Thursday, May 10, 2012

TheLightAtTheEndOfTheTunnelP5

In this chapter we finally meet Cassandra. She's nine and has yet to experience any real love in her young life and trusts nobody. She's been kicked around foster home after foster home, and raped at seven in one of them. The boy, Les Paul, worst-of-the-worst psychopathic killer, was there but did not help in the rape, but did re-learn his interest in sex. He now wants to know all about it, but needs help from older boys to learn. This is a long chapter so I cut the first scene with the chaplain and Nicole's visit with family services, as this chapter (the last free one) is meant only to introduce Cassandra.
At the end please see a list of the chapters, Contact info and other information.



****
Chapter 27 Meeting With Cassandra
The next morning, about 10:30 they stopped on a dusty street near the edge of town. A broken and slightly heaved concrete sidewalk led to an older, one-story white house. Nicole again looked at the address, “314. This is it.”

“Not such a nice house this time,” the chaplain observed.

“No, but they could still be good people.” Nicole opened her door and stepped out.

The chaplain followed. Halfway to the house they stopped and Nicole pointed to a swing-set they hadn’t been able to see from the minivan, “There she is.”

“Maybe a good thing,” he said, “She’s more apt to open up if her foster parents aren’t around.

****

Cassandra, sitting in the swing, the one thing that still worked on the swing set, had heard the sound of a vehicle that maybe stopped out front. Then she heard the engine stop. She stiffened her legs on the ground. Her body, from her mouth to her stomach, stiffened also. She held her doll a little tighter, and waited, hoping it wasn’t somebody from Family Services again. She wished those people would just leave her alone. She wasn’t exactly happy at this home but she wasn’t unhappy, either. At least there were no other children…no, boys…

She heard two doors close. That seemed strange. Usually Family Services sent just one person, so maybe it wasn’t Family Services. Two people appeared on the sidewalk, a woman and a man. The woman saw her and stopped the man.

The woman was young, and pretty, and a little shorter than the man, who, with white hair must be a lot older. The woman smiled. That was different. Usually the people who bothered her did not smile, at least didn’t smile honestly. Cassandra, in her short life of nine years, had seen dozens, hundreds, of fake smiles, but the smile on this woman’s face seemed…real.

She swallowed. Her fists tightened. She tightened her heels on the ground.

The two started toward her. Cassandra stiffened even more, and held her doll even tighter. Even with what appeared to be a real smile she wasn’t ready to just trust some strange woman.

“Hi,” the woman called, then shaded her eyes from the sun, “What’s your name, honey?”

‘Honey?’ Nobody had ever called her anything but ‘Cassandra.’ If they were from Family Services they would know her name, so they weren’t from Family Services. She wondered if she should answer.

The woman touched the man’s arm and he stopped, then the woman came closer, and knelt down, “I’m sorry, honey,” the woman said, “I shouldn’t just ask you your name without first telling you mine.” She kept smiling. Cassandra liked her smile, and liked her eyes, dark blue eyes like her own...she’s so prettyand nice. She began feeling something in her chest…an emptiness, like when the Family Services people kept taking her away from somewhere, just as she was beginning to kind of like it there…but this feeling was different, like something maybe was going to break in her chest—“My name is Nicole,” the pretty lady said.

Without even thinking further, “I’m Cassandra.”

Nicole increased her smile, “That’s a very pretty name, Cassandra, and I’m glad to meet you.” She held out her hand.

Cassandra stared at that hand. Nobody had ever wanted to shake her hand. Again, without even thinking, she took that hand, and felt the warmth, and held on.

“May I ask you some questions, Cassandra?”

She trusted this woman. She couldn’t help it, and couldn’t realize that her heart so wanted to trust somebody. Again, without even thinking about it, “Yes.”


****


The girl had light brown hair and wore a very plain yellow dress. She had stayed sober watching them walk toward her, but didn’t show any alarm. If any emotion showed on her face it seemed to be one of, well, very sober, and not trust for sure, but not distrust, either.

At mention of the word ‘honey’ from Nicole, a very quick smile had fleeted across the girl’s face. From about ten feet away, where Nicole had touched his arm and stopped him, the chaplain could see a scattering of very faint freckles around the girl’s nose and spreading into her cheeks.

When Nicole knelt down fairly close the girl’s eyes seemed to double in size and again that quick smile fleeted. The girl remained sober but he could see that trust of Nicole was growing by leaps and bounds. Strange, Nicole had affected him that same way, and just as quickly. For maybe three seconds a thought of the three of them together crossed his mind but he dismissed it just as quickly.

After Nicole introduced herself, which, even from the distance he heard quite plainly, he also noticed that little Cassandra held onto Nicole’s hand. Yes. Trust. The girl likely had not experienced much of that, and again the three of them together slipped through his mind, not so easily dismissed the second time.

“First,” Nicole said, “Are your parents home?”

“They aren’t my parents.”

A straightforward answer. The girl’s face changed slightly. Maybe some of the trust dissipated, as it appeared the girl had tried to withdraw her hand, but Nicole held on. He hoped Nicole could bring that trust back as quickly.

“So you mean you just stay with them?”

“Yes. And they’re not home. The man works nights, and he always eats somewhere else for breakfast, and the woman just went to the post office. They both should be back soon.”

Just the ‘man’ and the ‘woman.’ Not a lot of love lost there. The girl’s face now said she maybe wondered whose side she should be on…her foster parents or Nicole’s. Probably the same kind of decision the girl had been dealing with for a long time. Again the thought of the three of them—but he stopped that thought, and shook his head.

“We wanted to ask you, Cassandra, about something that happened to you a couple years ago.”

Almost imperceptively the girl moved back. Again she appeared to try to withdraw her hand, but again Nicole held on. Two years obviously meant something to her. The girl then looked toward the chaplain, with not nearly the amount of friendliness on her face as for Nicole. Surely the men in the girl’s life had never been too good for her.

“Who’s that?” With her other hand the girl pointed at the chaplain, and her doll nearly fell, but like a flash she grabbed it and again held it tight against her front.

“That’s Radford, my traveling companion.”

“You’re not married to him?”

“He’s a chaplain, Cassandra,” Nicole said, as if being a chaplain should help make the girl trust him, and maybe it did help as the girl’s face returned to just sober again, rather than unfriendliness.

The chaplain decided to take advantage of the momentary quasi-trust and stepped forward, smiled, squatted, and extended his hand, “Hi, Cassandra, I’m glad to meet you too.”

Surprise covered the girl’s face. Nicole released her hand, then Cassandra did take the chaplain’s hand, but only for a second, “Hi,” then her attention—and her hand—went right back to Nicole, “So what’s your question?” she asked, and referred to Nicole.

           “All right, Cassandra—“ Nicole began.

“You can call me ‘Cassie.’” That very quick smile came again, and went again.

“All right, thank you, Cassie.” If Nicole’s smile could get brighter and warmer, it did, and rapport between the two appeared to be guaranteed. “What about your doll? I bet you’ve given her a name.”

“It’s Rachel Ray.” The girl’s smile remained a second or two longer.

“Oh, like that nice lady chef on TV.”

“Yes, I really like to watch her show.” This time the girl’s smile lit up the yard. She even appeared to relax a bit. The question they wanted answered, though, required not exactly a smile, except Nicole didn’t ask the question he was hoping for.

“Do you like the people you’re living with, Cassie?”

“I don’t know.” The girl looked down, for about two seconds, “I guess….”

“But you aren’t sure…?”

Come on, Nicole, the foster parents could get back any second! But he knew she was laying groundwork for the future. He also knew they probably didn’t have a lot of excess time.

“Do you like the woman, Cassie?”

“She—“ Cassie fidgeted, “She’s, OK, I guess.”

“How about the man?”

“I don’t know.” Again Cassie looked down, and then away, “He—he kind of scares me sometimes.” Cassie brought her full attention back to Nicole. The expression on her face with no doubt said she saw Nicole as her savior—again the thought—he stopped it!

“How does he scare you, Cassie?”

“It’s just how he looks at me sometimes, and sometimes he acts like he wants to tuck me into bed. It—I, it, it’s creepy…sometimes.”

Obviously the man had done nothing, yet, but the young girl was sensing that he wanted to, and the chaplain was pretty sure that she was sensing correctly…but until the man actually did something there would be no help for Cassie. He wished he could pick her up and carry her away to safety—then caught his thoughts again and dismissed them yet again! Forcefully!

“Two years ago, Cassie,” Nicole said, thankfully returning to the subject at hand, “You lived with a family who had four boys and two other girls—“

The girl let out a breath, then took it back in. Nicole had definitely touched a nerve.

“The boys, at that time, were ten, and twelve—“ The girl drew in to herself at mention of the twelve-year-old, and appeared to try harder to withdraw her hand, but Nicole hung right on. He hoped Nicole had seen the girl’s reaction as well, and Nicole glanced at him, her eyes saying she did, “and two other boys, seven and six, and the girls were—“

“That boy reaped me.” Again the long ‘e’ sound.

“Which one, Cassie?”

“The big one—“

“What’s going on here?”

Cassandra jerked her hand free and instantly was out of the swing and running for the house. Nicole and the chaplain stood to face two arrived people.


****


“I repeat,” the newly-arrived woman said, “What’s going on and who are you people?”

The chaplain stepped forward and held out his hand, “I’m Radford Ohare, and this is my partner, Nicole Waters. We’re both private detectives.”

The mere mention of officialdom brought a surprised look from the woman, about forty and dressed in slack morning clothes, a stained sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants. At one time the sweatpants likely were white. The woman glanced at the man beside her with more a look of disgust, which changed to a dishonest look of approval when she brought her attention back to Nicole, “Goodness, what brings the law to our charming little house here in Marble Falls?”

“We aren’t the law,” Nicole condescendingly clarified, very obviously not liking the woman, which the chaplain would very definitely bring to Nicole’s attention.

The look on the man’s face was a little different. Pretty obvious he was guilty, of something. He was unshaven, not bearded but unshaven, the look that some women seemed to love to identify the bad in boys, to find their bad boys. He suspected this woman had picked the man for that exact reason, because he was bad, but now that she had him she probably wished he would change a bit. But they never did. They would always be bad in that way that women perceive as sexy, but likely wish they wouldn’t exude the same sexiness to other women.

“I’ll check on Cassandra,” the man said, then threw a lewd glance at Nicole before he left.

Nicole looked after him, probably wishing that she also could pick Cassandra up and take her away to somewhere safe.

“So,” the woman said, also watching as her man disappeared, “What can we do for our two partners in crime?”

The chaplain, knowing that in this case he maybe would be the best for further communication, stepped forward, “We’ve been hired by the original parents—“

“Of Cassandra?” A look of, what?—Fear of losing the foster money? Probably—took over the woman’s face. “They told us both her parents died, and there were no close relatives!”

“No, not Cassandra. It’s a boy that she at one time lived in the same household with up in Nebraska. We’re trying to find the boy.”

“The boy that raped her?”

“Well, we think the boy she accused didn’t do the actual rape, as, according to our information, Cassandra just pointed. She didn’t actually name him.”

“It doesn’t matter. She got raped, and now, thank God, she’s in a safe home.

Through peripheral vision the chaplain saw Nicole not only lose a breath, but cringe. Neither thought this particular foster home was probably the best in the world, but also there was nothing to really suggest it wasn’t, either.

“So may we speak to her?” Nicole asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll ask her, but if she doesn’t want to….”

“We’ll understand.”

****


They finally were invited into the house—which was clean, enough—and then to Cassandra’s room—where the unshaven man quickly departed from the doorway, after giving Nicole another lewd look. The girl’s demeanor had changed, drastically. She was seated at a card table that held both lined and plain notepaper, color crayons, markers, and other items that most young children enjoyed using. Other than the card table and a bed with a little night stand and lamp the room was bare. It did have carpeting, though, and a window that faced the swingset.

“These people want to ask you some questions, Cassie,” the woman announced.

Bent over and drawing, Cassandra did not look up, and barely mouthed, “OK.” The rapport, begun so in earnest earlier, appeared to be gone.

“May we speak to her in private?” the chaplain asked.

“I suppose.” The woman gave a huff, then left.

Nicole approached, and reached out, likely intending to touch Cassandra’s shoulder. But the girl pulled away, stopping her.

“Cassie—“

The young girl looked up and scowled, “My name’s Cassandra!”

Yes, the rapport was absolutely gone.

“All right, sorry, Cassandra. You started to tell me—“

           “I did tell you—the biggest boy reaped me!” Her mouth set, she turned back to her drawing. “The other big boy would’ve too—he wanted to do the littlest girl!—but the parents came home!”

Nicole, sadly, looked at the chaplain and opened her hands. They had the information they came for, so there was no reason to stay longer. They started for the door.

“And they’ll keep doing it!” Cassandra said in a voice not even recognizable. She also didn’t look up.

They both stopped and stared at the young girl who now was old far beyond her years.

“They hurt those other girls—I know it! Even that smallest little shit wanted to!” The girl, her friendly face absolutely gone, glanced toward them, then right back to her notepaper—which she then tore to shreds, “And that boy the same age as me, I know he wanted to! But the big boys wouldn’t let him!”


**** End of chapter

Thanks for reading!

Contents

1 Meet Les Paul                                       23 Employed
2 Meet the Chaplain                                 24 Les Paul at Seven
3 It's Time                                                25 Rape!
Interlude                                                   26 A few Foster Homes Behind
4 First Evil Act                                         27 Meeting With Cassandra
5 Meet Cassandra                                     28 The Engagement
6 Second Evil Act                                    29 Last Foster Home
7 The Abandonment                                30 Jail
8 Meet Nicole Waters                              31 Marriage
9 Alone                                                     32 Learning his Trade
10 Lay-down Comedy                              33 Meet Patrolman Sikorsky
11 Foster Family #3                                  34 The Tommerdahls
12 Partners                                                35 Juvie
13 Meet Riley Stokes                                36 The Markums
14 Murder                                                  37 His First Sex
15 Training                                                38 DNA Disappointment
16 Still Alone                                            39 Adoption
17 For Graduation                                     40 Hitchhiking
18 More Murder                                        41 Nicole's Confrontation
19 Talk With a Drug Pusher                     42 Backroom Prostitution
20 Baby Boy-Doe9                                   43 He Remembers Her
21 The Barbie Dolls                                  44 The Discrepancy
22 Cassandra at Four                                 45 Diva Girl
                                                                   46 Lights Out

Until May 10, 2012, with an Amazon Kindle Prime Membership, you may borrow this book for free. Otherwise digital download is $0.99, paperback $15.00. On Friday, May 11, 2012, this novel will be available for free for 24 hours, and, again, with the Prime Membership, this book may be borrowed indefinitely.

Sorry, but this is the last free chapter.
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