Chapter 4 - ROSIE'S WORDS
Erin did not formally interview Rosie alone.
Two-year-olds were not reliable narrators in adult legal disputes.
Instead she asked Rachel whether Rosie had ever said anything about Little Steps.
Rachel thought.
Then remembered.
Three weeks after the evacuation, Rosie had played with blocks near the kitchen.
She built a square.
Put a toy figure inside.
Then said:
“Door stuck.”
Rachel asked:
“What door?”
Rosie said:
“Aunt Nat door.”
Rachel assumed she meant Natalie’s office.
Another time, during bedtime, Rosie said:
“Aunt Nat say stay.”
Then:
“Door no open.”
Rachel had not understood.
Now every phrase returned.
She told Erin.
Erin wrote carefully.
Not:
Rosie proves emergency exit locked.
Only:
parent reports spontaneous statements.
Then Susan spoke.
She volunteered at Little Steps twice a month.
She remembered a maintenance problem.
The rear door alarm malfunctioned constantly.
Every windy day:
beep.
beep.
beep.
Natalie hated it.
She had asked handyman Eric Dawson to “fix it.”
Eric said replacement parts would take two weeks.
What happened in those two weeks?
Susan did not know.
May you like
Erin did.
The accident happened during them.
