Chapter 4 - Interrogation
The interrogation room at the 4th Precinct smelled of cheap floor wax and stale sweat. A single metal table was bolted to the floor between two uncomfortable chairs. Detective Miller sat opposite Sarah, a thick manila folder open between them.
"Six months of medical records, Sarah," Miller began, tapping a manicured finger against the documents. "Your obstetrician noted moderate to severe postpartum anxiety at your six-week checkup. You refused antidepressants."
"Because I wanted to nurse my daughter!" Sarah cried, leaning over the table. "I didn't want synthetic chemicals in my milk! Why would I turn around and feed her sedatives?"
"Because you were desperate for sleep," Miller countered, leaning in. "Your husband told us you were waking up four, five times a night. He said you complained that Lily wouldn't stop screaming. The pharmacy down on 4th Street has security footage of a woman in an oversized trench coat, dark sunglasses, and a wide-brim hat picking up that clonazepam prescription two days ago. Paid in cash. Used your driver's license number."
"That wasn't me! Evelyn has a coat just like that! She’s the same height, the same build!"
Miller raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Your mother-in-law? The retired church treasurer who took a four-hour train ride to help you clean your house? Sarah, listen to yourself. You're blaming an elderly woman for poisoning an infant to cover your own exhaustion."
"She’s not an elderly saint, she's a psychopath!" Sarah slammed her open palms against the metal table. "She hates me! She hated me from the day Ethan proposed! She tried to control the wedding, she tried to buy our house, and when Lily was born, she told Ethan I was unfit because I had a C-section!"
"Losing your temper doesn't help your case," Miller said calmly, closing the file. "The lab also found clonazepam residue on the rim of the bottle found in your nursery diaper caddy. Your fingerprints are all over that bottle."
"Of course my fingerprints are on the baby bottle! I feed her every single day!"
The door opened, and an officer whispered something to Miller. The detective stood up, his face hardening. "The emergency hearing just concluded. A family court judge signed a temporary protective custody order. Lily is officially in state custody, remanded to the care of her legal father, Ethan Vance."
Sarah felt the floor drop out from beneath her. "And where is Ethan taking her when she's discharged?"
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Miller didn't answer immediately. He gathered his papers, slipping them into his folder before looking down at her. "He’s moving into his mother's guest suite with the child. You are barred from coming within five hundred feet of your daughter, effective immediately."
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