“Yes,” Sara told her.
The woman rested her hand on the butt of her gun as she stepped aside, letting them enter the house.
The kitchen was warm and cheerful. Obviously, the owner wasn’t into decorating, but she’d managed to create a welcoming space with lots of soft wood tones. Sara guessed Denise Branson was the woman sitting at the table. She had the look of someone who’d lost everything that mattered. She slumped at the table. A mug of tea was in front of her. Rather than drink it, she aimlessly stirred the tea bag around by the string.
Faith said, “Denise?”
Denise looked up, managing a strained smile. “Dr. Linton?”
“Sara.” She offered her hand to the woman. “I hear you’ve been taking good care of my patient.”
Denise gave a wary look, as if she wondered whether or not Sara was making a cruel joke.
Faith covered the awkward moment. She opened the kitchen door. “I’m going to head over to dispatch. Just call me when you’re ready. Will, keep your phone on you at all times.”
He nodded before she left. Sara didn’t like the look that passed between them.
The deputy locked the deadbolt with a key that she put in her pocket. “I’m Lila, by the way. Jasmine’s in the back with the boy. You’re Will?”
“Yes,” Will answered. He put Sara’s medical bag on the counter and shook Lila’s hand.
The deputy had to crane her neck to look up at him. “I already said this to your partner, but thank you for doing this. We’ve been going it alone for a while.”
“You’re not alone anymore,” Will told her. And then his eyes lit up when he noticed the box of Pop-Tarts by the stove. “Do you mind?”
She retrieved the box for him. “Help yourself.”
Will swallowed the candy in his mouth. He coughed several times, but that didn’t stop him from ripping open the packet.
Lila told Sara, “The boy’s still asleep. I haven’t fed him yet. I was going to make crepes. He wouldn’t eat the pancakes yesterday. I think they were too thick.”
Sara asked, “Do you eat with him, or just serve him?”
Lila was at the open refrigerator. She seemed disappointed in herself. “Damn. If he sees us eating the food, he knows it’s safe.” She shook her head as she took out a carton of eggs and a jug of milk. “I just served him a tray the same as his captors probably did.”
Sara tried to take away some of the guilt. “You guys have been here all along. It’s easy for me to come in with a fresh eye.”
Lila said, “He won’t leave the room. I put a television in there for him. He keeps the sound off, reads the captions. Denise got him some books, but he won’t touch them. They can read at that age, right?”
“Yes,” Sara answered. “He’s probably used to having to read aloud, though.”
“He read to his mom,” Denise said, more to herself.
Will had finished one packet of Pop-Tarts. He opened another. “Did you try video games?”
Lila’s face fell again. “Video games.” She asked Denise, “Why didn’t we think of that?” She scraped a pat of butter into the frying pan. “I should’ve taken my brother’s Xbox. He’s too old to play it, anyway.”
Denise said, “We should’ve left him to the experts all along.”
“You kept him safe,” Sara said. “That’s all that matters.”
Denise stared down at her tea again. Lila started cracking eggs into a bowl.
Sara wondered what would become of these women. Denise Branson was looking at disciplinary actions, possibly criminal charges, but her fate rested with Lonnie Gray. From what Sara knew about the man, he was fair, but he also believed in swift justice. She hoped that Lila was safe. Unless someone told the sheriff, the deputy’s part in this enterprise would remain anonymous.
“He’s awake.” Sara guessed from the paramedic’s uniform that the woman in the doorway was Jasmine. Like her friends, she was petite, but there was something about her that indicated she wasn’t going to be messed with. Faith had the same bearing. Sara guessed that knowing you could take down a two-hundred-pound ex-marine like Paul Vickery with a steel baton engendered a certain amount of confidence.
Sara said, “I’d like to go ahead and see him now.”
Lila moved the skillet off the burner. “We’ll go with you.”
“Maybe not all of you.” Sara chose her words carefully. “You’ve been so good to him. You’ve taken care of him. Denise, you literally rescued him.” She paused. “He might feel that you won’t like him anymore if he tells you what happened.”
Again, Lila was quick to find fault with her own actions.
“We’ve been reinforcing his silence by walking on eggshells.”
Sara corrected, “You provided a safe environment for him to heal.”
Lila turned back to her cooking. She didn’t seem mollified.
Sara told Will, “You come, too.”
They all seemed to recoil at the idea.
Sara said, “I know it seems counterintuitive, but sometimes victims feel safer with men around. They think that brute strength can protect them.”
Lila acknowledged, “I’ve had rape victims ask for a male detective. Sometimes, not always.”
Will seemed more hesitant than any of them. “Are you sure?”
Sara advised, “Just sit down when you get in the room. Let him get used to you first. Seven-year-olds are highly adaptable. They’re also extremely inquisitive. He’ll want to know details about what’s going on, what’s happening next.”
“We didn’t tell him anything,” Lila said. “We just kept saying he was safe.”
Jasmine offered, “That’s what he needed, Lila. You heard the doctor. He needed to feel safe and we made him safe.” She looked at Will. “I don’t know about you, though. I’m sorry, but he’s just a little boy, and the people who hurt him looked a hell of a lot like you.”
Sara didn’t want to force it, but she said, “I’d really like him in the room. I think it would help.”
The tension seemed to ramp up. Lila was the first one to break the silence. “She’s been right about the other stuff. I say we give it a shot. If the boy freaks out, then Will can always leave, right?”
Will readily agreed. “Right.”
Denise and Jasmine exchanged a look. Sara could tell they were used to acting by consensus.
Lila said, “Dee, if something ain’t working, then you stop doing it and try something else.”
Denise said, “The boy’s already broken.”
Lila pointed at her with the spatula. “Maybe it’s time we let the professionals help put him back together.”
Denise cupped her hands around her mug. She looked at the dark tea. Finally, she said, “All right. But the minute he even starts to look upset, you have to promise to leave.”
“I promise,” Will said, though he still seemed to be the most reluctant person in the room.
Denise stood up from the table. “I’ll be right outside the door so he knows I’m there.”
“Thank you.” Sara retrieved her medical bag from the counter.