Chapter 5 - SURGERY
Avery came out at 3:04 a.m.
Surgical cap still on.
No smile.
That scared me.
“Eleven magnets.”
“All out?”
“Yes.”
“Damage?”
She exhaled.
“Two pressure injuries. One small perforation in the ileum. Another area nearly perforated. We repaired both.”
I closed my eyes.
“He’ll be okay?”
“Likely, if infection stays controlled.”
Likely.
Good enough.
“Did they look like the same type?”
“Small neodymium magnetic beads. Silver. About five millimeters.”
Desk-toy size.
The kind sold in sets.
“Could they have been swallowed at different times?”
“Possibly. Location and tissue changes suggest they weren’t all ingested immediately before arrival, but I’m not going to date ingestion from bowel appearance.”
Good.
No overclaim.
“Can police get them?”
“They’re preserved as medical foreign bodies. Chain of custody after pathology documentation.”
Paul Nolan had already arranged procedure.
Noah went to pediatric recovery.
Emily was not permitted bedside contact immediately because child protection needed a safety assessment.
That crushed her.
“Please.”
Mariah Lee sat beside her.
“We’re not saying you can’t see him forever.”
“He needs me now.”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
“Because Noah made statements indicating he fears someone will hurt you if he talks. We need to understand who had access to him and whether he can speak safely.”
“It’s Derek.”
First spontaneous identification from Emily.
Mariah stayed calm.
“What makes you say that?”
Emily stared at her hands.
“Because Derek does things where you can’t see them.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
Mariah looked at me.
This was now an interview lane.
Not mine.
I stepped out.
Good doctors leave rooms too.
In the hallway, Paul said Derek had been detained after officers at the house found evidence of domestic assault and after Emily identified him as her assailant.
Not yet charged for the magnets.
Police needed more.
“Did they find magnets?”
“Not yet.”
“Search warrant?”
“Being prepared.”
I looked at the clock.
3:42 a.m.
I was exhausted.
Then Noah woke.
He called for his mother.
Mariah allowed Emily to see him with a staff observer because immediate emotional need and safety conditions could be managed.
I stood near the doorway.
Emily entered slowly.
Noah saw her bruised face.
His expression changed from relief to horror.
“Mom.”
“I’m okay.”
He started crying.
“You said that last time.”
Emily stopped.
No false reassurance.
“You’re right.”
She sat beside him.
“I’m hurt. But I’m here.”
Noah reached for her.
She took his hand.
Then he looked at me.
“Did you take them out?”
“Yes.”
“All?”
“Yes.”
“Eleven?”
I stared.
He knew the number.
“Yes.”
Emily’s face changed.
Noah looked at her.
“He made me do eleven.”
She closed her eyes.
Noah whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
Emily broke.
“No.”
She bent carefully over his hand.
“No, baby. No.”
Mariah let them cry.
No questions.
There would be trained interviewers later.
May you like
For now, a child had survived surgery.
That was enough.
