Louise tried to stare me down. But her eyes told me she had relented. “Give me a few minutes.”

“Take your time.”

She disappeared into the back room.

Dad said, “Good job. You don’t need me.”

“Daddy, I always need you.”

Decker patted my knee. We exchanged shrugs and finished our coffees. When Louise came back, Sarah was holding on to her arm. The girl was dressed in blue pajamas with lambs on them. Louise settled her into a chair. “Do you remember Officer Decker, Sarah?”

The girl nodded. She was round and pink and her yellow hair was tied into a ponytail. I glanced at her hands. Her thumbs were short and stubby. She was looking at her lap.

“Sarah, can I …” I stopped myself, hearing my father’s words of warning. Don’t request to do something if you’re going to do it anyway. “Sarah, I’m going to ask you a few questions. It shouldn’t take long.”

Silence.

Louise said, “Go ahead.”

“Do you know how the baby got in your tummy?”

A nod.

“Can you explain it to me?”

She gave me a blank stare.

Dad broke in. “How do babies get in tummies, Sarah?”

Her eyes darted about the room. “They teached us in school. They showed us pictures.” She spoke haltingly, as if the words came from her diaphragm instead of her throat. Suddenly she giggled and turned red. “They were real”—again she giggled—“real embarrassing.”

“They showed you pictures of boys and girls naked?” I asked her.

“Not real pictures. Drawings.”

“Oh.” I smiled. “It’s good that you know about it … about sex.”

She giggled. “That’s a bad word.”

“No, it isn’t,” Louise assured her. “It’s okay, Sarah. That’s what making a baby is. It’s called sex—”

The giggles smothered her words.

“Did you have sex to make your baby, Sarah?” I said.

She turned scarlet and broke into unrestrained laughter. “Yeah, I think I did.”

“Sarah, who did you have sex with?”

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I promised.”

Louise said, “Sarah, you must answer their questions—”

“No!” The girl’s face became defiant. “It’s a secret!”

Decker held up his hand to Louise. His demeanor was as casual as a handshake. He smiled at the girl. “Do you have a boyfriend, Sarah?”

Her face darkened. “No.”

“A pretty girl like you—”

“I’m not pretty,” Sarah told him.

“Sure you are,” Decker said. “All that beautiful blond hair. I bet you do have a boyfriend.”

She looked away. Her eyes were downcast.

“What’s wrong, Sarah? Did you have a boyfriend?”

She nodded slowly.

“What happened? Did he move away or something like that?”

Again with the nod.

Dad gave me the go-ahead to continue the questioning. I tried to follow his line of reasoning. “Was he someone from your school?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why he moved away?”

“Maybe.” She looked down. “But I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. I can’t tell a secret.”

Louise exhaled loudly, but Decker broke in before she had a chance to reprimand her sister. “Sarah, I’m going to tell you something. Because I think that you’re very smart—”