Chapter 1 - the chain beside the kennel)
David Mercer heard his daughter before he saw her.
Not a scream.
Not even a cry.
A thin, broken sound that disappeared beneath the pounding rain.
He slammed the back door open and ran barefoot into the flooded yard, his black jacket half zipped, his phone still clutched in one hand.
"Emma!"
Lightning flashed over the fence.
For one bright second, the entire backyard turned white.
The metal kennel.
The wooden post.
The silver chain.
And his four year old daughter sitting in the mud beside it.
David stopped breathing.
Emma's blonde hair was plastered to her face. Her pale nightgown clung to her tiny body. Both arms were wrapped around herself, but she was shaking so hard her shoulders seemed to jump.
A chain ran from the post to a loop around the waist of her nightgown.
"Emma!"
This time his voice cracked.
He sprinted toward her.
Emma lifted her head.
"Daddy?"
David dropped into the mud so hard his knees struck the ground.
"I'm here. I'm here."
His hands fought with the clasp.
The metal was slick.
The rain made everything impossible.
"Who did this?"
Emma tried to answer, but her teeth were chattering too violently.
David yanked the chain free from the post, gathered her into his arms, and covered her with his jacket.
Then he heard the umbrella move behind him.
He turned.
His mother stood near the back porch.
Diana Mercer was sixty years old, but the rain and blue security light made her look carved from stone.
Her dark coat was dry beneath a large black umbrella.
Her expression was calm.
Almost bored.
David stared at her.
"What happened?"
Diana tilted her head.
"She needed discipline."
For several seconds David thought he had misunderstood.
"What?"
"She kept throwing a tantrum. She hit me. She wouldn't listen."
David stared at the chain in the mud.
Then at Emma.
Then back at his mother.
"You chained my daughter outside?"
"Don't be dramatic."
David stood so quickly that Emma whimpered against his chest.
"How long?"
Diana's jaw tightened.
"Twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes?"
"Maybe."
Emma's tiny fingers dug into David's collar.
David felt her lips near his ear.
"Since it was dark."
Everything inside him stopped.
He slowly looked toward the kitchen windows.
It was nearly eleven thirty.
The sun had disappeared before eight.
He looked at Diana again.
Her calm expression changed.
Only slightly.
But David saw it.
Fear.
A siren rose beyond the neighborhood.
Diana glanced toward the driveway.
"You called an ambulance?"
David stepped backward from her.
"I called 911 before I came outside."
"You shouldn't have done that."
"My daughter can barely stop shaking."
Diana lowered the umbrella.
Her voice became quiet.
"No one is going to believe you."
David stared at her.
"What did you say?"
"You've been unstable for months, David. Everyone knows it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Claire died. You stopped sleeping. You stopped working normal hours. You forget appointments. You drink."
"I haven't had a drink in three years."
Diana's face remained strangely calm.
"That's not what people will remember."
Blue lights appeared beyond the side fence.
David's stomach tightened.
Diana stepped toward him.
"You should think very carefully about what you tell them."
"Stay away from us."
"You don't understand what's happening."
David backed toward the gate.
Emma pressed her face against his shoulder.
"Grandma said everyone would know you couldn't keep me."
David froze.
Diana's face changed again.
This time there was no mistaking it.
Panic.
The gate burst open.
Two paramedics hurried into the yard carrying medical bags.
A police officer followed them.
The moment they saw Emma, all three slowed.
One paramedic stared at the chain in David's hand.
The officer looked from David to Diana.
"What happened here?"
Diana opened her mouth.
David did too.
Emma beat both of them.
"Grandma put me outside."
The rain seemed to become louder.
Diana stepped forward.
"She's confused."
The officer raised one hand.
"Ma'am, stay where you are."
Diana stopped.
The paramedics took Emma from David and wrapped her in a thermal blanket.
David climbed into the ambulance beside her.
Before the doors closed, Diana stood beneath her umbrella at the edge of the driveway.
Watching.
Not crying.
Not apologizing.
Watching.
Emma reached for David's hand.
"Daddy?"
"I'm right here."
"Grandma said the police were going to take me away from you."
David felt cold despite the heated ambulance.
"Why would she say that?"
Emma's eyelids fluttered.
"Because she already told them things."
David leaned closer.
"What things?"
Emma tried to answer.
But the doors shut.
And through the small rear window David saw Diana reach into her coat, remove her phone, and place a call.
Her mouth moved.
He couldn't hear the words.
But he could read two of them.
May you like
It's done.
Then the ambulance pulled away.
