Chapter 4 - Who Moved the Car
Grant visited Maya's apartment Monday with county caseworker Nora Bell. They asked Ellie to describe the park carefully. Ellie drew the fountain and Maya's SUV under a sycamore. Then, she added Grandpa beside the driver's door. "He moved it because Grandma said the sun was turning," she explained. Maya looked at Grant. Rachel had sworn Warren never touched the keys. Ellie said Warren later asked, "Whose little girl is that?" Elaine had answered, "Maya's," then walked toward the lemonade stand. The sealed water bottle made sense now: nobody had opened the backpack that morning. Ellie tapped the zipper before answering. Nora asked why Ellie had not used the door handle. Ellie whispered that Aunt Rachel had switched on the child-lock because her boys fought in the back seat. Maya knew that habit. Rachel always clicked the locks before driving. Yet she had claimed Ellie must have locked herself in. The lie was not about forgetting a child. It was about who had been trusted to remember her.
