He didn’t look dangerous.
That frightened me more.
Police approached him before he reached the school gate. Derek argued immediately. He said he was Ethan’s uncle.
He claimed he’d only been trying to give his nephew things that belonged to Ryan.
One detective showed him a photograph of the camera under my porch railing.
Derek stared at it. “That doesn’t prove I put it there.”
The detective hadn’t accused him of putting it there.
Derek seemed to realize that a second too late.
By that evening, police were questioning Derek while they investigated the forged records, the camera, and his contact with Ethan.
I thought that would be the part that made me feel better.
It wasn’t.
The hardest part came later, when Ethan asked to speak to him.
I said no immediately. The detective explained that nobody was forcing us, and any contact would happen only under controlled circumstances. Ethan kept asking.
