He find his daughter locked in a dog cage—then her warning about the pool reveals someone is still inside
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Chapter 17 / 27
Chapter 17 - The cloud backup
Emily’s phone was ruined physically.
But her account backed up photographs when connected to Wi-Fi.
One image mattered.
Blurry.
Taken accidentally.
Cole standing in my office.
The open fire box behind him.
His duffel on the floor.
Not enough by itself to prove theft.
Combined with pawn records and recovered property:
Useful.
Another image showed the old kennel from inside.
Bars.
Blue tarp.
Emily’s sneaker.
Timestamp:
10:43 p.m.
The phone had apparently synced before Cole confiscated it.
There was no dramatic video confession.
No hidden recording of every crime.
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Just fragments.
Enough when combined with witnesses and records.
