Chapter 3 - The First Laboratory Result
The first result came that evening.
Preliminary.
Not final.
The liquid contained a concentrated household cleaning substance that was not safe for consumption.
The investigator would not tell me more over the phone.
Good.
I did not need a chemistry lesson.
I needed to know whether Lily had saved my life.
The answer was:
Potentially.
Exposure could have caused significant injury.
How significant depended on amount, concentration, and individual factors.
I stopped the doctor there.
I did not want a hypothetical autopsy performed verbally on someone still alive.
I looked at Lily sleeping on a couch in my study.
She had insisted on staying where she could see me.
Nora had left with counsel after police finished the initial scene work.
She was not permitted to take Lily.
A temporary safety plan was established immediately.
I sat beside my daughter until sunrise.
At 4:12 a.m. she woke.
“Daddy?”
“I’m here.”
“You drink it?”
“No.”
She touched my face.
Then went back to sleep.
May you like
That tiny gesture hurt more than anything else that night.
My six-year-old had spent hours checking whether I was still alive.
