I reached into a paper grocery bag on the counter and pulled out a four-pack of room-temperature apple juice boxes wrapped in heavy plastic.

I pushed the straw through the foil circle and gave the box to Lily.

She grabbed it with both hands and drank half of it in quick, desperate gulps.

Officer Bell stood by the back kitchen window, holding his radio up near his collar.

“Unit twelve to dispatch,” Bell said into the mic.

“I’ve got a child abandonment scene on Oak Ridge Road.

Requesting an immediate supervisor inquiry on Derek Nolan.”