Several.
That meant this wasn’t only about the cage I had opened.
It wasn’t even only about the other animal visible in the thumbnail.
There was a history.
A series of decisions made when I wasn’t watching.
The next recording answered part of it.
My wife was standing beside the cage again.
But this time, she wasn’t alone.
A second adult was in the yard.
The camera was positioned too far away to make the person’s face clear.
I watched anyway.
My wife was speaking to them.
The other person pointed toward the cage.
Then they handed my wife something.
A small object.
My wife put it into the pocket of her jacket.
The video ended.
I stared at the blank screen.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“We’re working on identifying the person.”
I leaned back.
For the first time, I understood that the question wasn’t simply whether my wife had crossed a line.
