The paramedic crouched beside Lily. “Sweetheart, where were you?” he asked gently. Lily’s eyes drifted to her father, and her lip trembled. “Daddy said it was a secret,” she whispered. “We went to a lady’s house. She gave me a cookie, and it tasted funny.” Daniel’s face went white. “Lily, stop, you’re confused,” he said sharply. I stared at him, my heart pounding, as the paramedic quietly pulled out his notepad.

“What lady, honey?” I asked. Lily looked at the floor. “Miss Carolyn. Daddy goes there every Saturday. She has a little boy, and he plays with me.” The room fell silent. Daniel opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Then the paramedic held up a small, torn cookie wrapper from Lily’s pocket and said, “Ma’am, this contains peanuts. Does your daughter have a peanut allergy?”