Page 52 of Everything She Feared

“First,” Pierce said, “we wanted to return your daughter’s backpack with her tablet and phone. They may need charging.”

“Thank you. She’ll be happy to get her things,” Sara said, setting Katie’s aqua canvas backpack on the counter.

“And, as I indicated, we wanted to follow up with her.”

Sara took note of their tablets, the detectives’ binders, how they’d arrived as if prepared for an exam,or court.

“But we also need to outline the terms of the situation,” Pierce said.

“The terms?” Sara said.

“It’s a formality that we’re legally required to do,” Benton added.

“A legal formality? I don’t understand.”

“It’s because Katie is a minor,” Pierce said, “a child witness, and, things are a bit different now because we’re removed from the event, or scene, and you’re present. All to say, we’d like your permission to interview Katie here, but alone.”

“Oh, my God, is—Are you going to read her her rights or something? Does she need a lawyer?”

“No,” Pierce said. “No, this isn’t a custodial interview. Katie isn’t under arrest, nothing like that, no. She’s a witness and we’re required to outline your options in order to talk to her further here.”

“But she’s told you everything and she’s still grappling with the trauma of it. She’s still getting counseling.”

“We understand,” Pierce said. “But children who’ve experienced sudden tragedies like this often forget details.”

“What’re my options here?”

“You can refuse to allow us to talk to Katie. That’s your right. You can be present during the interview. Or, you can have a lawyer be present. Or you could agree to allow us to talk to her alone, which would be the most helpful as we’d like to wrap things up. Again,” Pierce said, “she’s already talked to the deputy and to me at the scene without you being present but with other adults watching over her, so it’s your choice.”

An icy prickling scraped at the walls of Sara’s stomach.

If she said no, it would look suspicious. If she got a lawyer, which she couldn’t afford, Katie would look guilty.If you have nothing to hide, why get a lawyer?If she sat in on the interview, she’d look controlling, as if she had something to hide.

I want what’s best. But, oh, God, I thought they were done. Why’re they so careful, so insistent? What do they know—or think they know? If I asked them that, I’d look suspicious. What happened to Anna was an accident, an awful accident. It has to be.

She bit her bottom lip.

“I guess it would be alright, since you’ve already talked to her.”

“It’s routine, just a follow-up,” Pierce said.

“We want to help any way we can.”

“We have your permission to talk to her alone?”

“Yes. She’s upstairs in her room. Let me go tell her.”

Moments later Pierce and Benton entered Katie’s room while Sara held the door.

“Hi,” Katie said.

She was sitting on her bed, cross-legged with a laptop. Her bed had a quilted white bedspread and an emerald bed frame. The pink-peach walls had a floral pattern and the room smelled of fresh linen and soap.

Very neat and ordered, Pierce thought.

“Hi, Katie,” she said. “You remember me, Kim, from the park? This is my partner, Carl Benton. He was there, too. You can call him Carl.”

Benton gave Katie a friendly little wave as he looked around the room.

---