Jamie Pete had only one child, his precious Katie. He spoke of her with restraint in public, as if sharing too much might let the world glimpse a vulnerability he preferred to guard. Yet in the privacy of their home, his protectiveness was unashamed. To him, Katie was something fragile and irreplaceable, the kind of treasure you didn’t parade recklessly before strangers. He feared she might bruise if handled too roughly, melt if treated without care.

Katie was rarely brought along to ...