Another said, “Mom will calm down after.”
My mother found the texts because Richard left his phone charging in the kitchen and a message flashed on the screen.
She opened the thread.
She panicked.
And she made a decision.
She couldn’t call the police immediately because Richard was upstairs and Brandon was expected at the house early the next morning.
She was terrified Richard would notice if she suddenly left with me.
So she made it look like she was throwing me out.
I started shaking.
“She did that to get me away.”
“That’s what she told us.”
“Why didn’t she come with me?”
Officer Miller looked toward the house.
“She said she thought if both of you disappeared, Richard would come looking.”
That sounded exactly like something Mom would believe.
“And she stayed?”
“She planned to call police after he fell asleep.”
“But she didn’t.”
“She tried.”
Apparently Richard checked her phone that night.
