Free Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg Page B

was teething, and she had caught a bit of a cold to boot. She had already had two rather messy nappies that morning, so I guess Branwell took her into the bathroom to sponge her off, and that’s when he dropped her. Surely you know how awkward he is.”
    Margaret said, “So, actually, you never saw him drop her.” It seemed to me that Margaret was saying actually a lot.
    â€œI didn’t even know he was home. I was in my room on the other side of the Jack-and-Jill.”
    â€œAnd when he dropped her, the baby didn’t cry?”
    â€œOf course not. She had gone unconscious.”
    â€œWas Nikki out of the crib when Branwell called to you?”
    â€œYes. He was shaking her, trying to get her to wake up.”
    â€œHow do you know he dropped her in the bathroom?”
    â€œThey found traces of Nikki’s blood on the bathroom floor, actually. How else would it have got there?”
    â€œAnd you didn’t notice the blood when you ran through the Jack-and-Jill after he called you.”
    â€œOf course not. The adrenaline was pumping, and I wanted to get to the nursery.”
    â€œWhat did he say when he called?”
    â€œHe called, ‘Vivi, come here. Nikki’s breathing funny.’ I came running. Brannie was shaking her to wake her up.”
    â€œWas that the last he spoke? When he called to you that the baby was breathing funny?”
    â€œNot quite. I came into the room and was shocked to see him shaking her. You should never, never shake a baby. It’s quite dangerous, actually. Their little brains go sloshing around in their skulls and get nicked and battered. I screamed, ‘Stop!’ and I grabbed the baby from him.”
    â€œThen what happened?”
    â€œThe poor little thing threw up. When I had her in my arms, she felt feverish. I was worried that she would choke on her vomit, so I cleared the vomit from her mouth with my fingers, and I sent Branwell into the bathroom to get a washcloth. ‘Get a washcloth,’ Iyelled. I did a good bit of yelling, actually. He came back with a damp washcloth. That is probably when he tried to wipe the blood off the bathroom floor. I cleaned her up a bit, but as I held her . . . her breathing was . . . so . . . so hard.” Vivian began to tear up. “This was not an ordinary little ear or nose thing. I screamed at him, ‘What have you done?’ And he just stared at me. He looked toward the Jack-and-Jill and said, ‘I . . . I . . . I.’ But Branwell just kept staring and making his mouth go and the only sound that came out was, ‘I . . . I . . . I.’ I yelled at him to call 911, and I started to do CPR. Branwell dialed. But when the operator came on, he wouldn’t tell her what was wrong. I had to stop the CPR to take the phone from him.”
    Vivian folded her arms across her blue sweater and hugged her upper arms. She shuddered. “It sends shivers down my spine every time I think of what poor little Nikki is going through.”
    â€œYes,” Margaret said, “it is chilling.”
    Vivian said, “I want to thank you, Margaret. This rehearsal has been most helpful.”
    Margaret said, “I’m sure you will do very well.”
    â€œYes, our little talk has helped me remember the details.” Vivian took another cigarette from her purse, held it to her lips, and looked at me and nodded. Ipopped out of my seat, picked up the matches from the coffee table, and was able to strike one on the first try.
    She held my wrist in the same place.
    She thanked me again and then said, “Some people say ‘God is in the details.’ Others say it’s the Devil.”
    Margaret replied, “Maybe it depends on who’s reporting the details.” She checked her watch and announced that supper was ready.
    She took the chicken casserole from the oven, placed it on the table, and reached