Chapter 11 - Mrs. Harris
Mrs. Harris became the witness everyone trusted because she had no family allegiance.
She also carried guilt.
“I should’ve called sooner.”
“You called.”
“I heard her before lunch.”
My chest tightened.
“How long before?”
“Maybe thirty minutes.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
She looked ashamed.
“I thought she was playing.”
Fair.
Children cry in yards.
Then:
“I saw Derek pull the tarp.”
“When?”
“Before I called.”
“What did you think?”
“That was when I knew.”
She had tried Laura.
No answer.
Then me because my number was still on an old neighborhood emergency list from when Laura and I were married.
Then 911.
I said:
“You did the right thing.”
She shook her head.
“I almost convinced myself it wasn’t my business.”
That phrase again.
Private.
Family.
Not my business.
The cage made it somebody’s business.
Mrs. Harris later testified:
May you like
“I could hear Emily say she wanted her dad.”
That sentence nearly broke me in court.
