Chapter 1

Ashley Parks crossed and uncrossed her legs. The sofa she sat on should have been comfortable, yet today it wasn’t. Today as she stared into the deep chocolate brown eyes of eleven-year old Keisha Sommers nothing was comfortable or right. Keisha was mostly bones. Ashley swore that the skin that covered those bones was transparent and although Keisha’s color should have been a smooth brown it was almost white because of her bones. Could a girl really be that thin?
Ashley watched as Keisha held a doll in her hand. The doll was fully clothed yet underneath it was anatomically correct. If this girl had not been a victim of sexual abuse the doll would mean little to her but Ashley knew otherwise. The pictures in her file proved it all. Ashley was just the next and final step to removing this girl from her home. If Ashley Parks said this girl was abused then it was so. As an FBI consultant and an expert witness, her reputation preceded her. Both the defense and prosecution attempted to woo her to testify but Ashley cared little for anything but the truth and she would tell that truth no matter which side it helped.
“Keisha, can you tell me what happened?” Keisha had been in the office almost an hour. Not once had Ashley seen her smile. Only twice did she hear her speak. Ashley laid her hand over the tiny girl’s arm and felt Keisha stiffen. She rubbed slowly and pulled her hand away. She wouldn’t add to this little girl’s pain or fear. “Keisha, I am here to help you. You are the only one I care about. In here, you are free to talk about whatever you would like.”
“I can’t tell you.” It was a very common response from a child especially when they had been told over and over not to speak a word to anyone else. Sometimes the offender added the threat of harm to the child or someone else close to the child to ensure the child’s silence. Ashley didn’t know which was worse.
“I know it seems like you can’t but I think you can. I know you’re a brave girl and that you can do this.”
“If he goes to jail, my mama will be angry. She already told me that…” Keisha bit down on her bottom lip, the regret of her statement written all over her face.
“I understand.” Ashley paused. “But what do you want? If you could have anything that you wanted what would it be?”
A small smile slipped across Keisha’s face and was gone. It was a start. Trust would not come easy for the small girl but they had made headway. Ashley was committed to staying with her until she knew the answers. She refused to send the girl back into an abusive situation. Without Keisha’s testimony her stepfather could not be prosecuted. Too much circumstantial evidence the defense said. How five broken bones in one year could be circumstantial was beyond Ashley’s comprehension but according to the district attorney the defense could argue that the girl was clumsy. What an awful predicament for such a small child.
After what felt like an eternity of silence, Ashley asked again, “Keisha, if you could do whatever you wanted what would it be?”
“Me and mama would go away and never come back.”
“Where would you go?”
“Wherever he couldn’t find us.”
“He won’t find you if he’s in jail.”
“He says he’ll get out and find me if I ever tell…” She clamped her tiny, bony hand over her mouth. Ashley resisted the urge to take the girl into her arms and hug her until she had no fears left. But from personal experience, no one else could take away the pain. It had to be faced alone.
“Keisha, I won’t let him hurt you. If you tell me what happened, I promise I won’t ever let him near you again. Can you do that for me? Can you tell me? If you do, you’re mommy will be safe too.”
Tears welled up in Keisha’s eyes and silently slipped down her cheek. She was just on the opposite end of the sofa but Ashley felt as though they were on opposite ends of the world. Ashley took soft, deep breaths. This was not the time to push or lead. She couldn’t make suggestions to Keisha about what had been done to her. If she asked any questions that could put ideas in Keisha’s mind the defense could throw it out. The story had to come from Keisha.
And then, slowly it did. The beatings, the molestation. It had started when Keisha was just six years old and her mother hooked up with a new guy. He had been sweet at first but whenever they were alone he would try to seduce her and whenever she refused he would beat her and put her in a closet. She had been starved for weeks at a time. Worst of all, her mother knew of the abuse and did nothing to stop it.
That complicated things.
Ashley couldn’t recommend that Keisha go back with her mother if her mother did nothing to protect her child. There had been no evidence that the mother was abused by Keisha’s stepfather.
“Can I go home now?” The tears were gone and the quiet voice was back as though she hadn’t just recounted horrors some adults had never experienced.
“Keisha, where’s your mom?”
Keisha shrugged her reply.
“I don’t know that she can pick you up. I have to talk to some people and see what they say.”
“I want my mama!” Ashley had no doubt that her secretary, Trish, could now hear everything going on in Ashley’s office.
“Keisha, I understand but if your mom didn’t help you when your stepfather beat you then the court might not want you back with her.”
“She loves me! You promised!” Angry words poured out of Keisha’s mouth as she threw herself on the floor. A temper tantrum, similar to one a 2-year-old might throw, ensued. Ashley motioned for Trish to step into the room and then began to softly stroke Keisha’s back willing her to calm down.
“Keisha, I know your mom loves you but I want to protect you. I want you to be safe. Didn’t I tell you I would keep you safe? Can you trust me?”
The stroking had a calming effect and Keisha slowly stopped her heaving. With her face nuzzled in Ashley’s thick carpet she nodded her head. Ashley could barely perceive the nod but a look at Trish confirmed the small gesture. “Keisha, I have to make a phone call. My friend Trish will stay with you for a minute. Why don’t you color for me while I’m gone?”
Ashley helped Keisha to the children’s table she kept in her office. She found blank paper and crayons and handed them to the girl who somehow looked even smaller than before. Keisha fumbled for the crayons and began to draw. Ashley left the room to make the call. The news was not good. Keisha would not be released back into her mother’s care until there was further investigation. The mother could not be ruled out as participating in the abuse and no one wanted to risk Keisha’s safety especially now that she had come forward to say that her stepfather had been abusing her.
Trish and Ashley stayed with Keisha while they waited for a social worker to pick her up and take her to a foster home. It was not a good solution for Keisha but it was the safest one they had available. Ashley prayed that someday there would be a better way.
After Keisha was gone, Ashley collapsed on the waiting room chair. Trish’s small reception desk was across from it. Trish was Ashley’s only staff but the office ran smoothly. Trish took care of everything.
“Long day, huh?” Trish asked. Smoothing her skirt beneath her she sat back in her chair. Ashley could only see the tip of her blond head from where she was sitting. Trish had requested a barrier between herself and the patients. She said she didn’t want people staring at her while she worked. Ashley thought it was more so she could hide stuff from her. Not bad things, just life. Ashley had no desire to participate in life and didn’t really care to see anybody else do it either.
“Yea, it’s been a tough one,” Ashley said finally. She had to respond or she’d get a silent reprimand from Trish. Trish might’ve been younger than Ashley but she was more the motherly type.
“I have some things for you…” Trish’s voice trailed off something that rarely happened.
Ashley’s heart began to pound, “What kinds of things?”
“This came today,” Trish said. Now instead of looking at an empty desk and counter, Ashley was looking at a single rose in a crystal vase. Was it the17th already? Had another month gone by?
“When are you going to tell me what it means?” Trish asked.
“Never. Throw it away.” Ashley struggled to keep the quiver out of her voice. “What else do you have for me?”
“Nate Zimmerman called. Said you’d know who he was. You’re needed in Florida. I booked you a flight in the morning.”
“What? I have clients tomorrow!”
“Not anymore. I’ve changed your appointments. You’re not needed here for another week. They need you there. Apparently it’s something big. You need to go.”
“I’ve never consulted in Florida.” Last she’d heard Nate was an FBI agent out of the Tampa office but it had been a long time since they’d talked. What could he want from her? “Shouldn’t you have talked to me first?”
“You wouldn’t have gone. Nate said you were old college friends. He sounds cute. I think you should see him again,” Trish said.
“He is cute but that’s not the point. I don’t want to see him.”
Trish stood up, knocked the stack of files in her hand straight and then placed them in her bag. “I think it’s time that you met someone and stopped hiding here.”
“Besides,” Trish continued, “I want the week off. Patrick and I are going to go away on vacation.” With that she left the office. Ashley had half a mind to fire her but Trish couldn’t be replaced. Trish was the only person in Ashley’s life and she had no desire to find another. Ashley looked up at the counter in front of Trish’s desk. The rose was still there and next to it a pink slip, presumably from Nate.
Nate. She hadn’t thought about him a long time. At least ten years. How did he know where to find her? Given the items on the counter, Ashley wasn’t very good at hiding. “Seems like everyone can find me these days,” Ashley mumbled.
Ashley picked up the items on the counter and glanced at the message. Nate’s cell phone number was written in large print with a heart around it. Trish was big into match making. Not that she had done really well for herself. Patrick was just the latest in a long line of men. She didn’t want to “tie herself down to just one”. Ashley suspected that Trish’s commitment fears were worse than her own. And as a scholar of Psychology Ashley could know these things.
With a toss, Ashley threw the flower into the trash, dumped the water from the vase into the bathroom sink and stored it in a cupboard in her office next to the hundred or so others that were there. She had always thought about throwing them away but somehow they reminded her of what happened. Reminded her of her responsibility in the whole matter. Reminded her of the danger that still lurked just outside her office door.