I wondered whether she was hiding evidence.

I wondered whether I should have stopped her.

But Piper’s breathing was shallow, her body still trembling, and I chose to stay exactly where I was needed.

The officer approaching my truck was a woman named Sergeant Elena Ruiz.

She took one look at Piper and waved urgently to the ambulance turning onto the street.

“I need you to tell me one thing,” she said to me.

“Is the person who did this inside?”