Chapter 9: Nine O'Clock
Claire called the lawyer at six forty-five and told her to come earlier.
She arrived at seven thirty.
Her name was Patricia Hale.
She was in her late fifties, wore no jewelry except a watch, and carried a legal pad and a pen.
She shook my hand, nodded at Claire, and asked to see the notebook before she sat down.
She read all fourteen entries without speaking.
Then she set it on the table and looked at me.
"Is the child here?"
"Asleep on the sofa."
"Do not wake her.
Do not let anyone speak to her about this until I tell you it is appropriate." She looked at Claire.
"You photographed these pages?"
"Last night.
Timestamped."
"Good." She made a note.
"Where is the wife?"
"Bedroom."
"Has she left the house?"
"Not yet.
I told her to wait until nine."
Patricia looked at her watch.
Then at me.
"You did well to hold her here.
I want to speak to her before she leaves.
With you present." She paused.
"She will likely refuse."
"She agreed to nine o'clock."
"She agreed because she needed time.
She may change her mind." Patricia set her pen down.
"Mr.
— Ethan.
I need to ask you something directly and I need you to answer me honestly."
"All right."
"Is there any part of you — any part — that is uncertain about what that notebook represents?"
I thought about the fourteen entries.
I thought about *she stopped crying at 14 minutes.* I thought about Olivia's voice saying *I tried not to cry in the closet.
I tried really hard.*
"No," I said.
Patricia picked up her pen.
"Then let's begin."
She spoke to Madison at eight fifteen.
I sat in the corner of the bedroom and did not speak unless Patricia asked me to.
Madison was calm, precise, and careful.
She offered the parenting journal explanation without being asked, as if she had been saving it.
Patricia listened without expression and wrote three lines on her legal pad.
When Madison finished, Patricia looked up.
"Ms.
Madison.
The man who sent you a message this morning at six fifty-two.
Daniel Forsythe.
Can you describe your relationship with him?"
The pause was brief but visible.
"He is a friend."
"Were you in contact with him during the period covered by this notebook?"
"I am in contact with many people."
"Were you in contact with Daniel Forsythe specifically during this period?"
"I don't recall the specific dates."
Patricia made another note.
"The family court system takes documentation of this nature very seriously," she said.
"Particularly when it involves a child who has experienced bereavement.
Particularly when the documentation is in the author's own handwriting.
Particularly when there is a prior connection to a similar case in another state."
Madison's composure held, but her hands, resting in her lap, pressed together slightly harder.
"I would like to call my own attorney," she said.
"That is your right," Patricia said.
"I would encourage you to do so immediately."
Madison stood, picked up her phone, and walked to the window.
Patricia looked at me and gave one small, firm nod.
It was the first moment since the dinner table that I felt the ground solid under my feet.
From the living room, Olivia's voice came down the hall, soft and sleepy.
May you like
"Daddy?"
I stood up and went to her.
