Chain Reaction (12 page)

When Lucinda and Charley returned to the living room, they saw that Amber had already wandered outside where she was leaning against the banister and looking down at the water below.

‘Amber,’ Lucinda said, ‘would you rather have iced tea or ginger ale?’

Amber shrugged her shoulders without turning around.

‘C’mon, sweetie, pick one. It doesn’t matter to me.’

Amber looked back over her shoulder. ‘I never had ginger ale.’

‘You want to try it? If you don’t like it, you can change your mind.’

Amber turned all the way around and nodded. She accepted the glass and took a sip. ‘Oh!’

‘Do you like it?’ Lucinda asked.

Amber nodded. ‘It sparkles on my tongue.’

‘Good,’ Lucinda said. ‘Now, let’s all sit down round the table and talk about your problem, Amber.’

Amber spun toward Charley and glared.

‘Amber, I didn’t—’

‘Amber,’ Lucinda interrupted, ‘Charley told me you had a problem but that’s all. If you want me to know more – if you want me to help – you’ll have to tell me exactly what it is.’ Looking at the young girl, Lucinda had a pretty good idea. Withdrawn and dressed boyishly – was she always like that? Or was that the outward manifestation of a sexually abused girl trying to assume protective coloring in a hostile environment?

For a moment, Amber didn’t move. Then she lifted one leaden foot after another and joined Charley and Lucinda at the table but didn’t look at them. She kept her eyes focused down in her glass.

‘Charley,’ Lucinda began, ‘why don’t we start by you telling me how you found out Amber had a problem?’

‘I found her crying in the bathroom at school. She was crying so hard it made my heart ache. It took me forever to get her to open up the stall. She didn’t want to talk to me at first but finally she did. And I believed her but it still was so unbelievable – I never knew things like that happened.’

‘Things like what, Charley?’ Lucinda asked.

‘I can’t tell you, Lucinda. I promised Amber. I promised.’

Lucinda saw tears welling in Charley’s eyes and gave her an encouraging smile. ‘Amber, see what a good friend you have? She believes in you. She wants to help you. And she made a promise to you that she is determined to keep.’

Amber lifted her head and looked at Charley. Her lower lip quivered but she did not say a word.

‘Amber,’ Lucinda continued, ‘you’ve put Charley – your good, loyal friend Charley – in a very difficult spot. She wants to keep her promise to you but she wants to help you. Charley thinks that the best thing for you to do is talk to me – to tell me what is going on in your home. Are you going to trust her on that? Or are you going to let her sit there in turmoil, knowing that whatever she does, she’ll be doing something wrong.’ Lucinda leaned back in her chair and waited.

Two minutes passed, with Charley becoming more and more fidgety with every passing second. Every time Charley parted her lips as if ready to speak, Lucinda motioned to her to remain quiet.

Finally, Amber broke the silence. ‘He said if I told anybody, he’d kill my little brother.’

‘Amber, I understand and respect your fear,’ Lucinda said. ‘But I promise you that won’t happen. Every single action I take to protect you will be done carefully and deliberately with the safety of both you and your little brother in mind. I understand the danger and I won’t put either of you at risk.’

Amber shuddered and sighed.

‘Amber, please,’ Charley begged. ‘You trusted me but I can’t do anything. You need to trust someone who can.’

‘What if she doesn’t believe me?’ Amber said, choking on her own words. ‘My own mother didn’t believe me.’

‘You told your mother?’ Lucinda said.

‘Yes,’ Amber said, tears sliding down her face. ‘She slapped me and called me a liar. She said I was a selfish little girl who didn’t care about anyone’s happiness but my own.’

‘I will believe you,’ Lucinda said. ‘I know we don’t know each other, Amber. But I know Charley and I know Charley believes you. That’s good enough for me.’

Amber’s small chest heaved as she exhaled and began recounting the theft of her innocence. Lucinda was repulsed at the details of her abuse – progressing from fondling to forced fellatio to anal rape over the last two years. Lucinda worked hard to keep that feeling of revulsion off of her face because she knew how vulnerable Amber was – she knew the child would interpret any expression of distaste as being directed at her.

Amber’s sobs made her nearly incoherent as she finished her horrific tale. Lucinda opened her arms and Amber fell into them. Lucinda pulled her into her lap, wrapped one arm around the girl’s frail shoulders and placed the opposite palm on the side of Amber’s head. Looking over at Charley, Lucinda’s saw that her young friend was swallowing hard as she tried to keep her tears at bay.

Once Amber stopped sobbing, she gently pulled back and said, ‘I’m scared.’

‘Of course you are, Amber, but I am going to take steps to make you safe. Still, it will take a while for you to stop being afraid but it will come in time. Now, when did your mother say that you had to come back home?’

‘She said it would be good not having me around causing problems for everybody, but I had to get back by Monday after school because she starts a new job and I need to be there to look after my little brother Andy after school.’ Amber rubbed the back of her hand across her nose.

‘OK. That’s good. That gives us a few days to take care of everything. What is the name of your mother’s boyfriend?’

‘Eddie. Eddie Springer.’

‘Do you know where he lives?’

‘He lives with us.’

‘Does he have a job?’

Amber nodded. ‘He works at some pool hall but I don’t know where.’

‘OK. One more question, Amber. Are you hurting physically right now?’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said, her lip quivering.

‘Where does it hurt you, sweetheart?’

‘My bottom hurts and it’s bleeding a little.’

Lucinda fought to stay calm. She wanted to storm out of there, hunt down Eddie Springer and put a bullet between his eyes. ‘Now, you two just relax for a bit. I have to make some phone calls. You can stay out here, or if you want to go inside, that’s fine. Charley knows where to find some snacks if you’re hungry.’

As Lucinda eased up from the chair, Charley put her arm around Amber and patted her friend’s back. They were whispering together as Lucinda went inside.

In the bedroom, Lucinda shut the door before pulling out her cell and calling Charley’s father, Dr Spencer. ‘Evan, Charley’s little friend has a serious problem. She needs to be seen by a physician immediately. I could take her to the emergency room, but I’m worried that might be too traumatic for her. I was hoping you might know a female physician who’d be willing to see her in a more private setting after hours.’

‘What’s her problem?’

Lucinda detailed the trauma of Amber’s abuse and explained the pain problem. ‘Do you know of anyone who might be able to help at this time of the evening?’

‘I do. Actually, I know just the doctor for this situation. Let me see if I can reach her. I know she’ll want to know if a police report has been filed. Are you taking care of that?’

‘Yes, Evan. I’m going to see to that and to getting both Amber and her little brother into a safe situation.’

‘OK. I’ll call you right back.’

Lucinda left the bedroom and found the girls in the kitchen, sitting at the counter, eating bowls of ice cream. It would probably ruin their dinner but that felt very insignificant under the circumstances.

‘Is Daddy on his way, Lucy?’ Charley asked.

‘He’s got to make a phone call first.’ Lucinda poured a glass of Merlot and stepped back on to the balcony to wait for Evan’s call. She startled when the phone rang.

‘I got hold of her. I’ll be there in just a few minutes and we’re going to meet the doctor at her office in half an hour,’ Evan said.

‘Good, I’ll explain to them what’s going on so you won’t have to deal with any panicked reactions.’

‘Good luck with that. Sometimes, I am flat out ashamed to be a man.’

O
n the way home, Jake stopped by the Happy Dragon to pick up dinner. He almost called Lucinda when he couldn’t decide whether or not to get the kung pao shrimp or the triple delight for her. But, since he really wanted to surprise her, he just bought both along with his favorite, the sweet and sour shrimp plate.

He had second thoughts on his way home. What if she’s in the middle of fixing dinner? Maybe I should have called first. Then again, heated up, the Chinese would all work well for the following night. Nonetheless, when he entered the apartment, he looked first at the kitchen, relieved to see no preparation in progress.

He set the food down on the counter and found Lucinda out on the balcony. Slouched in one of two lounge chairs, she sprawled like a liquid spill across the cushions. ‘Man, you look more tired than I feel,’ he said.

‘Hey, Jake,’ she grinned. ‘Got a kiss for a weary warrior?’

He placed a peck on her lips and said, ‘Looks like you had as bad day as I did.’

‘Actually, I thought it was a good day until I got home. After I got in the door, I had to change my assessment really fast,’ she said, swinging her legs to the side and standing up for a hug.

Jake embraced her and asked, ‘Was something wrong here? Where’s Chester? Is he hurt?’

‘Chester is fine. He’s sitting in the bedroom window soaking up the sun. When I came home, Charley was here with a friend. I’m famished, Jake, come into the kitchen with me while I throw something simple together for our dinner and I’ll tell you all about it.’

‘You don’t have to fix a thing.’

‘What? You’re cooking?’

‘I can, you know.’

‘Oh yes, Mr Special Agent Man, you are an expert at pulling food from the freezer and popping it into the microwave.’

‘I did better than that tonight. I brought dinner home. Let’s fix plates and come back out here to eat. So what’s wrong with Charley? Is she in trouble again?’

‘No, Charley’s fine. It’s her friend who has a problem but I don’t think I can talk about it while we’re eating,’ she said as she walked into the kitchen and opened the take-out boxes. Seeing the selection, she poked fun at Jake for his indecisiveness over the order. When they sat down, she said, ‘Update me on your day with Connelly.’

Jake ran through the events and said, ‘Connelly is not going to pursue anything that does not point to a Muslim terrorist conspiracy and that’s not what it looks like to me.’

‘I agree – the scenario is all wrong from the timing and the people involved. David Baynes as a suicide bomber sounds ludicrous to me. Was he serious about the Mexican mafia as an alternative theory?’

‘I believe he is,’ Jake said with a sigh.

‘Sounds like Connelly is in need of intervention.’

‘Agreed. Unfortunately, it is out of my hands. If I were to attempt having him removed, it could result in them taking me off the case. So are you following a more productive line of inquiry or did the captain shut you down?’

‘Definitely the former – Captain Holland is backing me up all the way.’

Jake waited for her to continue but when she didn’t, he said, ‘That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?’

Lucinda looked at the plate and set down her chopsticks. ‘I told the captain about the notes. And about the information I learned today.’

‘What information?’

‘I need your promise – like the notes, this stays between you and me. I can’t have Connelly mucking this up.’

‘Of course, Lucy. I’m not going to jerk you around.’

‘Even if it means you’re stuck running down rabbit trails with Connelly?’

‘Yes. Can’t say I like my role. But it is what it is and anything you tell me I will keep between the two of us.’

Lucinda talked about the connection between David Baynes, who died at the high school, and Todd Matthews, who seemed to have committed suicide. Then she moved to the red truck connection with Todd. ‘It appears as if they are all tied together. I think what I need to do next is find that red truck. I was thinking about going to the high school in the morning and getting a list of all faculty and student parking permits for red pick-ups, but I don’t want to run into Connelly.’

‘You won’t, particularly not if you go there in the morning. We, too, are looking for a red pick-up. We’re taking a list of red pick-up owners and matching them to people on the terrorist watch list and making a circuit of those people. Connelly said if that doesn’t work, we might have to resort to a street-by-street grid search, starting with the area around the mosque. He has no plans to go up to the high school tomorrow because he wants to wait until students are back in school so he can go through the parking lot. Your plan certainly makes more sense but he doesn’t want anyone at the school to know what he is looking for. He’s driving me crazy.’

‘I think he’s already gotten there,’ Lucinda said. ‘I’ll go to the school first thing in the morning. Now that the undamaged part of the building has reopened and temporary trailers have been installed to house the wrecked office and classrooms, the staff will be there in full force for an in-service day devoted to the plan to care for the kids’ needs when they return.’

‘Usually, when you have a productive day like that, no matter how long or tiring it is, you’re charged up with energy when you get home. But tonight you seemed drained. The problem Charley’s friend has must be pretty serious. Is that what’s making you keep looking at your phone?’

‘Yes, I’m expecting a call from Evan.’

‘Evan Spencer? But I thought you said Charley was fine?’

‘Yes, she is.’

Jake folded his arms across his chest. ‘Then why the interest in Spencer?’

‘Jake, are you jealous?’

‘Maybe. All I can get from you is a month-to-month commitment.’

‘Oh, please, Evan is the last person you need to worry about,’ Lucinda said. ‘I needed Evan’s help with the difficult situation facing Charley’s friend. Quite frankly, it’s absolutely awful. The little girl needed a discreet examination by a female doctor and Evan found one.’

‘That doesn’t sound good.’