LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Four

      One look from the sheriff and Meg had to fight her instincts to draw away from him. That look, that same damn look of disappointment bore down on her.

      Did he think she wanted the maniac who’d tried to kidnap her daughter to go free?

      It made her sick to think this person could try again with another unwitting mother.

      Based on his expression, he felt the same way. Another crime in his town, under his nose. They were racking up and she could see every stress crack in the dark circles cradling his eyes. But she also knew in her heart that he couldn’t help her or her baby.

      Wyatt’s eyes were different. His were harder to read than the sheriff’s. Hesitation? Yes...well, maybe. Skepticism? Certainly. And something else she couldn’t make out. Or, more accurately, didn’t have the heart to try. Because it was disappointment in her.

      Seeing that look in Wyatt’s eyes would crush her. And how stupid was that? They’d had a fling and Aubrey was the product. Meg couldn’t imagine life without her baby now that she was here, but she hadn’t exactly planned for any of this and was still winging the whole parenting thing.

      “Mind taking one last look at the sketch?” the sheriff asked Stephanie, and Meg was grateful he’d redirected his attention.

      Instinctively, she held her daughter a little closer to her chest, grateful this day hadn’t been much worse. Just the thought of anything happening to Aubrey...

      No, Meg couldn’t go there. Not even hypothetically. Another pang of guilt struck like a physical blow because this whole scenario was too close to home. She had been ten years old when her best friend was abducted right before her eyes and Meg wasn’t able to remember a single detail. It had changed her life.

      In this case, Meg was the mother who’d almost...almost...lost her child. A fresh sense of shame for not being able to bring peace to Mary Jane’s family washed over her, threatening to drag her to the ocean floor.

      If only she’d been able to remember what had happened. Mary Jane’s family would have the closure that Meg could never give them. She’d seen the Fjords a handful of times after Mary Jane’s body had turned up. They’d seemed...hollow.

      Mary Jane’s older brother, Jonathon, had been so affected that he’d had to be pulled out of school and, if memory served, he’d been too traumatized to return. She’d heard rumors that he was homeschooled after because he couldn’t bring himself to leave the house.

      After this experience of almost losing her own daughter, Meg could certainly understand the Fjords taking extreme measures to keep their son safe. Icy fingers gripped her spine thinking about the past.

      All Meg wanted to do was take her baby home and shut out the rest of the world until she could stop trembling.

      “I understand the work you do puts you in a precarious situation with folks.” Sawmill seemed to realize that continuing to ask her or Stephanie to recognize the kidnapper from barely a sketch was as productive as squeezing water from a cell phone. Meg appreciated the redirection. “Have either of you had any disagreements with clients or been threatened in any way recently?”

      Stephanie issued a grunt as Meg shot him a look.

      “We help women and children leave abusive households, Sheriff. Being cursed at and threatened comes with the territory,” she said.

      He nodded and pressed his lips together in a look of solidarity.

      “Does a particular incident stand out in your mind?” he asked, and there was a hint of respect in his voice.

      “Are you saying this might be personal?” Meg asked. The case she would be testifying for in two weeks had been her main focus since having the baby.

      “I wouldn’t be doing justice to this investigation if I didn’t come at this from every angle,” he defended.

      He had a point.

      “I’m working a case involving a ten-year-old. Kaylee Garza has been physically abused by her soccer-coach father, Randol Garza. It’s a typical abuse story in that the little girl has become a master at covering her bruises for school.” She looked up at the sheriff in time to see his jaw clench. Hearing about abuse was never easy, especially when it involved children.

      Out of the corner of her eye, she also saw that Wyatt’s body language was intense. Lines creased his forehead, and tension brackets formed around his mouth. Any decent man wouldn’t take hearing what she was about to say lightly and he seemed to know what was coming. She wondered if he’d been subject to abuse as a child and that’s what made him seem so sympathetic now. “That is until he whipped her with a cord and she couldn’t sit down in class. The domineering father had been abusive to the mother and child for a few years. But this time, he went too far and Kaylee’s mother, Virginia, reached out to us for protection and legal help.”

      “I’m familiar with that story. One of my deputies arrested Mr. Garza. I don’t mind saying we were shocked. He seemed like a decent man. Reverend Dawson spoke up on his behalf,” the sheriff admitted. “I didn’t realize that case was one of yours.”

      “Garza is fighting the charges against him, and—” she glanced at the sheriff “—he has a lot to lose if Kaylee and her mother’s claims turn out to be justified, which they will.”

      The sheriff stared at her for a long moment. “He coaches the reverend’s daughter on that team.”

      “That’s right. There are a few prominent members of the community who have daughters who play for him, as well. Doesn’t mean he didn’t beat his daughter so hard there were blood blisters on her bottom and legs. Her mother has fallen down the stairs or into a cabinet five times in the past eighteen months, which makes her one the clumsiest people alive or a victim. Given that she was once captain of her college long-distance track team, I seriously doubt she has issues with coordination.”

      The sheriff leaned back in his chair, examining her as though he was checking her sanity or truthfulness. “My office is aware of the claims.”

      Hearing about and being witness to such abuses, especially with children, was by far the most difficult part of Meg’s job. She couldn’t allow herself to focus on that side of the equation for too long or it would be crippling. The bright spot—the good that she would cling to in situations like these—was how much Kaylee and Virginia’s lives were going to change. Meg had a chance to guide them to a better future and a more fulfilled life. She couldn’t erase their pain, but she could give them the blueprint for their future. In her five years of working for One Child—One Advocate that was the part that kept her going, kept her fighting even when a case seemed hopeless.

      “One of your deputies is married to Alysa Estacado,” Meg fired back. “She’s Garza’s cousin. My client asked for this case to be handled by another law enforcement agency and we petitioned the judge on her behalf.”

      “Mrs. Garza had a tough upbringing. Seems I remember there were drinking problems in her family,” Sawmill said.

      “If you’re saying what I think you are, yes. My client has had her difficulties with alcohol. She’s sober now and ready to work,” Meg defended.

      The sheriff seemed to be contemplating what she said. She could see the road ahead with this case was going to be difficult based on his reaction to the allegations and her client’s history. She could only pray the case would be moved, as requested. It was a challenge she accepted with open arms because she could make a difference in Kaylee’s life. She could give Virginia a fresh start so she could be the mother she said she wanted to be. Fighting for that was worth every sideways stare she got from people—from the reverend to the sheriff himself.

      “I’m not trying to convince you of the merits of this case,”

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