Chapter 2 - The Blue Door
Officer Rachel Brooks knew the building before she even stepped out of her cruiser. It was the kind of place everyone in the neighborhood had an opinion about and no one wanted responsibility for. The hallway smelled of damp laundry, old grease, and plumbing that had been failing for years. Water stains spread across the ceiling. Someone had hung wet shirts on a clothesline between two doorframes. As Rachel climbed to the second floor, a woman opened her apartment door three inches and peered through the gap. “Who are you looking for?” she asked. “A little girl who called 911,” Rachel said. The woman made a face. “Apartment 4B. That mother is always running around. God knows what she’s mixed up in.” Rachel looked directly at her. “Did you check on the children before you decided that?” The door clicked shut without another word.
At the end of the hall stood a faded blue door bowed inward beneath the pressure of a kitchen chair shoved under the handle. Rachel knocked softly. “Lily? My name is Officer Brooks. I’m here to help.” Nothing. Then the scrape of chair legs against linoleum. The door opened one careful inch. Lily stood there barefoot, tangled light-brown hair falling over her face, a worn fleece blanket around her shoulders and a crumpled prescription clutched to her chest. Behind her, Leo sat on the floor in thin pajamas, cheeks flushed, holding an empty plastic bottle with both hands. The apartment smelled like spoiled soup, wet clothes, and fear that had been locked up all night.
Rachel crouched until she was eye-level with the girl. On the table sat two unwashed plates, an empty pharmacy bag, and a torn note that read, in a rushed hand, I’ll be back in half an hour. Don’t open the door. I love you. Mom. “When did she leave?” Rachel asked. “When Leo started burning up,” Lily said. “She was crying, but she said she had to get his medicine.” Rachel touched Leo’s forehead and immediately reached for her shoulder mic. The toddler’s fever was frightening. “I need EMS at my location now,” she said. As the request went out, Lily tightened her hold on the prescription and looked past Rachel toward the dark stairwell at the end of the hall. Rachel followed her gaze. “Lily,” she asked quietly, “what are you afraid of?” The girl swallowed. “Mom was scared.”
