his mistake the instant the words left his mouth.
Officer Martinez noticed too.
She made another note.
Before the stretcher crossed the threshold, I spoke.
"My purse."
One of the paramedics looked around.
"I'll get it."
"No."
I pointed toward the study.
"The brown leather folder inside the bottom desk drawer."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"No."
Officer Martinez noticed immediately.
"What's in the folder?"
I looked directly at her.
"Property documents."
Daniel took another step forward.
"Those aren't relevant."
"I believe they are."
Officer Martinez's gaze sharpened.
"Why?"
I answered softly.
"Because my mother-in-law has spent years telling everyone this is her son's apartment."
Gloria laughed.
"Of course it is."
I held her gaze.
"It isn't."
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
Officer Martinez looked between us.
"Who owns this residence?"
"I do."
Daniel shook his head.
"That's nonsense."
"Is it?"
I turned back to the officer.
"The original deed."
"The mortgage release."
"The tax records."
"They're all in that folder."
Officer Martinez nodded toward her partner.
"Retrieve it."
Daniel moved instinctively.
"You can't just—"
The officer raised one hand.
"Sir."
"Don't interfere."
His jaw clenched.
But he stopped.
Minutes later, the younger officer returned carrying the leather folder.
Officer Martinez opened it carefully.
Inside were neatly organized documents.
She scanned the first page.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Her eyebrows lifted.
She looked directly at Daniel.
"It appears..."
She paused deliberately.
"...the sole legal owner of this apartment is your wife."
No one spoke.
Not even Gloria.
Color drained from her face.
She stared at the paperwork as though it had betrayed her personally.
"That's impossible."
Officer Martinez turned another page.
"The mortgage was paid in full eighteen months ago."
Another page.
"The deed has never been amended."
Another.
"There is one owner."
She closed the folder.
"And it isn't you."
Gloria's wineglass slipped from her hand.
It shattered across the hardwood floor.
No one flinched.
The only sound was the echo of broken glass.
As the paramedics wheeled me into the hallway, I looked back one last time.
Daniel wasn't looking at me anymore.
He was staring at the folder.
The folder that had just destroyed the illusion he and his mother had built for years.
For the first time since I had met him, he looked like a man who understood that everything he thought he owned—including his home, his reputation, and perhaps even his freedom—was beginning to slip away.
And downstairs, another police cruiser pulled up to the building.
This one wasn't responding to a medical emergency.
May you like
It had come for the investigation.
End of Chapter 2 – Part 2
