Chapter 4 - THE STORY GREG GAVE THEM
Greg’s attorney advised him to explain only how Lily was injured.
He claimed father and daughter had been camping on private land.
Lily slipped down an embankment and fractured her arm.
He drove her to the nearest hospital.
“Why was she wearing modified boots?” Ruiz asked.
“I bought them secondhand.”
“Why did you attack the doctors removing them?”
“She panics around medical staff.”
“Why did you say Green Haven would come for her?”
Greg looked at the observation window.
“I was upset.”
His account conflicted with everything we had documented.
The abrasions on Lily’s knees contained fine limestone dust not found near the campground he named.
Her dress carried fibers used in commercial animal bedding.
The adhesive around the boot cavities matched an industrial marine sealant.
A pediatric radiologist reviewed the X-rays.
The clustered shapes showed internal skeletal structures, but the walls and overlapping material prevented identification.
She would say only that the cavities contained living organisms or recently living specimens.
That phrasing preserved accuracy.
It did not reduce the dread.
The oily residue on Lily’s sock contained a plant-derived calming agent often used by licensed reptile handlers.
No amount had entered her bloodstream.
It had been applied inside the outer boot walls.
The hidden electronic component emitted a weak signal every nineteen minutes.
Federal wildlife agents traced the frequency to monitoring tags used in conservation research.
Agent Daniel Brooks from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joined the case.
“Green Haven holds permits for several protected species,” he said. “Most reputable centers do.”
“Could these boots be legitimate transport containers?” Ruiz asked.
“Not on a child.”
Evelyn Ward released a public statement accusing Greg of stealing animals and endangering his daughter.
Green Haven offered full cooperation.
Its attorneys produced employment records showing Greg had been terminated three days earlier for security violations.
The paperwork looked complete.
The termination notice carried Elena Harper’s signature as witness.
Lily’s mother had supposedly signed it.
A handwriting analyst had not yet examined the document.
Greg saw the statement on television in an interview room.
His shoulders sagged.
“She’s going to blame Elena.”
“Where is Elena?” Ruiz asked.
Greg closed his eyes.
“I don’t know anymore.”
That was the first answer that sounded honest.
He admitted Elena worked at Green Haven as a veterinary technician. She began copying records after discovering animals moving through quarantine without intake documentation.
Three months earlier, she disappeared.
Greg never reported her missing.
“Why?” Ruiz asked.
“They showed me a video.”
“What video?”
“Elena alive in a room. They said she stayed alive if I did what I was told.”
“Who are they?”
Greg looked toward the camera.
“I want protection before I name anyone.”
He described the boots as one assigned delivery.
He insisted he did not know their contents.
He was supposed to take Lily from Green Haven to a roadside cabin, wait for a courier, and return alone.
Lily ran during the transfer.
She fell into a drainage ditch and injured her arm.
Greg found her, but traffic blocked the route to the cabin. When she began screaming that something moved, he drove to the hospital.
“Why not remove the boots yourself?” Ruiz asked.
Greg’s face tightened.
“Because Elena told me never to open anything Evelyn seals.”
He had named Evelyn Ward without realizing it.
His attorney ended the interview.
Before leaving, Greg looked at me.
“If you open those compartments in this building, you put every child on this floor at risk.”
“From what?”
May you like
He shook his head.
“Ask Evelyn why the boots breathe.”
