I had kissed my daughter on the head and left for a job site.

Officer Ruiz did not lecture me.

She wrote something down and asked when Brenda had last been responsible for Hailey without me present.

“Today. Since noon.”

I told her I had left early to meet a contractor in Meridian and had come home at about four.

The house had been quiet except for a strange rushing sound at the back.

I had followed it to the patio and found my daughter sitting beneath the spray.