Chapter 7 - LILA’S FIRST FORMAL INTERVIEWLila sat in a child-advocacy center with a stuffed turtle and told us almost nothing we expected.
That was healthy.
The forensic interviewer, Tessa Grant, asked open questions.
“What happened to Daddy?”
Lila said:
“He went away.”
“Tell me about away.”
“He was sleeping under us.”
“When?”
“Night.”
“Who told you?”
“Nobody.”
“What did you hear?”
“Daddy says, ‘Lila.’”
“Anything else?”
“Water.”
“What about water?”
“He says water.”
My chest tightened.
Ben had been begging his four-year-old for water through the floor.
Tessa asked:
“What did you do?”
“I got my cup.”
“What happened?”
“Grandma said no floor drinks.”
A sentence so childlike it hurt.
Lila had apparently poured water onto the boards once.
Judith wiped it up, thinking it was a grief behavior.
“When did you hear Daddy?”
“When Uncle Shane music.”
There.
Ambiguous.
Tessa did not jump.
“Tell me about Uncle Shane music.”
“He turns it big.”
“Where?”
“House.”
“Which house?”
“My house.”
“Was Daddy talking then?”
Lila thought.
“No. Music too big.”
Important.
Not:
Shane put Daddy there.
Only that Shane had been at the house and played loud music.
We already knew Shane had visited after the disappearance to check on Judith and Lila.
He told police that.
Question:
Why loud music?
He would later say Lila wanted Christmas songs.
Maybe.
The interview did not solve anything.
May you like
It gave us behavior worth checking.
That is what good child interviews often do.
