Chapter 5 - The Neighbor
Her name was Denise Parker.
She lived two doors down from Lauren.
We met at a coffee shop because she did not want Lauren seeing us at her house.
Denise looked nervous.
“I almost called someone.”
“About what?”
She twisted the paper sleeve around her cup.
“Tyler.”
My stomach dropped.
“Was he hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did you hear?”
She looked toward the window.
“Lauren screaming.”
“That happens.”
Denise nodded.
“But then Tyler started crying.”
She hesitated.
“And Lauren said, ‘If you tell your father, I’ll say you’re lying again.’”
James and I looked at each other.
Again.
The word mattered.
“Did you hear anything else?”
“A door slammed.”
“Did you see Tyler?”
“The next morning.”
“And?”
“He wore a long-sleeve shirt.”
It was December.
That alone meant nothing.
But Denise continued.
“He normally wears short sleeves inside because her house is hot.”
“Did he seem afraid?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“He asked if I could drive him to school.”
“Why?”
“He said Mommy was still mad.”
I felt sick.
“Why didn’t you call?”
“I almost did.”
Denise’s eyes filled.
“Then Lauren came outside and acted completely normal.”
That was Lauren’s gift.
Storm behind closed doors.
Charm at the mailbox.
I asked Denise if she would speak to Mark.
She agreed.
Mark called his attorney the same day.
A child-welfare report was made.
Not because of one rumor.
Because now there was a pattern.
The Christmas incident.
James’s observation.
Mark’s documentation.
Denise’s account.
That evening, my mother appeared at our house.
She did not call first.
She stood on the porch holding a casserole.
I almost laughed.
Of course.
Our family repaired emotional disasters with food.
I stepped outside.
“You can’t come in.”
Her face fell.
“I brought dinner.”
“We have dinner.”
“Sarah.”
“What?”
“I need you to stop this.”
My blood went cold.
“Stop what?”
“The investigation.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because Lauren could lose Tyler.”
“If Tyler is unsafe, she should.”
Mom looked horrified.
“That is your nephew’s mother.”
“And Emma is your granddaughter.”
Her face crumpled.
“I love Emma.”
“Then why are you still protecting the woman who hurt her?”
Mom looked down.
Then she whispered:
“Because if Lauren loses Tyler, she might tell people what happened years ago.”
I stopped breathing.
“What happened years ago?”
Mom looked at me.
May you like
And I knew before she answered.
There had been another child.
