Chapter 2 - TOO COLD TO LIE
Paramedics wrapped Lily in heated blankets and placed warm packs beneath her arms.
Her temperature was low enough to require hospital monitoring, but she remained conscious. One paramedic checked her blood sugar twice, then quietly asked when she had last eaten.
Lily looked at Taylor.
Taylor answered for her.
“She had breakfast.”
“What did she eat?” I asked.
“Oatmeal.”
Lily shook her head against my chest.
Taylor’s expression sharpened.
“You refused it.”
“There wasn’t any.”
Evelyn interrupted.
“She has been difficult with food lately.”
The police separated us.
Taylor claimed Lily had climbed into the freezer during a tantrum and pulled the door shut herself.
Officer Jenna Cole walked into the garage and examined the chain.
“The lock was outside.”
Taylor said Lily must have played with it earlier.
“The chain was tight around both handles,” I said. “She could not have done that from inside.”
Evelyn touched my arm.
“You just arrived after a long flight. You’re upset.”
I stepped away from her.
“Do not touch me.”
The officer photographed the freezer, broken link, lock, and surrounding floor.
On a shelf across from the freezer sat a small phone tripod.
No phone was attached.
Taylor said she used it for cooking videos.
There was no food-preparation area in the garage.
At the hospital, doctors warmed Lily gradually and ordered blood tests. A pediatric nurse weighed her twice because the first number seemed wrong.
Lily had lost eleven pounds since her last annual examination.
I stared at the chart.
Taylor had told me Lily was growing taller and becoming picky.
I had believed her because I had spent fourteen of the previous thirty days traveling for work.
A social worker asked whether food was available at home.
“Yes,” I said.
Then I remembered the chain.
The refrigerator in the kitchen had also been locked.
Taylor said it was because Lily stole sweets at night.
The doctor lifted Lily’s sleeve.
Faint bruises marked her upper arm.
Some were yellow.
Some were newer.
Taylor’s story had explained each one before I ever asked.
Clumsy.
Dramatic.
Always climbing.
Officer Cole returned carrying Taylor’s phone in an evidence bag.
Taylor had tried to delete several videos before surrendering it.
May you like
One file name remained visible on the screen.
LILY — HUNGER DAY 6.
