But she said whatever it was, she was proud of you. She put her phone face down on the table. So, I'm proud of you, too. Even without knowing, he looked at her for a long moment. This girl, this 12-year-old girl who put a blanket on him while he slept and did her homework quietly so she wouldn't wake him and said, "I'm proud of you, too. " Like, it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Go get ready for school," he said. "Dad, I'll tell you more when I can tell you more. " "I promise. " She looked at him for one more second. Then she picked up her bowl and her phone and went down the hall. And he heard her bedroom door open and close. And he sat at the table with the green blanket on his shoulders and his hands flat on the surface and felt the weight of the last 8 hours settling into something he could actually carry.
His own phone returned by Officer Reyes before he'd left the building buzzed on the table. Unknown number, local area code. He answered it. Coleman. A man's voice, precise, measured, the voice of someone accustomed to being taken seriously immediately.
My name is Daniel Marsh. I'm Victoria Hayes's attorney. She asked me to reach out this morning. Okay, Daria said, "First, how are you doing? " Victoria was concerned the directness of that landed unexpectedly. He had assumed an attorney call would start with logistics, with procedure, with the architecture of whatever came next, not with a question about how he was doing on behalf of the woman he'd spent the night with in a broken elevator.
I'm fine, understandably. I'll be brief. A pause. The sound of papers. You You're going to receive a formal contact from the police department today about your witness statement.
You know that you spoke to Detective Okaphor. Beyond that, I want you to know that Victoria has asked me to represent your interests as well. At no cost to you throughout the investigation and any subsequent proceedings. Darius was quiet for a moment. I have my own attorney if I need one, he said.
I'm sure you do. But what's coming is going to be significant. Mr. Coleman, the Caldwell case is federal wire fraud conspiracy. And depending on what the DA decides about the elevator, potentially attempted murder.
You are a primary material witness. You're also the person who physically preserved the primary evidence, restrained a co-conspirator, and enabled the communications that led to Caldwell's arrest. A pause. Victoria doesn't want you navigating that without adequate support. Darius was quiet.
She wants to do something for me, he said. She wants to make sure the right thing happens, Marsh said carefully. She's aware that can look like the same thing. She's trying to make sure it isn't. That was a precise distinction.