Chapter 12 - Linda Could Not Explain the Five Minutes
Linda’s legal case moved slowly.
The medical evidence.
Baby-monitor footage.
Ryan’s statement about her fall.
Digital searches.
Her prior planning.
Her conflicting accounts.
The old Susan material had limited direct relevance to what happened to Lily and was handled carefully.
Nobody needed thirty-year-old history to prove a current act if current evidence was sufficient.
Prosecutors pursued the charges they believed the evidence supported.
Child-protection authorities separately determined that Lily was safe with Ryan and me.
That mattered to me more than theatrical punishment.
Linda continued insisting:
“I was saving Lily.”
From what?
Her answers changed.
Emma was confused.
Emma was exhausted.
Emma had left Lily unattended.
Emma wanted to move Ryan away from family.
None explained why the monitor showed Linda carrying Lily into the bathroom herself.
Eventually the five missing minutes became a wall she could not talk around.
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Evidence is often less dramatic than accusation.
It simply leaves fewer places for a story to hide.
