“And you need to call an ambulance,” Officer Harris said.
His partner stared at him.
“For who?”
Harris pointed toward the kitchen.
“The mother.”
They stepped farther inside.
The house was small, poorly heated, and almost completely dark despite the afternoon sunlight outside.
A blanket covered the living-room couch.
An empty baby bottle lay on the floor.
Beside it was another bottle, completely dry.
Then they saw her.
The children’s mother was lying on the kitchen floor beside the table.
She was alive.
Barely.
Harris immediately radioed for medical assistance.
“Female, approximately late twenties. Unresponsive but breathing. Possible dehydration or medical emergency.”
His partner searched the room for anything that could explain what had happened.
Then he noticed the table.
A handwritten note sat beneath a glass.
The handwriting was shaky.
The first line read:
If my daughter brings the babies to the hospital, please believe her.
The officer stopped breathing for a moment.
