Chapter 3 - What Lily Saw in the Garage
Sarah sat beside Lily while Dr. Evans arranged imaging and specialist support.
Nobody wanted to blindly pull off a boot that might be stuck to injured or infected tissue.
Greg was separated from us.
Officer Ruiz remained nearby.
That gave Lily room to speak.
I didn’t interrogate her.
I asked one question.
“What happened yesterday?”
Lily stared at the blanket.
“Daddy took me to the garage.”
“Why?”
“He said we were playing a secret-agent game.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
Lily continued.
There had been a small black pouch on Greg’s workbench.
Greg put something inside the yellow boot.
Then he made Lily put her foot in.
“He said nobody checks kids.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did he mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he tell you what was in the pouch?”
“No.”
That mattered.
I wasn’t going to turn guesses into facts.
Then Lily described something else.
There was a plastic container on the workbench.
Greg opened it.
Something inside was moving.
Lily didn’t know what.
“He said they would keep people from touching it.”
Sarah looked at me.
Now the movement inside the boot had a possible explanation.
Greg had put something living in there.
But why?
And why against his own daughter’s skin?
Dr. Evans returned with another physician.
They needed to sedate Lily lightly before opening the boot further.
Sarah consented.
Then Officer Ruiz approached me.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“Your brother wants to talk to you.”
“No.”
“He says he’ll tell you what’s inside if you don’t let them open it.”
That made absolutely no sense.
Unless opening the boot itself could destroy evidence.
Or hurt Lily.
I walked into the corridor.
Greg was sitting under supervision.
“What’s inside?”
“You need to get Sarah out of here.”
“No.”
“Daniel, listen to me.”
“I am.”
His eyes were bloodshot.
“If they find that pouch, they’re going to think it’s mine.”
“Is it?”
He looked away.
That was enough.
Then he whispered:
“I didn’t put the bugs in there.”
Bugs.
We finally had a word for the movement.
“Who did?”
Greg looked directly at me.
And for the first time that morning, I saw something in my brother beyond panic.
Fear.
Not fear of police.
May you like
Fear of somebody else.
“I think someone changed what was inside after I sealed the boot.”
