Chapter 2 - Sarah Comes Home EarlySarah Carter returned twenty-seven minutes earlier than Garrett expected.
The last store canceled a delivery.
She drove into Hollow Creek as darkness settled across the fields.
The farmhouse kitchen was empty.
“Elias?”
No answer.
“Garrett?”
He came from the office.
“You’re early.”
“Where’s Elias?”
Garrett hesitated.
Only slightly.
Sarah noticed.
“The barn.”
She put down her keys.
“Why?”
“Consequences.”
Her expression changed.
“What did he do?”
“He ignored Clover until she got sick.”
Sarah stared.
“Clover is sick?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you call Dr. Wilson?”
“I did.”
“When?”
Garrett looked annoyed.
“He’s coming tomorrow.”
Sarah was already moving toward the back door.
“Sarah.”
She ignored him.
The barn lights glowed across the yard.
She opened the side door.
“Elias?”
A small figure sat near Clover’s stall.
Blue blanket around his shoulders.
Shoes beside him.
Tears drying across his cheeks.
“Mom?”
Sarah stopped.
“What are you doing out here?”
Elias stood.
His blanket slipped.
“Garrett said I have to sleep here.”
Sarah slowly turned toward the barn door.
Garrett had followed her.
“You did what?”
“He neglected an animal.”
“He’s eight.”
“He helps with the herd.”
“He fills water buckets and brushes goats.”
“He needs responsibility.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Responsibility is feeding Clover.”
She pointed toward Elias.
“This is punishment.”
“Yes.”
Sarah’s voice became quieter.
“That is not the same thing.”
Garrett crossed his arms.
“You’ve been too soft since Daniel died.”
The sentence changed the room.
Sarah went still.
Daniel Carter.
Elias’s biological father.
Dead five years.
A sudden cardiac illness had taken him when Elias was three.
Garrett knew better than to use his name this way.
Sarah walked toward Elias.
“Get your shoes.”
Garrett stepped forward.
“He stays.”
Sarah turned.
“No.”
“You undermine me every time I try to parent him.”
“You are his stepfather.”
“And your husband.”
“You are not sleeping beside a sick animal because you missed something a veterinarian hasn’t even diagnosed.”
Elias pulled on his shoes.
Garrett’s jaw tightened.
“You’re teaching him there are no consequences.”
Sarah looked at Clover.
Then Garrett.
“Tomorrow we find out what happened.”
Her voice hardened.
“And if this wasn’t neglect, you and I are going to have a very different conversation.”
Dr. Amelia Wilson arrived at seven the next morning.
She examined Clover.
Temperature.
Breathing.
Hydration.
Eyes.
Gums.
Feed.
Then asked:
“When did she stop eating?”
Garrett answered.
“Probably yesterday morning.”
Elias looked up sharply.
Sarah noticed.
“How do you know?”
Garrett shrugged.
“Observation.”
Elias whispered:
“She ate an apple from me after breakfast.”
Everyone looked at him.
“When?”
“Before school.”
Dr. Wilson asked:
“Yesterday?”
Elias nodded.
“She ate all of it.”
Garrett frowned.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Dr. Wilson continued examining Clover.
Finally she said:
“Whatever happened, this did not develop because an eight-year-old failed to notice her over several hours.”
Sarah looked at Garrett.
His expression did not move.
Dr. Wilson continued:
“She needs supportive treatment and laboratory work.”
“Is she going to die?” Elias asked.
“I don’t think so.”
His shoulders dropped.
Sarah touched his hair.
Then Dr. Wilson asked something unexpected.
“Has Clover had access to anything unusual?”
Garrett answered immediately.
“No.”
Sarah looked at him.
“You didn’t let her finish.”
Garrett’s jaw tightened.
Dr. Wilson glanced between them.
“Feed changes? Plants? Farm products? Anything stored nearby?”
“No.”
Again Garrett.
Again too quickly.
Elias remembered the skull bottle.
He looked toward his stepfather.
Garrett met his eyes.
For one terrifying second, Elias almost spoke.
Then Garrett smiled.
Not the smile from last night.
A normal one.
“See? The vet’s handling it.”
Elias lowered his eyes.
Sarah saw that too.
Later, while Garrett walked Dr. Wilson toward her truck, Sarah crouched beside Elias.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You looked scared.”
“I’m not.”
“Elias.”
He whispered:
“Garrett had a bottle.”
Sarah frowned.
“What bottle?”
“It had a skull.”
Her face changed.
“Where?”
“In the house.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
Sarah looked toward Garrett.
He was still talking to the veterinarian.
“Did you see him do anything with it?”
“No.”
“Did you see it near Clover?”
“No.”
“Did he say what it was?”
“No.”
Sarah nodded carefully.
“Then we don’t guess.”
Elias looked confused.
“But—”
“We remember exactly what you saw.”
She touched his shoulder.
“And nothing more.”
That afternoon Sarah searched the living room.
Office.
Utility cabinet.
May you like
Garage.
The bottle was gone.
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