“My sister.”
I almost laughed, but there was nothing funny about it.
“You brought her to my house.”
“And you were alone with her.”
“For twenty minutes.”
“That’s enough time.”
The doctor looked at Kate.
“Not necessarily for the injury you’re describing.”
Kate turned toward her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the injury was significant enough that we need to understand when and how it occurred. The swelling and bruising were not trivial.”
Kate’s lips parted, but no words came out.
I remembered Paige screaming when I moved her left leg.
I remembered the difference between her two legs.
I remembered the beige color on her skin disappearing onto a baby wipe.
And suddenly I remembered something else.
When Kate had handed Paige to me that morning, she had kept one hand underneath the baby longer than necessary.
At the time, I thought she was simply making sure Paige was comfortable.
Now I wondered what she had been making sure I didn’t notice.
The investigator asked, “What did you do before leaving the house?”
Kate answered quickly.
“I fed her. Changed her. Dressed her. Then I drove here.”
“What time did you leave?”
“A little after ten.”
“What did Paige wear when you left?”
Kate looked at me.
“The green sleeper.”
I nodded.
“That’s what she was wearing.”
The investigator wrote something down.
“And when you dressed her, did you notice anything unusual about her left leg?”
“No.”
“Any swelling?”
“No.”
“Any bruising?”
“No.”
“Any difficulty moving the leg?”
“No.”
The doctor glanced toward me.
“She had markedly reduced movement when she arrived.”
Kate swallowed.
“She could have hurt herself while my sister was watching her.”
There it was.
The sentence she had been building toward from the moment she entered the hospital.
I looked at her, unable to recognize the woman who had once called me whenever she needed help.
“You knew,” I said.
Kate frowned.
“Knew what?”
“You knew something was wrong before you left.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You’re making things up because you’re scared.”
“No.”
I pulled out my phone again.
“I’m scared because your daughter has a broken leg. I’m angry because you’re trying to make me responsible for it.”
The investigator held out her hand.
“Give me the phone.”
I handed it over.
She opened the message thread.
Paige is hurt. I’m at the hospital. Get here now.
Read.
Then my second message.
The doctors found a serious injury. You need to come immediately.
Read.
The investigator looked at Kate.
“You received these while your daughter was being evaluated?”
“Yes.”
“And you did not respond?”
“I panicked.”
“For how long?”
Kate said nothing.
The investigator checked the timestamps.
“Long enough to receive two messages, read both, and still not call your sister or the hospital.”
Kate’s voice became defensive.
“I was trying to think.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know.”
The doctor quietly interrupted.
“Ms. Kate, your daughter needs you to cooperate with us.”
Kate looked toward the trauma room.
For the first time, tears appeared in her eyes.
But she still didn’t move toward the door.
The investigator noticed that too.
“Who else knew Paige was injured?” she asked.
Kate shook her head.
“No one.”
“Think carefully.”
“I said no one.”
The investigator closed the folder.
