Chapter 4

"How can you say that?" I exclaimed. "Why would Caleb ever hurt his friend? You can't slander a child just because you're grieving. I believe Caleb would never do something like that."

"What good is your belief? My son is dead! The things your son said and the things he did—he's the one who killed my son! I'm not letting this go!" Annette screamed at me.

I knew there was no point trying to reason with her now. Grief had completely clouded her judgment.

I ended the call, my hands still trembling, and immediately called Isaac, telling him everything that had happened from beginning to end.

Once he heard the whole story, his tone was serious as he said to me, "Stay calm. I'm heading to the kindergarten right now. You get there too. We'll talk more once I get there."

After ending the call, I grabbed my bag and ran downstairs. I flagged down a cab and headed straight for the kindergarten.

As soon as I arrived, I saw a police car parked at the kindergarten entrance, with several uniformed officers surrounding the teachers and questioning them.

My heart lurched. I hurried over and spotted Isaac. He had just arrived not too long ago and was getting more information from his colleagues.

"So what's happening now?" I grabbed his arm and asked, my voice frantic.

"The kindergarten has already handed the surveillance footage over to us. We're about to talk to Caleb and find out what happened. Don't worry. These officers are all my colleagues. They'll handle it properly and won't frighten him."

Not long afterward, a teacher brought Caleb into an empty classroom. I was there as his guardian. When he saw the police officers, he looked rather confused.

James Emerson, one of the police officers, crouched down. "Hey there, Cal. We heard that you talked to Bryan before nap time. Can you tell me what you two talked about?"

Caleb looked at James, then at me. He gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, but he didn't get scared. Instead, he said frankly, "We had roast beef with celery for lunch today. I saw Bryan picking out all the celery and eating it, but he didn't eat any of the meat. He used to love beef the most.

"I asked him how come he could eat celery now, but he didn't answer me. He just bowed his head. I saw his eyes turn red. I wanted to ask him about it again, but then the teacher came over and told us it was time for our nap."

Frowning, James asked another question. "Did Bryan say anything else to you? Did he say why he wanted to go to the fish pond?"

Caleb shook his head. "No. He refused to say anything."

Just then, Annette suddenly rushed over and pointed at Caleb. "How can you still lie like that? You're the killer!"

Frightened, Caleb shrank backward. I quickly shielded him behind me before growling at Annette, "Stop scaring him! Cal is just telling the truth. You shouldn't be throwing accusations at him like that!"

James also stepped forward, his voice stern as he declared, "Ma'am, we're in the middle of a police investigation. Everything has to be based on evidence. We can't pin the blame on a child based solely on suspicions. Rest assured that we will do everything we can to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. We'll make sure that you get the answers you need and that the child can rest in peace."

Annette looked at Isaac and at the other police officers around her. Her sobs gradually quieted, but she still choked out, "I don't care what it takes. My son died, and someone needs to be held responsible for that! You must find out what happened!"

James nodded. "We'll continue with our investigation. Not only will we verify what Cal just told us, but we will also be combing through the surveillance footage to see if anything unusual was missed. However, I'm going to need you to stay calm. If we find anything, we'll inform you right away."

I held Caleb in my arms, my thoughts all tangled up.

Were the things Caleb said true or not?