Can you imagine any circumstances where Kaine might feel there was nothing Terri could say that would change anything?
The obligation to hear HER side of the story and give it equal weight to LE...once again...depends on what exactly LE had in evidence to show him.
Maybe there are things only Terri would know in emails to the Landscaper...or texts of Terri "similar" to the sexting she did with his friend...combined with hopes he would die.
At that point, whatever could the spouse say that you could stay in the house or keep you Baby in her care?
And if he believed in Terri and supported her...as it appeared he did in those first days...WHAT A SHOCK to this grieving Father!
Here's how it goes when I try to put myself in Kaine's shoes:
My child has gone missing. Shock, fear, a bit of panic rolling through my usually calm gut. But this can't last long. He'll come walking through the door in a minute on the shoulders of a cop, with an ice cream in his hands. There must be a mistake. He must have just wandered off somewhere and gotten lost or something. Maybe he got on the wrong bus. Maybe he went home with a friend. He'll be back soon. They'll find him. They'll find him.
The hours tick by. The hours turn to days. They begin to approach weeks. I'm sick now. I'm so scared. The media is everywhere. Kyron, my own little boy, his face is everywhere, on the news, on posters. My kid is missing and he has not come back.
I can't sleep. It's hard to eat. I speak with LE all day, every day. I try to organize what to do. LE tells me not to say much to the media or anyone else. They are afraid that could harm our chances of getting him back quickly. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm on autopilot. I stay quiet. I try to find ways to help and I keep my loved ones close.
But my wife has been acting in ways that bother me somewhat. Maybe doesn't seem so concerned, a little off. Then she tells me she's failed a poly, and then stalks out of a second. Then she fails a subsequent one and tells me. She was the last person to see our son. I start to think about how she has changed a bit since our baby was born. A little more strict with my son. Ups and downs. Depression. Odd behavior perhaps. I get a nagging feeling deep in my subconscious but it's my wife we're talking about. She loves Kyron. She raised him with me. I need her so much right now. I'm so scared. So I choke back any nagging doubts that are trying to surface. I'm just trying to get through another day, with LE at the house, relatives and friends calling non-stop, media everywhere and always, always, the panic: Where is my little boy?
Then, one day LE calls me in for a meeting. Oh sh$t. What's this? "Kaine, we need to talk to you about some startling info. It is our duty to tell you the following: A guy surfaced recently. Said he was hired by your wife about 6 months ago to do some landscaping. Said Terri told him she was in a bad marriage and wanted you dead. Wondered if he knew anyone who could do anything like that. [WHAT?!??] We have something else we need to tell you. We need to tell you that Terri's story is just not adding up regarding Kyron. She can't adequately account for a large block of time on the day Kyron went missing. She failed her polygraphs when asked whether she has harmed your son. We have other information that indicates there is probable cause to believe she is involved with Kyron's disappearance."
The room begins to spin. I'm reeling. I feel like someone shot me in the stomach. I feel dazed. Suddenly, a hundred small things that nagged at my brain begin to surface in a rush. She has not been acting right. Something's been off. I could feel it. She's my wife. I knew something was wrong. But I love her and I have been so consumed with Kyron, with getting him back, that I have not been paying attention to signals from my spouse. Things start to make horrible sense all of a sudden. Is this really happening?
I ask them if she is going to be arrested. They reply, "We're working on that. But right now we don't know where Kyron is or what exactly she did with him. We may have enough to arrest her for taking Kyron but it's probably not enough to gain a conviction yet so we're still working."
My heart is thumping now, so hard. The thought I never wanted to have begins to enter my brain. If she could have done these things, if she's lying now, if she tried to find someone to kill me, she must hate me. She must be nuts. She must really want to hurt me and I never knew. How could I be so stupid? If this is real, could she have wanted to hurt me bad enough to kill my son? My hands shake and thinking of Kyron at the mercy of this stranger that slept in my bed, makes my eyes fill with tears. I don't want to know but I have to ask. "Is he dead? Did she kill him? Please tell me she didn't!" My eyes are pleading with them to spare me. They see my pain and gently, the detective puts a hand on my shoulder to steady me and says, "We have no indication at this time that Kyron is dead. We need to focus on finding him and not dwelling on that possibility, okay? You need to stay strong and keep you and your family safe so you can help us find your boy." I find I was sitting bolt upright in the seat, every muscle tensed, but now, I slump back a little.
Next, LE tells me they want to bring Desiree in now and let her know what's happening. They ask if I'm ready. I think about what she's going to feel when she hears what I have just heard. I think of the child we made together, who I was supposed to protect. I think about how
I brought Terri into his life when he was so tiny and exposed him to that danger. I failed him and I failed Desiree. I put my head in my hands as I wait for them to bring Desiree in, and I begin to sob.