I lowered my hands.
“What?”
“She has signs consistent with having struggled to breathe. We understand someone removed an object from her mouth.”
Jamie slowly stood.
“I did.”
The doctor turned toward him.
“Can you describe it?”
Jamie held out the small object, now wrapped in a tissue.
Dr. Morris examined it without touching it directly.
“Where did you find this?”
“In her mouth.”
Claire stiffened.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
The doctor looked at her.
“Why not?”
“Because Sophie was asleep. She couldn’t have gotten something like that herself.”
Silence.
Dr. Morris nodded thoughtfully.
“That is exactly why we need to understand how it got there.”
Then she looked at Jamie again.
“When you reached your niece, was she making any sound?”
Jamie shook his head.
“Not at first. She was trying.”
“And after you removed the object?”
“She coughed. Really hard.”
The doctor paused.
Then she said something I will never forget.
