Andrew had circled a Friday clinic visit, then drawn an arrow to Monday with the words FOLLOW UP.

Ashley’s 911 call had come on Tuesday night.

The four days she’d mentioned probably began on Friday afternoon; in a frightening stretch of time without school or meals, it felt like four full days.

The officers reconstructed the sequence cautiously.

They requested records from a neighborhood pharmacy.

The pharmacist, Lydia Chen, knew Andrew by sight.

He had tried to fill a prescription that required an insurer’s authorization.

The clinic had sent additional paperwork, but approval was still pending.