My chest hurt.

Kenny continued.

"He was only a few feet from traffic."

He looked at his mother.

"You left him there."

The Phone Call That Saved Him

Then another detail emerged.

Mrs. Alvarez.

She had seen Diane walking Frankie earlier.

She had recognized her.

She had become suspicious when she later noticed Frankie was nowhere around.

She called Kenny.

That call mattered.

Because by the time Kenny arrived, Frankie was still standing there.

Confused.

Alone.

But alive.

Without the tracker...

Without the neighbor's call...

Without Kenny leaving work...

The story might have ended differently.

I couldn't finish the thought.

Diane's Explanation

Diane looked at all of us.

Then she said something I will never forget.

"He is old."

Nobody answered.

She continued.

"I thought maybe it would be kinder if he simply wandered off."

I stared at her.

"What?"

"He doesn't have much time anyway."

My hands began shaking.

"That doesn't give you the right to decide when his life ends."

"I didn't kill him."

"You abandoned him."

"He would have found his way back."

"He can barely hear!"

She shrugged.

"He survived."

I looked at Kenny.

His face had changed.

There was no anger in it now.

Only disappointment.

Deep disappointment.

The Suitcase Finally Made Sense

I looked at the suitcase again.

Everything suddenly became obvious.

She hadn't simply stopped by.

She had packed.

She had planned to stay.

She had used the emergency key.

She had waited until Isabella left.

She had taken Frankie outside.

And she had intended to return to our house as though nothing had happened.

It hadn't been an impulsive mistake.

At least, from everything we had discovered, it didn't look that way.

It had been deliberate.

And that realization hurt more than anything.

"You Didn't Come for the Children."

I looked directly at Diane.

"You didn't come here to see your grandchildren."

She stared at me.

"You came here to get rid of Frankie."

She shook her head.

"That's ridiculous."

"Then why the suitcase?"

No answer.

"Why use the key?"

Nothing.

"Why send Isabella away?"

Silence.