Chapter 1
Gideon did not chase Petra when she stumbled over the chair.
He put Linnea down only long enough to call 911.
“Stay where I can see you.”
Linnea clung to his leg.
The Grandmother kept one hand around her purse.
Petra wiped mashed potatoes from her face and shouted that Gideon was dangerous.
Nobody in the room was permitted to leave until police arrived.
Paramedics examined Linnea first.
Her cheek was swollen where Petra struck her, and she had bruising along one shoulder from hitting the chair. Nothing was fractured, and there was no serious head injury.
Then Detective Mara Quinn reviewed the dining-room camera.
Petra slapped Linnea.
Linnea fell.
Gideon entered afterward.
He lifted his daughter.
The Grandmother dismissed what happened.
Then Gideon threw the bowl after Linnea was already safe.
Mara looked at him.
“Was Petra attacking either of you when you threw it?”
“No.”
“So your conduct gets reviewed too.”
“I understand.”
Petra needed stitches for a small cut near her hairline where she struck the chair during the fall.
Gideon did not argue that she deserved it.
Then police asked for the Grandmother’s purse.
She refused at first.
Her attorney was contacted.
Because the photographs were plainly visible and officers now had allegations involving repeated child abuse, investigators preserved the purse through lawful process rather than letting the family settle the issue privately.
There were fourteen printed photographs inside.
All of Linnea.
Bruises on her upper arms.
A mark near one knee.
Discoloration along her shoulder.
A small bruise beneath her jaw.
Different clothes.
Different days.
Gideon stared at them.
“What are these?”
The Grandmother said nothing.
Petra spoke instead.
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
Her voice became cold.
“That you’ve been hurting your daughter.”
Linnea immediately cried:
“No!”
Gideon’s expression hardened.
Mara raised a hand.
“Everybody stops talking.”
Then she turned one photograph over.
Something had been written on the back.
After weekend with G.
Another photograph:
After G pickup.
Another:
G angry again.
Gideon looked toward his mother.
“You wrote this?”
She would not answer.
Then Mara checked the first photograph’s printed timestamp.
Gideon had been in Denver that entire weekend.
May you like
Linnea had been staying with the Grandmother.
And Petra.
