Chapter 3 - What happened before I reached the hallway
The next morning, Perry spoke with a pediatric social worker.
Not police first.
Not five relatives.
One trained adult.
He described the evening simply.
He had been playing with his dinosaur near the dining room.
Reid had important guests.
Perry was told to remain upstairs.
He came downstairs because he wanted water.
Constance said:
“Your father said you were not to interrupt.”
Perry started crying.
Why?
Because she grabbed his arm and told him he was embarrassing his father.
Then:
She opened the laundry closet.
Pushed him inside.
Closed the door.
Locked it from outside.
He pounded.
She told him:
“Quiet children get let out.”
How long?
Perry did not know.
Security-system logs later suggested:
About eight minutes before I arrived.
Not an hour.
Not overnight.
Still enough to terrify a six-year-old.
Then me.
I heard him while coming downstairs after changing clothes.
The slap happened after I saw Constance standing beside the locked door while Perry screamed.
I struck her.
She fell.
May you like
No serious injury.
That became my own legal problem.
