Free A Measure of Blood by Kathleen George

outside?”
    â€œOutside.”
    â€œShow me how you left, where you were.”
    â€œThe real stairs?”
    â€œWhy not?”
    Matt leads them down the dark back stairs to the door with a crash bar that opens on the backyard.
    â€œHere.”
    Christie says, “Now, you knew what number to call. Had you ever called before?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œBut you knew what to do. Good. Then?”
    Matt’s face collapses into a frown. “I … I could tell they weren’t going to come. So I went back up.”
    â€œShow me?”
    Christie makes him show them everything. He keeps checking his watch. “Did you pause? Did you wait before going up?”
    â€œA little bit.”
    â€œGood. Smart. Show me how long?”
    Matt pauses and then begins to move. Three seconds. Five. Ten.
    â€œWas there a reason you went around front?”
    â€œI thought I might find somebody who could help. A person walking in or out.”
    â€œAh, makes sense. Did you see anybody?”
    â€œNobody was around, so I just went back up.”
    â€œShow us your movements.”
    Matt opens a gate and they all go around to the front.
    â€œDid you see the man again?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œHow do you think he got away?”
    â€œI guess the back stairs after I left. Or maybe the front before I went around. I don’t know.”
    â€œMakes sense,” Christie murmurs again. “I’m sorry to ask you all this but it could help. Could you tell me anything you saw when you went back up?”
    â€œThe door was partways open.”
    â€œAbout how much?”
    â€œOnly a little bit.”
    Christie nods. He doesn’t ask anything for a while.
    Finally the boy says, “I had to slide in because she was on the floor.”
    â€œTell me, if you want to, what you were thinking then.”
    â€œI tried to make her talk. I had the phone so I called 911 again. I told them they had to come.”
    â€œVery good.”
    â€œYeah. But then I ran next door to see if Dr. Panikkar was home.”
    â€œBecause he’s a doctor.”
    â€œBecause … because … I was afraid to do that thing where you push the chest to make a person breathe.”
    â€œDid you know how to do it?”
    â€œKind of. From TV.” Matt is breathing raggedly.
    â€œThat’s a hard job. Almost impossible when there’s an injury.”
    â€œI thought I would make it worse.”
    â€œThat was correct. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
    â€œI didn’t?”
    â€œNot a thing. You were great.”
    Colleen lets out a big breath of relief. This was hard, very hard, watching a kid wound tight, falling apart.
    â€œTell me, when you were outside, did you notice a car that was unfamiliar or anything like that?”
    â€œNo, I wasn’t looking anywhere. I was thinking: should I go back up the stairs or just wait.”
    â€œYou did fine,” Christie says evenly.
    When Matt gets ahead of them, Colleen asks, “Boss? Why did you make him go through it again?”
    â€œBecause Chief had the same idea as McGranahan. Liked the idea of a bad seed. I swore I’d check the kid out for consistency. I swore I’d have an expert witness it. You witnessed it. You’ve got the creds.”
    â€œMe?” she says with some surprise. She does have a master’s in counseling, though she hasn’t practiced formally for a few years.
    Christie takes out a handkerchief and touches it to his face. He is shaking. “So I did it. What did you think?”
    â€œI thought he was truthful and that he’s been harboring some guilt about not doing even more.”
    â€œRight.”
    Matt turns on his heel and comes back to them. “I forgot to say last night that I know what kind of car the man had.”
    â€œI’m not sure what you mean,” Christie says.
    â€œWhen I was out last night, I looked for one like it. It was a