Chapter 5 - THE MANDATED REPORTDr. Kim made a child-safety report.
Not because she had concluded Sarah was a monster.
Because a caregiver admitted—or was alleged—to have struck a two-year-old hard enough to cause visible injury.
A police officer came to the clinic.
Officer Renee Bishop.
She spoke separately with me.
Then with Tyler using age-appropriate questions.
Olivia was too young for a detailed formal interview.
Sarah called me fourteen times.
Michael nineteen.
I answered neither.
Officer Bishop asked:
“Did you strike Sarah Carter?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Left cheek.”
“Open hand?”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
“Once.”
“Did she fall?”
“She staggered backward but did not fall.”
“Any injury?”
“Redness that I saw.”
“Did she threaten you before you struck her?”
“She said Michael would throw me out.”
“That’s not a physical threat.”
“I know.”
“Was she reaching toward Olivia?”
“She had earlier. At the exact second I hit her? No.”
There.
No self-defense invention.
No legal fantasy.
I had retaliated.
Officer Bishop appreciated honesty without saying so.
“Sarah may choose to make a report.”
“I understand.”
May you like
“She already has.”
Of course.
