Leave it to Eva by Judi Curtin Page A

guilty.
    Would I ever be brave enough to tell Kate how close I came to telling on her?
    Would Kate ever understand that sometimes, telling on a person requires more courage than protecting them?
    By now Kate was climbing into Nicola’s car.
    ‘It’s been nice knowing you, Eva,’ she said. ‘Hope you have a nice life.’
    Tom smiled at me. ‘Things aren’t all that bad,’ he said. ‘It’s not like we’re taking Kate to the other end of the earth. I can see that you’re good friends, and no matter what happens, Kate will be able to see you and spend time with you.’
    Kate rolled her eyes, ‘Yeah, right! Maybe we’ll meet again when I’m grown up, and allowed to have a mind of my own.’
    She was being all defiant and brave, but her eyes were glistening, and I knew she was close to tears.
    This was awful.
    Clearly Nicola and Tom were nice people, and they were only doing their jobs, but how could I let them take Kate away like this?
    Could anything save us now?

Chapter Nine
    T hen I heard a beautiful sound. It was Joey, calling out, ‘Eva? What’s going on here? Is everything OK?’
    A second later he appeared in the laneway, all excited and out of breath.
    ‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.
    ‘I was coming back from my soccer game, and I saw the strange car, and I heard strange voices, and I thought maybe Martha’s house was being burgled. So I told your mum and dad, Eva, and they’re on their way here right now. I ran ahead of them.’
    ‘But if the house was being burgled, it wouldbe dangerous for you to come here on your own,’ I said.
    Now he looked kind of embarrassed.
    ‘I heard your voice too, Eva, and I was afraid you were in trouble. I thought maybe I could save you.’
    I looked at the skinny little boy, and hoped I’d never need him to save me from anything scarier than a kitten or a puppy.
    ‘That’s really sweet of you,’ I said as I gave him a quick hug. ‘But I’m not the one who’s in trouble.’
    As Joey pulled away, Kate climbed back out of Nicola’s car and he noticed her for the first time.
    ‘Hey, Kate,’ he said, as he ran over for a hug. ‘I thought you were in Cork. What are you doing here?’
    ‘Long story,’ said Kate without smiling.
    Before anyone could explain further, I heard Mum and Dad’s voices coming along the lane.I had no idea what they could do to help, but at that moment, I didn’t really care. Waiting for them was delaying the horrible moment of watching Kate being driven away.
    So I hugged Joey again, and we waited for my parents to come to the rescue.

    Mum, Dad, Nicola and Tom went inside Martha’s cottage and had a long talk. Outside, Joey and I sat on the grass and tried in vain to make conversation with a very silent Kate.
    Much later the adults came out again. Mum came over to Kate and patted her shoulder. ‘You need to go with Nicola and Tom now,’ she said.
    I sighed. Why had I ever thought that just because Mum and Dad were adults they could fix everything?
    ‘Where are they taking her?’ I asked.
    ‘Nicola has set up an emergency care meeting for this afternoon,’ said Dad.
    ‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ I said.
    ‘It’s not as bad as it sounds,’ said Mum. ‘It’s just to make a plan for what happens next.’
    ‘And what is going to happen next?’ I asked.
    Mum smiled at me. ‘We don’t know for sure yet. Nicola is going to talk to Martha, though, and if it’s all right with her, we’re hoping that Kate can come and stay with us for—’
    ‘That’s brilliant news,’ I said interrupting her. ‘Did you hear that, Kate? You’re going to stay with us. Who knew it could all have been this easy? You can—’
    Now Mum interrupted me, ‘You didn’t let me finish, Eva,’ she said. ‘Kate will just be staying with us for a few days, until—’
    ‘Until what?’ asked Kate, who had, up to then, been acting like this whole conversation was nothing to do with her.
    Nicola came over, ‘Until a more