Now he called.
She answered.
“Mr. Holloway.”
“Rosa.”
Silence.
He heard traffic behind her.
“How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Why did you leave?”
Another silence.
Grant closed his eyes.
“Please don’t protect me.”
Her voice changed.
“What happened?”
“I came home early.”
Nothing.
“I found Ellie on the kitchen floor.”
Rosa inhaled sharply.
“Beside Otis’s bowl.”
“Oh God.”
Grant gripped the phone.
“You knew.”
“I knew something.”
“What?”
“Not that.”
“Then what?”
Rosa did not answer quickly.
Grant waited.
Finally she said, “Mrs. Holloway told me Ellie needed firmer discipline.”
“Marissa.”
“Yes.”
“What did that mean?”
“She started changing rules.”
“What rules?”
“Ellie could no longer come downstairs after eight.”
Grant frowned.
“That sounds normal.”
“She could not come downstairs even if she had a nightmare.”
His face changed.
“Why?”
“Mrs. Holloway said you needed sleep.”
“What happened if Ellie came down?”
“I don’t know after I left.”
“Before?”
“I took her back upstairs.”
Rosa’s voice broke slightly.
“She cried.”
Grant sat.
“What else?”
“Mrs. Holloway removed photographs.”
“I know.”
“She asked me to pack some of Mrs. Anna’s things.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
He closed his eyes.
“Where are they?”
“My garage.”
Grant stopped.
“What?”
“She told me to donate them.”
“You took them?”
“I couldn’t.”
Emotion rose in his throat.
“Rosa.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Thank you.”
Rosa continued.
“There were other things.”
“Tell me.”
“She wanted the kitchen cameras removed.”
Grant frowned.
The estate had security cameras.
Exterior.
Foyer.
Hallways.
Kitchen.
Not bedrooms or bathrooms.
After a burglary attempt several years earlier, Grant expanded the system.
He had not noticed the kitchen camera missing.
“When?”
“January.”
“Why?”
“She said having cameras near family meals was invasive.”
Grant remembered.
Marissa had made that argument.
He agreed.
“She asked me not to tell you about some punishments.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Rosa’s voice changed.
“I tried.”
Grant froze.
“When?”
“The day before I left.”
He searched his memory.
Rosa asked to speak privately.