Page 59 of This Heart
Turning to look at him, I asked, “What? What do you mean she murders the moose?”
Declan waved me off and kept watching the video. Winnie grabbed Perry after the prayers were over. Kim returned to Winnie’s room five minutes later. Winnie was sound asleep. Slipping Perry out from Winnie’s arms, Kim took a few steps. She looked down at the nightstand, reached for Hope’s picture and picked it up. She stared at it for an eerie amount of time before opening the drawer and placing the picture inside. She slid the door shut and then left the room.
Stopping the video, I slowly shook my head. “Holy shit.”
“Dude, you’ve got a very troubled person watching your kid!”
I faced Declan and said, “You’re a cop! Why are you telling me that? You’re supposed to tell me everything is okay.”
He pointed to the laptop. “Did you just watch the same thing I did? Dude, nothing is okay. That woman stole Perry the Moose, then tried to hide Hope’s picture from Winnie and lied about both things! Do you have any other cameras in the house?” Declan asked, jumping up and looking around. “We need to watch them.”
I dropped back against the back of the sofa. “No. I don’t.”
“Okay, well, let’s get back to watching these.”
He grabbed the remote and fast-forwarded until the next time we saw Kim.
“Where’s Rora?” Winnie asked as Kim got her dressed for bed. “It is Ah-rora. Winnie, you’re old enough to pronounce your words right. And Aunty Aurora is just too busy to stop and visit with you.”
My stomach lurched.
“Holy shit,” Declan whispered.
“But I miss Rora,” Winnie said.
“Well, she doesn’t miss you, and now you have me!” Kim said in a cheerful voice. “We’re going to have so much fun together, and I will teach you how to talk the right way. No more of your R sounding like a W. We’ll make you a smart little girl.”
“She’s not even three, that fucking bitch,” I said as I stood, anger pulsing through my entire body.
I grabbed the remote and turned it off. I started to pace. “I didn’t tell her about what I said to Aurora, about how Hope said she was trying to replace her. I know I didn’t tell her that, Declan. She also told Aurora I slept with her, and I didn’t. I wasn’t drunk that night. I had one drink, maybe two, and I’m almost positive she left before I had the second one. She also said she had to help me to bed, but I woke up on the sofa the next morning.”
“How else would she have known about what Hope said?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
Declan quickly stood. “Your Ring camera. Do you remember what night it was?”
“Yes, it was the night…well…I remember the day. I met with an investor that night, so it’s in my phone.”
We pulled up that night, and the approximate time I had gotten home. We watched as I walked in, and then the Ring started to record five minutes later, showing Kim leaving and getting into her car.
“She wasn’t even there long enough to have a drink,” I said, confused.
Declan and I looked at each other.
“And you don’t remember anything? You didn’t mention Aurora?”
“No, because I didn’t tell her. Kim said I drank a lot that night and told her about it. I remember waking up on the sofa and thinking I probably fell asleep there from exhaustion. But when Kim commented that Hope was thinking Aurora was taking her place, I asked her how she knew about that. That’s when she said I had drank a lot that night and had told her. Kim made me think I told her, even though in my gut, I’ve known all along I wasn’t drunk. And I was fully dressed, so no fucking way I slept with her then, or since then.”
“Why would she tell Aurora you guys slept together?” Declan asked. “Other than to make Aurora think youweretogether.”
I pushed my hand through my hair. “She doesn’t want Aurora in my life or Winnie’s, that’s why she did it. What a fucking bitch. I should have fired her right on the spot over the phone the other night.”
Declan shrugged. “Sounds like she’s jealous of Aurora. Of your friendship with her and how Winnie loves her so much.”
“Okay, so that would explain that. But how did Kim know about the whole Hope and Aurora thing?”
When Declan glanced at the bar, he asked, “Do you still have the wine bottle you were drinking from?”
