The little girl hadn’t spoken since the night her mother was found on the kitchen floor! Then the court dog lowered his head-and she whispered one sentence toward the defense table…

leading question, any hint of suggestion. There was nothing, only the uneven rhythm of a child speaking to the one living creature in the room who made no demands.

“She says more later,” Dr. Bell said. “The closet blanket. The lamp. A phrase about the lamp having teeth.”

“Teeth?”

“Broken ceramic, possibly. That’s my interpretation, not hers.”

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