He Sent Every Dollar, So Why Was My Daughter Starving? novel · Chapter 15 of 24
Chapter 15: Day One
Emmeline's POV
The hearing began on a Tuesday, two weeks to the day after the shoebox.
The courtroom was full before the doors opened.
Half of Calder Falls had come, and they sat in rows behind us in their church coats.
Maisy was at school, with the principal watching the gate herself.
I sat at the long table with Kurt on my left and the clinic lawyer on my right.
Lowell sat across the aisle in a navy suit, with a lawyer from the city beside him who had a silver pen and a quiet voice.
Lowell nodded at me politely.
The judge came in and the room stood.
"We're here on the petition of Lowell Bissell," the judge said. "Paternity, visitation, and the question raised by Children's Services about the child's welfare. Counsel, proceed."
Lowell's lawyer stood.
"Your Honor, the facts are simple and painful. A four-year-old girl was underweight, hungry and living in a house with an empty refrigerator. My client's test shows he is her father. He has the means to feed her and the wish to."
"Objection," our lawyer said. "The test came from a stolen cup."
"Overruled for now. The court will hear it all."
The caseworker took the stand first.
She was careful and fair.
She said she had visited twice, that the first time the kitchen was bare, and that the second time, last Friday, the kitchen was stocked and the child had gained one pound and six ounces.
Lowell's lawyer let her finish.
"One pound," he said. "In two weeks. Is the child still below the weight for her age, ma'am?"
"By a little more than two pounds."
"So she is still underweight in this household."
"She is recovering," the caseworker said.
"She is still underweight," he repeated, and sat down.
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