Chapter 4 - Greg’s First Lie Collapsed
Greg’s story was simple.
Which usually means it should be easy to verify.
He claimed the black pouch belonged to Sarah.
Sarah immediately denied it.
Greg said he discovered it hidden in their garage.
He thought it contained stolen medication from the clinic where Sarah worked as an administrative coordinator.
So instead of calling Sarah, confronting her, or contacting authorities, he supposedly hid it inside his six-year-old daughter’s boot.
I stared at him.
“You expect anyone to believe that?”
“I panicked.”
“You sealed it around her leg.”
“I needed time.”
“You used Lily as a hiding place.”
His jaw tightened.
“I didn’t hurt her.”
I nearly lost control.
Nearly.
Then I remembered Lily watching adults through the curtain.
I lowered my voice.
“She has an injured arm, bruising, and a sealed boot that smells like infected tissue. Don’t tell me you didn’t hurt her.”
Greg leaned toward me.
“You don’t understand what Sarah’s involved in.”
“Then explain it.”
He couldn’t.
That was the problem.
His story contained accusations but no specifics.
Then Officer Ruiz received information from another officer who had gone to the Carter house with Sarah’s consent.
The garage had been secured.
On the workbench they found adhesive matching the material around Lily’s boot.
A second yellow boot sat underneath the bench.
And beside it was a receipt.
Greg had purchased the boots three days earlier.
Sarah hadn’t bought them.
Greg had.
His claim that he suddenly discovered a pouch and improvised a hiding place was already weakening.
Then Ruiz showed me a photograph from the garage.
A cardboard shipping box.
The sender’s information had been torn away.
But the label still showed one thing.
The package weighed less than two pounds when delivered.
The box was large enough for something much heavier.
Whatever had arrived had been small.
Valuable enough for Greg to hide.
And dangerous enough that he had used his daughter to do it.
Then Dr. Evans came through the doors.
Her expression was controlled.
“We’re ready to open the boot.”
Greg heard her.
He stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.
“No.”
Ruiz stopped him.
Greg looked at me.
“Daniel, if you open that thing, you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“The pouch isn’t what you should be afraid of.”
May you like
He swallowed.
“It’s what somebody put around it.”
