Her eyes filled again, but the panic had gone out of her breathing. She closed her eyes against my chest and finally slept.

By midnight Samantha had been transported for booking. Her sisters followed in separate cars. Gertrude was processed last, shouting at the officers until the car door shut on her.

The initial charges Lieutenant Norman read to me sounded absurdly mild against what I’d watched on my phone: child endangerment, simple assault, unlawful restraint, harassment.

Valerie picked up an extra count for evidence tampering after she tried to delete the clips while officers were coming through the door.

Then digital forensics went through the seized devices, and the case grew.

The liquid from the red container hadn’t been gasoline. It was vinegar and soapy water, mixed to smell foul — staged to make an eight-year-old believe she was about to be set on fire.