Even Deputy Collins seemed impressed.
‘He installed interior cameras after a prior incident,’ Elena said.
‘Those files are backed up offsite.’
Marjorie’s mouth opened, then closed.
Finally, she said the only thing people like her say when certainty slips.
‘He wouldn’t do this to family.’
I almost answered.
Elena spoke first.
‘He did exactly this to family,’ she said.
‘Because of what family repeatedly did to him.’
From the folder, she withdrew one last item: a sealed envelope in Bradley’s handwriting.
My name was written on the front.
Elena handed it to me.
‘He asked that you read this only if they came into the condo after his death,’ she said.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Avery,
If you are reading this with my mother in the room, then I was right and she arrived before the flowers faded.
Laugh first.
I did.
More quietly this time, but enough.
The rest of the letter was brief.
