“She has nightmares. Ask anyone. She says weird things when she’s tired.”
Daniel said nothing about what Emily had told María.
He did not need to win an argument in the hallway.
The call record existed.
The body-camera footage existed.
The officers had personally watched Emily flinch when Thomas ordered her upstairs.
They had personally watched him block access to the room she identified.
And Claire had heard his voice near the phone before police ever arrived.
Those pieces were not a dramatic confession.
They were better than that.
They were separate observations made in real time.
Thomas kept speaking anyway.
“You came into my house because a kid used the word snake?”
Daniel’s answer was brief.
Thomas looked down the stairs.
Emily immediately moved behind María.
That movement ended whatever remained of his performance.
María raised one hand.
