She sighed. “He went away.”

“But he went to your school before he went away?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know any David,” Louise told us. “What’s his last name, Sarah?”

She shrugged.

“We’ll find out,” my father whispered to her. “So … you had sex with David. But it was good sex, right?”

“Well, I didn’t like that sex, either. But David was my boyfriend. It’s okay with your boyfriend.”

I was trying to organize my thoughts. Two things appeared to be going on—consensual sex with David and then maybe an incident that could have been a gang rape. “Do you know why David went away?”

She nodded. “Because they put him in the trash can.”

Again I exchanged looks with my father.

Decker scratched his head. “Tell me about that. When they put David in the trash can.”

“They told me not to tell anyone. They said that if I told a policeman, they would kill me.”

I said, “The bad boys are not going to hurt you!”

“You can’t be sure of that!” Louise spoke up.

Decker said, “Ms. Sanders, why don’t we try to figure out what happened first. Then you can decide how you want Sarah to help.”

Giving her the choice, empowering her. My father’s skills were amazing. Louise told him to go ahead.

He said, “Sarah, I want you to tell me what happened. Because that’s what you have to do.” He tried to make eye contact with her. “You’re a big girl now, Sarah. You had a big, strong baby because you’re a big, strong girl. So you can do this. You can tell me what happened. How did David get into the trash can?”

She started shaking her knee—up and down, and up and down. “We were in the park.”

“Who was in the park?”

“David and me.”

“When?”

“Long time ago. Before David went away.”

“Like … last year?”

A shrug. “Maybe six months.”

“Okay. You were in the park with David,” I said. “Which park? MacFerren Park?”

She nodded.

Decker said, “Good. Now tell me what happened in the park.”

“I was supposed to go home right after school. But I didn’t.”

“I know. You didn’t go home. You didn’t listen to your sister.” Decker looked at Louise. “But Louise isn’t mad at you … right?”

In fact, Louise was furious. But she toed the line, even though she spoke through clenched teeth. “No, Sarah, I’m not mad.”

Dad’s smile was endearing. “See? She’s not mad. Tell me about the park.”

“They came over.”

Dad looked at me, signaling with his eyes for me to continue. I said, “Who came over?”

“The bad boys.”

“Sarah, do you remember how many bad boys there were?”

“Three or four.”

“Three or four,” I repeated. “So they came over to you and David?”

“Yes.”

“And where were you in MacFerren Park when the bad boys came over to you?” Empty eyes regarded my face. “Were you by a tree, or sitting on a bench, or—”