Chapter 7 - The Ticking Clock
It was 4:00 PM on the day before the custody hearing.
In the child welfare office in Madison County, Sandra Miles sat at her desk, typing up her final recommendation report for Judge Patricia Vance.
The report sat on her computer screen, cold and definitive: Recommending permanent temporary placement of minor Lily Carter with secondary guardian Graham Vale due to mother's pending felony charges and severe psychological instability.
Sandra looked up from her screen. On the corner of her desk sat the small, white plush teddy bear Lily had given her that morning.
She remembered the girl’s wide, terrified eyes.
“Please take it. Look after its ear. It has a bad ear.”
Sandra picked up the bear. She squeezed its plush body, feeling the soft stuffing. Then her thumb brushed against the left ear.
It felt hard. Unnatural.
Sandra turned the bear around and examined the ear closely. A small section of the seam had been pulled apart and crudely tucked back in.
Using a pair of small scissors from her desk drawer, Sandra carefully snipped the thread and pulled out the small, tightly folded square of paper.
She unfolded it slowly.
When she saw the green drawing, Sandra’s breath caught in her throat.
The dark house. The giant shadow man with grabbing hands. The small girl with the cast.
And at the bottom, the shaky green lettering: NOT AN ACCIDENT.
Beside the words was the tiny butterfly with one broken wing.
Sandra’s hands began to shake. She was a child welfare investigator; she had seen hundreds of children’s drawings used in trauma evaluations. This wasn't the drawing of a child who had been abused by her mother. This was a desperate, clandestine cry for help from a child who was being held hostage.
Her desk phone rang loudly, making her jump.
She snatched up the receiver. "Sandra Miles."
"Sandra! It’s Detective Brooks," Elena’s voice barked through the speaker, accompanied by the loud roar of a car engine in the background. "Where are you?"
"I’m at my office. Elena, listen to me—I have something from Lily—"
"I have the DNA profile!" Elena interrupted, her voice booming with excitement. "I just left Apex BioLabs in Indianapolis! I have the certified physical extraction card signed by two independent geneticists! Lily Carter has Type-I Osteogenesis Imperfecta! The diagnosis is 100% legitimate!"
Sandra felt a cold wave of horror wash over her body, followed immediately by a crushing weight of guilt. "Oh my god... Rachel was telling the truth."
"Everything Graham Vale built was a lie," Elena said furiously. "He bribed the lab director, framed the original doctor, and manipulated the police. I’m driving back to Madison County right now with a warrant for Graham Vale’s arrest for bribery, destruction of evidence, and conspiracy!"
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"Elena," Sandra said, her voice rising in panic as she looked at the drawing on her desk. "You need to get emergency backup to the Vale estate right now! Graham knows I took this bear! If he realizes Lily tried to pass a message, she is in immediate danger!"
"I’m calling dispatch now!" Elena shouted over the noise of the highway. "Get to the jail! Get Sarah Lin and get Rachel Carter released on emergency motion! We need Rachel with us—she’s the only one who knows how to move that child without breaking her!"
