“Who was responsible for her care?”

Her answer was uncertain.

Derek ordinarily helped around her shifts, but he had said he would be out of town.

The lack of a verified adult arrangement that morning was itself a concern to examine, not something the hospital could quietly assume away.

“I thought she’d be asleep,” she said again.

Dr.

Hale asked the necessary questions and documented her account.

He did not describe the whole household as safe because she seemed distressed at the desk.