have to climb the fence to get
through.
The runner disappeared into
the next construction site before Sebastian had cleared the fence.
He cursed. If Carrie didn’t catch the kid, they had lost the
chance.
But Sebastian still
followed.
The runner was nowhere to
be found, and the construction site was deserted. That left the old
building across the street. He could just make out the outline of a
person on the fire escape, near the top story. The street lamp
highlighted red hair.
He jogged toward it and
started up after her.
“ Carrie? Are you up
here?”
“ Sebastian…”
Carrie’s voice was soft and
Sebastian barely heard it.
He crossed the roof, his
feet falling silently on the rooftop. It took him a moment but he
spotted her.
She knelt in front of a
sobbing girl who appeared no more than thirteen. Fourteen at the
most. The mocha skin told him it wasn’t the teenager they were
looking for.
“ Does she need medical
care?” He kept his voice as low as possible, not wanting to startle
the girl. To scare her.
“ I think so. She is thin,
probably very hungry. Shhh. We didn’t mean to scare you. It’s ok.
We’re not social services. I promise. We just need some help.”
Carrie’s words were equally low. “Can I have your jacket? She’s so
cold. That’s what the worst part is, the cold...”
Sebastian shrugged off the
thin jacket and slipped it into Carrie’s hand. She wrapped it
around the girl. Sebastian placed a hand on Carrie’s back as she
attempted to pull the child to her feet. “Let’s get her downstairs.
I think the hospital is three blocks north of here. Can she
walk?”
“ Maybe. Stay close in case
we need to carry her.” Carrie looked at him, and he had no trouble
seeing the misery and tears in her eyes. She turned back to the
girl. “Can you tell me your name? I’m Carrie and this is
Sebastian.”
“ Sophie...” the little girl
said. “My name is Sophie.”
Chapter 13
*****
Lorcan stood by his
partner’s side while they waited in the hospital waiting room.
Carrie didn’t like hospitals; it was evident in the tension running
through her shoulders, in the abnormal paleness of her skin. He’d
also heard about how she’d protested going for treatment after
Stephenson’s attack. He’d put it together; she feared hospitals. He
wrapped a hand around her arm before he thought. She tensed, then
forced herself to relax. “You ok?”
“ I’m fine. I have a problem
with hospitals.” Carrie’s words were low, her eyes bleak when she
looked up at him from the computer screen she’d been staring at for
almost forty minutes. “She was so thin. She’s been out there a long
time.”
“ Did she tell you much?”
Carrie had accompanied the girl to the exam room and waited until a
social worker had been called. The girl had claimed to be
seventeen; Sebastian wondered what her story was.
“ She just...left home. She
lived with her grandmother, her mother disappeared years ago. She’s
been out here two years, and I think she’s sick. I think she’s
probably hooked on something—meth or homemade chemicals. She has
the burns around her nose and mouth for household cleaner abuse,
though lord knows where she gets the money to buy it. I have my
suspicions. She’s refused a SART exam.”
A Sexual Assault Rape
Trauma exam would tell whether the girl was a victim. It didn’t
surprise Sebastian she’d refused. She’d probably survived by
selling—herself, drugs, stolen goods. It was a hell of a life for
such a young girl. What had Carrie and Paige done to survive? He
wasn’t sure he ever wanted to ask that question of them. “Did she
say anything else about Ashleigh?”
“ Just what we already
know.” Carrie slid the laptop closed. “Said that Ashleigh and she
shared a camp spot two days ago. Ashleigh never revealed she was a
female. Said Ashleigh insisted she take the jacket. And food.
Ashleigh said she could get more. And that Ashleigh asked her how
to get a bus ticket
through.
The runner disappeared into
the next construction site before Sebastian had cleared the fence.
He cursed. If Carrie didn’t catch the kid, they had lost the
chance.
But Sebastian still
followed.
The runner was nowhere to
be found, and the construction site was deserted. That left the old
building across the street. He could just make out the outline of a
person on the fire escape, near the top story. The street lamp
highlighted red hair.
He jogged toward it and
started up after her.
“ Carrie? Are you up
here?”
“ Sebastian…”
Carrie’s voice was soft and
Sebastian barely heard it.
He crossed the roof, his
feet falling silently on the rooftop. It took him a moment but he
spotted her.
She knelt in front of a
sobbing girl who appeared no more than thirteen. Fourteen at the
most. The mocha skin told him it wasn’t the teenager they were
looking for.
“ Does she need medical
care?” He kept his voice as low as possible, not wanting to startle
the girl. To scare her.
“ I think so. She is thin,
probably very hungry. Shhh. We didn’t mean to scare you. It’s ok.
We’re not social services. I promise. We just need some help.”
Carrie’s words were equally low. “Can I have your jacket? She’s so
cold. That’s what the worst part is, the cold...”
Sebastian shrugged off the
thin jacket and slipped it into Carrie’s hand. She wrapped it
around the girl. Sebastian placed a hand on Carrie’s back as she
attempted to pull the child to her feet. “Let’s get her downstairs.
I think the hospital is three blocks north of here. Can she
walk?”
“ Maybe. Stay close in case
we need to carry her.” Carrie looked at him, and he had no trouble
seeing the misery and tears in her eyes. She turned back to the
girl. “Can you tell me your name? I’m Carrie and this is
Sebastian.”
“ Sophie...” the little girl
said. “My name is Sophie.”
Chapter 13
*****
Lorcan stood by his
partner’s side while they waited in the hospital waiting room.
Carrie didn’t like hospitals; it was evident in the tension running
through her shoulders, in the abnormal paleness of her skin. He’d
also heard about how she’d protested going for treatment after
Stephenson’s attack. He’d put it together; she feared hospitals. He
wrapped a hand around her arm before he thought. She tensed, then
forced herself to relax. “You ok?”
“ I’m fine. I have a problem
with hospitals.” Carrie’s words were low, her eyes bleak when she
looked up at him from the computer screen she’d been staring at for
almost forty minutes. “She was so thin. She’s been out there a long
time.”
“ Did she tell you much?”
Carrie had accompanied the girl to the exam room and waited until a
social worker had been called. The girl had claimed to be
seventeen; Sebastian wondered what her story was.
“ She just...left home. She
lived with her grandmother, her mother disappeared years ago. She’s
been out here two years, and I think she’s sick. I think she’s
probably hooked on something—meth or homemade chemicals. She has
the burns around her nose and mouth for household cleaner abuse,
though lord knows where she gets the money to buy it. I have my
suspicions. She’s refused a SART exam.”
A Sexual Assault Rape
Trauma exam would tell whether the girl was a victim. It didn’t
surprise Sebastian she’d refused. She’d probably survived by
selling—herself, drugs, stolen goods. It was a hell of a life for
such a young girl. What had Carrie and Paige done to survive? He
wasn’t sure he ever wanted to ask that question of them. “Did she
say anything else about Ashleigh?”
“ Just what we already
know.” Carrie slid the laptop closed. “Said that Ashleigh and she
shared a camp spot two days ago. Ashleigh never revealed she was a
female. Said Ashleigh insisted she take the jacket. And food.
Ashleigh said she could get more. And that Ashleigh asked her how
to get a bus ticket
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