Chapter 26
26
Karen was in her office when her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she was surprised to see Roscoe’s name. Connecting, she rushed, “Mr. Roscoe? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, Ms. Karen. I’m calling about the kids.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach. “What’s happened?”
“I have them here. They’re fine. Safe with me. But maybe you could come by sometime today.”
It was a school day, and she wondered why they hadn’t gotten on the bus while simultaneously grateful they had gone to Roscoe’s house for whatever reason they needed to. “I’m on my way now. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
She hurried out of her office and passed Selma, standing near the receptionist’s desk. “Selma, can you take over my visit to the Parkers? I have to go visit another patient and need to make the change.” Looking at the receptionist, she said, “I’ll call you in case I need to make other changes to my schedule today.”
“No problem. Is everything okay?” Selma’s brow furrowed with concern.
“Not sure. I’ll let you know. And thank you.” She pulled on her coat as she jogged to her vehicle. Once there, she drove as quickly as she dared and soon parked outside Roscoe’s home. Alighting, she raced to the door and knocked. It was thrown open before her knuckles could rap the second time.
Zannie grinned up at her with a peanut butter smile. “Miss Karen! Hi!”
“Oh, hi, sweetheart.” Karen stepped inside as Zannie moved back.
“Look, Mr. Roscoe! Miss Karen is here!”
He moved slowly from his chair to meet Karen as she walked closer. He smiled benevolently and waved Zannie back to the table where Marty was eating a sandwich.
“You kids finish here, and I’m going to take Ms. Karen to check my bed rails.”
“Okay,” the kids said in unison, seemingly satisfied with their meal.
Roscoe nodded at her, his eyes heavy with concern as he led her down the hall to his bedroom. The weight of unspoken worries lingered in the air between them. Once inside, she closed the door most of the way, then stepped closer. “What’s going on?” she asked, urgency and dread pulling at her.
He rubbed his whisker-covered jaw, his fingers catching on the bristles. “Three days ago, the kids came over after school. Said their mama wasn’t home, and they couldn’t get in. They hung out here until Alan got home, then went back over there, much like most days. Then yesterday, when they came over, they said he had left the previous evening, their mom never came home, and they ate some cereal and got on the bus. No one ever came yesterday, so I let them sleep on the sofa and wrote a note that Marty taped to their door letting their mama know that they were at my house. This morning, no sign of the mom or Alan. I let the kids stay here and not get on the bus until I had a chance to see what you thought.”
Her mind raced as she bit her bottom lip, anxiety gnawing at her thoughts. The situation felt wrong, unsettling, and the kids were caught in the middle of it. She wanted to help, but this wasn’t something she could handle alone. The right thing to do, the safe thing, meant reaching out to someone who could take control of the situation.
“Hey, Karen,” Mark answered.
“Mark, I’m calling you because I’m unsure what to do.”
“What’s happening?” he asked, his tone no longer easy. “Are you okay? The girls?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I’m at a patient’s home. Do you remember the kids I told you about? Well, they’re here and not in school. It seems that their mom and her boyfriend may have left. The kids seem abandoned. Or at least that’s the story I’m getting. I thought of calling CPS but wanted to call you first?—”
“Is it the address you gave me the other day?”
“Yes—”
“I’m on my way. Stay inside; Brad and I’ll be there as soon as we can.”
She disconnected, then turned back to Roscoe. “I’m dating a detective. He and his partner are coming.”
“The police?” Roscoe asked, his bushy brows lifted. “I never thought about calling them… well, maybe when I’d hear yelling going on next door. But I didn’t think about it now.”
“It’s okay. You did the right thing by letting the kids stay here where they can be safe, warm, and fed.” She let out a long breath then said, “Okay, let’s go back out there. I don’t want to scare the kids, so let’s just act completely natural and then we’ll see what we need to do to protect them, okay?”
“Sounds good to me, Ms. Karen.”
She reached out and patted his arm. “It’s going to be okay now. I promise.”
He smiled and nodded, then followed her as they walked back into the living area. The kids were finishing their meal, and she squatted to their level. “Hey, guys. How was the sandwich?”
“Yummy!” Zannie declared, and she had a bit of grape jelly around her mouth to prove her point.
Karen grinned and reached for a paper towel to wipe her lips. Turning to Marty, she asked, “What about you?”
“I’m good, Miss Karen,” he said, his somber eyes searching hers.
It struck her once again how much the little boy had to take on while trying to take care of his sister. Her heart squeezed, and she wanted to wrap him in her arms. Instead, she just patted his hand. “I have a couple of friends who are going to come over.”
His eyes grew wary.
“Marty, you know how I take care of Mr. Roscoe, right?”
He nodded.
“And Mr. Roscoe trusts me, right?”
He nodded again.
“Well, I’d like to take care of you and Zannie the same way.”
He scrunched his face. “Take our temperature and stuff?”
She chuckled. “Maybe. But what I’d really like to do is have you talk to me and my friends and let us figure out how to help you. We want you in school and to have food to eat whenever you want it. And a nice bed to sleep in. When they get here, I’d like you to talk to them.”
“And you? You’ll be there, too?”
“Absolutely,” she promised. It ran through her mind that Mark and Brad might not want her there. Steeling her resolve, she smiled. They can stuff it . “Yes, I’ll be right with you.”
He looked over at Mr. Roscoe, then back at her. “Did I do okay, asking him to call you? He suggested it, but I told him that it was a good idea.”
Rubbing his hand, she nodded. “Yeah, honey, you did the right thing.” Just then, she heard the sound of tires on gravel and jumped up to peek out the door. A sigh of relief left her lungs at seeing Mark and Brad, as well as another sheriff’s vehicle. A male and a female deputy walked behind, then stayed outside as she threw open the door to invite in the two detectives.
Mark did a head-to-toe scan of her, his hand barely brushing her arm as he stepped in. She offered a little smile to him and Brad, and then her gaze moved behind them to the two uniformed deputies.
“They’re here to make sure everything is okay,” Mark whispered.
She nodded her understanding. Brightening her smile, she turned and said, “Detectives Robbins and Stowe, I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends. This is Mr. Roscoe Jefferson.”
Roscoe stood with a little difficulty and walked over to shake the hands of both men. “Just call me Roscoe. Everybody does.”
“I’m Mark Robbins, and this is Brad Stowe.”
She then turned to the children, noting that Marty was also now standing. Marty mimicked the behaviors of the adults while Zannie bounced in her chair, popping another apple slice into her mouth and grinning while chewing.
“And I’d like to introduce you to some more friends of mine. This young man is Marty Perkins. This beautiful little lady is his sister, Suzanne, but everyone calls her Zannie.”
Mark walked over first and bent so that he was at Marty’s height and stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Marty. I’m Detective Robbins, but if that’s too much of a mouthful, just call me Mr. Mark.”
Marty’s eyes were still serious, but he offered a slight grin. He shook Brad’s hand as he walked over.
“I hear you two got to have a sleepover with Mr. Roscoe last night. That sounds special,” Mark said.
Before Marty could say anything, Zannie burst into giggles. “We slept on his couch. I was on one end, and Marty was on the other. But he says that sometimes I kick, and I woke up when I heard a thump. I looked down, and Marty was on the floor.”
Marty looked over at Zannie, and Karen saw a flash of a typical boy irritated with his little sister by his expression. She patted his hand and said, “I have two daughters, and when they’ve tried to sleep in the same bed, one always kicks the other.”
His eyes widened, and a smile replaced the scowl.
She looked at Mark. “Would you like to talk to Marty and let Zannie hang with Mr. Roscoe for a little while?” Karen asked in an overly bright voice.
“Yes, that would be good,” Mark agreed.
“I hope this won’t be a problem, but I assured Marty I will be there, too,” she added softly.
Brad spoke up. “No, that won’t be a problem at all. In fact, we need a witness and child advocate.”
She smiled at him, then turned back to the table. “Okay, Zannie, you stay out here and watch TV with Mr. Roscoe, and we’ll be right back.”
Zannie seemed perfectly happy to follow Karen’s instructions and bounced over to sit on the couch.
Karen itched to hold Marty’s hand as she led him and the men to the back toward Roscoe’s bedroom but didn’t want Marty to feel embarrassed. The bedroom wasn’t large, and she knew it would be a tight fit. Once inside, she sat on Rosco’s bed and patted the space beside her. Marty eagerly hopped up on the bed next to her, scooting close. Brad took a position near the door, leaning casually against it while Mark brought in a chair from the dining room. While he was sitting in the chair, it put him at a much better height to talk to Marty.
Mark took the lead. “Marty, we’re here to help. That’s the most important thing you need to know today. You and your sister are not in trouble in any way, and Detective Brad and I, along with Mr. Roscoe and Ms. Karen, just want to make sure that you and your sister are healthy and safe. Do you understand?”
Marty nodded and leaned slightly into Karen. She wrapped her arm around him and smiled encouragingly.
“The first thing we need to do is understand who you and your sister are. Can you give me your full name?”
“Marty John Perkins. And Suzanne’s name is Suzanne Marie Perkins.”
“And you attend Baytown Elementary?”
Marty nodded again. “I’m in fourth grade, and Zannie is in second.”
Mark smiled. “What’s your favorite thing about school?”
Marty shrugged and then replied, “Reading. I really like reading. I’m good with math, but I like it best when the teacher gives us free reading time, and I can get any book I want from the bookshelf.”
Mark smiled. “Sounds good. I have a little boy, about a year older than you. He loves to read also.”
Marty smiled shyly.
“Okay, let’s talk a little bit about your mom.”
Marty’s smile dropped quickly. “She’s Carla. Carla Perkins. I don’t know her middle name.”
Karen caught a look between Mark and Brad, and then her heart broke as she watched Marty struggle with some of the answers. He didn’t know where she worked other than she worked nights and slept during the day. He also mentioned that Alan had only been her boyfriend for a few months. He didn’t know the full names of her previous boyfriends.
“We’ve lived in a lot of places,” Marty said. “Usually, Mom had a boyfriend who let us stay with him. But we moved into the home next door when she met Alan. I thought he was mean, but Mom said we had to be good ’cause it was his money that let us stay there. At least Zannie and I had a room. We could be there when they were yelling.”
“And Alan’s last name?”
“Solster… or Solsten… something like that,” Marty said, scrunching his nose as though smelling something unpleasant.
Another look passed between Mark and Brad, causing Karen to want to beg them for whatever they knew. Instead, she looked down at Marty, squeezed his shoulder, and smiled.
“Okay, Marty, tell us why you and Zannie are here with Mr. Roscoe. You can say whatever you want and just talk to us. Or if it feels more natural, you can just talk to Ms. Karen, and we’ll listen, asking questions as we need.”
“Um… well…” Marty stammered, looking unsure.
Karen shifted on the bed to face him, taking his hands in hers. “Tell me about your mom. You said she worked at night and then slept most of the day?”
He nodded. “She used to work at some restaurant, I think. She’d come home and be all excited about the money she’d pull out of her purse. She’d tell us we were gonna get a nice place to live. When we moved here, I thought it was gonna be nicer than the apartment we’d been in, but it was kind of dirty. I took some of the cleaner wipes from school and tried to clean the bathroom.” He cut his eyes toward Mark, and she quickly assured him, “That was a really smart thing to do.”
His tight little body seemed to relax at her words. “Mom usually works evenings, and she’d find someone to watch us. Then when we moved here and Alan moved in with us, she started working nights and sleeping in the day. I’d get Zannie up and make sure we were at the bus stop.”
“What about breakfast, honey?”
“We’d get it at school.” He lowered his voice and shrugged. “We didn’t have to pay for breakfast or lunch. Something about Mom not being able to pay.”
“I’m so glad you had that for you and Zannie,” she said again with added enthusiasm. She was reasonably sure a teacher assisted in getting the approval for the kids to eat at school, no longer feeling that their mom was doing much for her children.
“And when you’d get home from school?” Mark asked. “On a regular school day—where was Mom?”
“She’d usually be sleeping. Sometimes, she’d wake up and take more of the medicine that Alan would give her.”
“Was she sick?” Karen asked.
Marty’s shoulders hefted. “I don’t know. She just said she needed her pills.”
Karen looked up and caught Mark’s stiff jaw as a grimace crossed his face. She knew what he was thinking, and it was the same thing that slammed into her. Their mom was a junkie. And her boyfriend was her supplier. Staring at the little boy still holding her hands, her heart first broke and then opened for him.