Officer Daniels nodded solemnly. “Giant hogweed is phototoxic. It reacts with sunlight to cause those burns. The sap can be frighteningly potent.”

The pieces began to fit together. Emily wasn’t hurt by a person, but by an adventurous curiosity that led her to an all-too-dangerous plant. The drawing that had sparked such fear was of a plant she’d tried to depict in her six-year-old way, her young mind interpreting the pain and fear as something monstrous.