Vanishing Acts

Eric cannot contact any of Andrew’s former Arizona neighbors. He contacts Delia’s former preschool teacher, who shares that Delia showed signs of neglect and that Elise smelled strongly of alcohol when she visited the school. At one point, Elise never picked up Delia from school, so the teacher took her home, only to find Elise unconscious. The teacher took Delia home to spend the night. When asked, the teacher explained that she did not call social services because Delia was loved and showed no signs of physical abuse. She did not contact Delia’s father because Elise requested to deny all contact with Andrew. The teacher states that Andrew had threatened Elise with kidnapping Delia.

Eric confronts Andrew over this but leaves before Andrew can answer. Eric does background checks on all the witnesses for the trial and uncovers a felony DWI for Elise while she was pregnant with Delia. The prosecution, however, uncovers that the victim in Andrew’s prior assault charge was Victor Vasquez. The assault occurred three months before Andrew’s divorce was finalized.

When Eric confronts Andrew with this information, Andrew states that he thought Eric knew. Andrew states that he “watched him touching her” and nods when Eric asks “Elise?” (315).