Chapter 7: Sophie Points Toward the Place She Hid It
The first thing Sophie did after Daniel found her was look past him toward the open doorway.
Amanda was still there, one hand resting against the frame, her ivory dress bright under the preparation room lights. She did not cross the threshold. She did not reach for the basket. She only watched as Daniel knelt in front of Sophie and held his hands open, giving her space to decide whether to come closer.
The basket hung from Sophie’s fingers. Its flowers had been disturbed during the search, and one ribbon dragged against the floor. The second phone was sealed in the evidence sleeve inside my bag, but Sophie kept glancing at the basket as if its empty lining made it unsafe to hold.
Daniel looked at me. His face had lost the distracted expression he had worn before the recording ended. He understood what I was asking without my saying it: we could not keep questioning her while Amanda remained in the doorway and wedding guests moved through the hall.
He stood and guided Sophie toward a small sitting room at the far end of the corridor. It had no decorations except two upholstered chairs and a low table. The door closed softly behind us. The music and voices from the preparation area became a muffled vibration through the wall.
Sophie sat with both feet tucked beneath her dress. Daniel placed a glass of water near her, then sat on the floor instead of taking the chair. I stayed beside the door, where I could see the hallway through the narrow gap before pulling it shut.
No one asked her why she had been afraid. Fear was visible in the way she kept rubbing the basket handle between her palms, but it was not proof of what Amanda had done. I reminded myself of that while Daniel reached for a notepad and stopped before touching it. Even a careful question could turn her memory into something shaped by the adults around her.
I set the evidence sleeve on the table, still sealed. Sophie noticed it. Her eyes moved from the sleeve to the basket, then toward the wall shared with the preparation room.
She lifted one hand and pointed.
At first I thought she meant the doorway. Then she pointed again, lower and farther down the corridor, toward a narrow service passage beside the wardrobe room. A brass coat hook was visible near the entrance. Beneath it sat a rolling garment rack covered with white protective cloths.
Daniel followed her gaze. He did not speak. Neither did I.
Sophie made a small motion with her fingers, turning them as though opening a knob. Then she touched the flower on the basket and pointed once more toward the covered rack.
It was not an explanation. It was a direction.
I took out my phone and wrote the words “service passage—garment rack—locked storage?” in the notes app. I did not write Amanda’s name beside them. I did not write that the location proved anything. The only established fact was that Sophie connected the basket, the phone, and that passage.
Daniel read the screen. His thumb pressed hard against the edge of the notepad.
The wedding schedule was still moving outside. Someone called for the flower arrangements. A door opened, followed by footsteps approaching the sitting room.
Daniel looked at Sophie, then at the hallway.
He pointed toward the quiet room and nodded, accepting that she would remain there while we checked the lead. He left his jacket over the back of her chair, a simple barrier between her and the door, before standing.
May you like
I slipped the sealed phone into the inside pocket of my bag. Daniel picked up the basket without disturbing its lining.
Together we stepped into the service passage, leaving Sophie protected behind us. The covered garment rack waited beneath the bright hallway lights, and behind it a narrow door showed a fresh scrape around its lock.
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