CHAPTER 7 – THE HANDRAIL
The deck railing told its own story.
Officer Cole went upstairs after emergency responders stabilized Ava for transport. Tyler was still there, standing too close to the railing, eyes darting between officers, guests, and the stone patio below.
“She slipped,” he said before Dana spoke.
Dana paused. “I haven’t asked.”
Tyler swallowed. “I’m telling you.”
“Good. Then start from the beginning.”
He spoke too quickly.
They were arguing.
Ava became emotional.
She stepped backward.
He reached for her.
He was too late.
He loved her once.
He would never hurt her.
This was a tragic accident.
Dana listened.
Then she looked at the railing.
There were scuff marks near the base where Ava’s heel had dragged. A planter had tipped inward, not outward. A bracelet charm lay on the deck boards near Tyler’s side of the argument, broken from Ava’s wrist. The physical pattern did not prove everything yet, but it did not love Tyler’s story.
“Why did she point at you?” Dana asked.
Tyler stared. “She’s confused.”
“She looked pretty clear.”
“She hates me.”
“For falling?”
His jaw tightened.
Below, Howard was speaking to another officer. Margaret stood silent, lips pressed thin. Emma had been taken inside by a neighbor. The party was over, but the birthday decorations remained, cheerful and obscene.
Dana turned back to Tyler. “What were you arguing about?”
“Private matter.”
“A woman is being taken to the hospital after falling from a second-floor deck. Try less private.”
Tyler looked toward the gift table below.
Dana followed his gaze.
A small pale handbag sat among wrapped presents.
That became important.
Inside were a flash drive, Ava’s phone, and a printed note addressed to Emma’s future attorney if anything happened to Ava. The note contained no dramatic language. Just names, dates, and a sentence that made Dana’s stomach tighten:
If Tyler confronts me today, it is because he knows I found the trust transfers.
By sunset, the fall was no longer being treated as a household accident.
May you like
It was part of something larger.
And Tyler knew it.
