The next hours moved in pieces. Lily’s fever came down slowly. The doctors monitored her breathing. Mason gave a formal statement. The placement packet was scanned and photographed.

The prescription bottle was logged. The note was placed into evidence. The recording was copied off the tablet before the battery died again.

At 8:12 a.m., I called the attorney who had helped Ellen draft the trust. He was retired, technically, but he answered when he heard my voice.

I told him enough. He didn’t interrupt.

When I finished, he said, “Your wife protected those children more carefully than I think you realized.”

“What does that mean?”