For several minutes neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “I should have told you sooner.”
I looked at her.
“Told me what?”
She stared at the floor.
“How bad things had become.”
I wanted to ask why she had protected her daughter for so long.
Instead, I asked the question that mattered more.
“Did you know she was dangerous?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I knew she was struggling.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
She closed her eyes.
“No,” she whispered. “I didn’t know.”
Then she opened her purse and took out her phone again.
“There are more messages.”
My heart sank.
She explained that after receiving the voicemail that morning, she had exchanged several messages with my wife. At first, she had believed her daughter was overwhelmed and asking for someone to come over.
But after hearing the voicemail again, she had become uneasy.
She showed the police the messages.
