Charmed to the Tenth Ch. 04

"Good morning Eva, my dear. I barely slept last night I was so excited. How is Mommy and, of course, her babies?" Mrs. Surgie clapped her hands together and held them under her chin as she gazed directly into Eva's eyes. Eva could feel the excitement and need to nurture wrapped around the woman.

"They are eagerly awaiting your excellent care. Shall I get Mommy and show you to the bathing station?"

"If you don't mind, I'll walk with you. I have something kind of strange to share with you about your necklace. When Denny and I got home last night, I went straight to my mother's bedroom and told her about your matching necklace. She looked... well, she was more than surprised."

Eva didn't understand the accusation in the woman's voice, nor the hurt she was sensing. "I couldn't get any more sense out of her. I was so worried she'd had a mini stroke or something. She just cried all night. I was going to call for an ambulance."

Ah, that explains what Gail was feeling; Eva thought.

"All night my mother cried and smiled. It made no sense. Said she was happy, she was so happy. Are you two long lost relatives or something?"

Gail placed a hand on Eva's elbow and again looked directly into her eyes.

For a fleeting moment, Eva felt a strong suspicious accusation. It was coming from Gail. But then it was overrun by a sense of mirth, sarcasm. Eva desperately wanted her sunglasses.

Eva opened the grotto door and called Mommy to come out, taking the time to school her expression. "I don't think so Gail. I would have found out by now if there was a missing grandmother, right?"

"Well yes, by now someone would have reported her missing." They both laughed as they made their way down to the basement. Eva helped Gail get the stinky Mommy dog bathed then packed up the pups. She helped Gail to the car with the pups, carrying the huge bag of newspapers that the pups would go through in no time at all.

After Gail left, Eva sat down to think. What on earth could this mean? Gail Surgie's ninety year old mother had a charm too. But Gail didn't know anything about it and other than being a genuinely kind and openly affectionate person, there was no gift that Eva could sense. However, the kindness and open affection were in themselves a gift, to others. So was that a gift gift or just a gift?

It sometimes angered Eva that she had been forced to go it alone. She wanted to hang a banner outside her door saying: "Confused about gift, please contact." For if her relatives were watching, they would see it and come knocking on her door with all the answers.

Hah, wouldn't that be nice, Eva mused, but realizing the futility of her thoughts, she decided to get ready and leave for the hospital early.

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"You will remove the shades before you begin right?" Social worker Janine Wainwright glared at the sunglasses as Eva slid them up on top of her head. They had met in the hospital lobby to brainstorm the best way to get as much information as possible and to make it as admissible as possible.

"They'll stay right where they are, thank you." Eva turned from the petite woman as she shifted her supplies into her left hand. "Detective Montgomery; nice to see you again."

Jo Montgomery could have passed as one of the Williams' sisters, Serena or Venus. Her café au lait skin was flawless. The bone structure in her face screamed strength, power and confidence. She gave Eva her hand and plastered on a condescending smile. "Ms LeMere. I'll be sitting in on this interview..."

"I'm sorry but no, you won't. And this isn't an interview." Eva had to suppress a desire to duck and cover contradicting the overpowering presence of Jo Montgomery. She turned to Janine and accused; "You called me, remember? This is how I work and you knew that. I'm not compromising on this."

The three strong willed women stood in a triangle, playing a silent game of chicken.

"You know, Ms LeMere, we're all on the same side here. But I'm the one whose ass is on the line for proof." Jo Montgomery took a slight step forward, crowding Eva.

The hostility was overwhelming Eva. She found herself gritting her teeth and clenching her free hand into a fist. Unaware of what she was doing, Eva also took a slight step forward.

"Ladies." Janine stepped between the two women. "Jo, there's no need to get territorial." She mumbled the barely discernible rebuke.

Eva blinked and brought her sunglasses back down over her eyes. She took a step back and then a deep breath. "I apologize Detective. Technically this is your case. I really am sorry I reacted that way. I don't usually allow myself to get drawn into the heat of the moment, but sometimes, it's ..."

"Impossible not to push back? I'm not sorry. I pushed on purpose and I got what I wanted. Ms LeMere, if you're going to work this case you better be ready to go toe to toe with the big guns." Jo turned to Janine. "Did you hear who the lawyer is? Chase Tannen himself from Braxton Tannen."

Janine sucked in a breath.

"That's right. Trailer trash, psycho-mommy got herself the most sought after criminal defense team on the east coast. Now that sets my alarm bells as high as they go. We are in for the biggest fight ever just to get the judge to award temporary custody of the boy. Unless you can get solid stuff from this girl, she'll be back with psycho-mommy before she's even released from here."

Janine walked away, clenching and unclenching her fists. Eva and Jo watched as she muttered to herself and rubbed her arms. Eva felt the fear gripping Janine even as she continued to distance herself from the group. Unconsciously, Eva touched her sunglasses. Something wasn't right.

"I don't understand Detective; I thought this was a simple child abuse charge."

"It was until we added kidnapping to the tally. The girl isn't biologically related to the boy and the only way we can get DNA samples from Mom is to compel her with the kidnapping charge. We don't know which kid belongs to Mom, but we do know neither kid is related to the other. Dad has cooperated seeing as how he's only been the dad for the past two years. We can only charge him with 'after the fact' and maybe abuse charges."

Janine appeared back in the triangle, much calmer. "Eva, I told you last night how important this case was to me. Just tell me what you need to get the girl to open up; I'll see that you get it."

"How about we use the interview room for the session? You," she turned to the Detective, "can set up your tape recorder and observe through the window. You get continuity and integrity of statements or evidence, but you don't get a chance to ask or interfere."

Janine placed a hand on Jo Montgomery's elbow. "This'll have to work. It's the best we can do given the constraints we're working with."

The detective gritted her teeth and gave a single nod of her head. "Okay, that'll have to do. But at my signal, you'll take a break and meet with me in the observation room so I can get as many loose ends cleared up as possible. I don't know what we're going to discover. You have to give me that much."

"That's doable. Here's my pager number. Just page me when you want a break. I'll stand up and stretch when I've reached a good place to pause. Keep in mind Detective; I won't pause unless or until I feel it's the right time." Eva nodded at Janine again. "You knock on the door bringing in a snack you two can share while I go talk with the Detective. Agreed?"

Janine's face was ashen, her pupils dilated. But she heard Eva and responded by nodding her head.

"Janine, I'll do what I can. This goes against every ethical boundary I have. They're there for a reason; you have the same boundaries, or had."

"Wait till you meet her. See how easy it is for you to keep the boundaries so clear. I'm not drawn in easily, but his girl... Just go, Eva. Go and get started."

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Jeff backed his nine-year-old Chevy S10 into the farthest parking space he could find. It was extra long and had a trailer hitch for his boat. He needed two parking spots but that wasn't the only reason he headed to the farthest spaces he could find. He was extremely early, foolishly early, embarrassingly early, and he didn't want to get caught being so eager. He wasn't expecting a call from Eva for at least another hour. He hoped the call would indicate she was ready to leave, but knew he might possibly still be waiting right here for another two and half hours.

He didn't notice the Ford Taurus parked eight spaces closer to the entrance, nor did he notice the three men sitting inside. But they noticed him.

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Eva knocked on the door softly, counted to five then knocked again a little bit harder. She counted to five again then opened the door to reveal herself. She stood for another few seconds with a calm and contented look on her face.

This was an important ritual for the first interview. Knocking softly, waiting, and then knocking again implied a respect for personal space, a respect for the child's feelings. She revealed herself without mystery or bluster; presented a straight forward honest image. She waited for the child to take her in, observe the image she presented, so she could gauge any reactions.

Eva took a few more steps then looked directly into the girl's eyes and gasped; she was unprepared for her own response. The child's eyes were the same as hers. The girl gazed directly at Eva, she had no fear at all.

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Bored and wishing he'd brought a newspaper or book to read, Jeff got out of his truck. He headed to the hospital's gift shop.

He didn't notice the rather short man with rather large shoulders, wearing rather nondescript athletic clothing follow him. He didn't see the aviator glasses nor the tiny black wire that extended from his ear to the temple on the glasses.

Jeff placed the newspaper on the counter top and pulled out his wallet. On impulse, he asked for a pink balloon and smiled. He'd give that to Eva. Women always liked those little spontaneous gifts; just a little something to demonstrate his thoughtfulness.

Heading back outside, Jeff was struck by the beauty of the day. The sun was hot but the humidity, for Maryland at least, was low. A good day to sit outside and read the paper, he thought.

Looking around for good place to sit, Jeff's eyes skimmed over the rather short man with rather large shoulders. Jeff thought it was too damn hot for a sweat pants and a jacket that's zipped. Since the guy appeared to be healthy, Jeff's curiosity was momentarily piqued. Jeff smirked when he noticed the guy's aviator glasses; what's he think he's a spy or something? What a jerk, Jeff laughed to himself.

Not finding any picnic tables or some kind of outdoor patio, Jeff walked around the back of the hospital where he knew he'd find an area where old shade trees grew. With his newspaper and pink balloon, he settled under an oak tree to read and wait.

Having been thoroughly noticed, the short man with large shoulders returned to the Ford Taurus.

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Eva opened the door and let Janine into the room where the girl sat at the table finishing a picture she'd made.

"I thought Deci might be getting hungry?" Janine smiled and set a tray down on the table.

The girl ignored Janine, but looked at the burger and fries on the tray. She reached out toward the tray and froze. She pulled her hand back and glanced at Eva with a frightened look on her face.

"Go ahead Deci. The food is for you, like Ms. Wainwright said. You are allowed to have food whenever you want to. No one should ever deny you a meal, ever, for any reason, do you understand that?" Eva smiled and rubbed the girls arm lightly. Deci was accepting of being touched, showed no signs of rejection or fear, but was clearly unused to affection.

"I'm going to make a copy of these pictures you've drawn. I like them very much. Is that okay with you?"

Eva exited the room and tried to calm herself. Fear, both hers and the child's, threatened to overtake Eva's equilibrium. Eva didn't know what to make of this. Something was terribly wrong but she didn't know what. The girl's eyes were just like Eva's. The shock of the immediate connection nearly knocked her off her feet at first. As soon as she'd gotten hold of herself, the girl's pictures threatened to topple her again. In each picture the girl drew she also drew the same charm that lay hidden between Eva's breasts.

She was startled when the interview room door opened. Janine, holding the tray of food, and Deci walked out into the hallway.

"We're going to sit outside and eat. It's a beautiful day and I think Deci could use a little sunshine. We'll be back in twenty minutes, okay?"

Eva looked at Deci and felt the girl's happiness and excitement to go outside. She smiled and winked at the child, then turned, pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, and entered the observation room.

Eva knelt and laid the pictures out on the floor in the order they were made. Jo was standing over her shoulder, anxious to see what if any, facts could be gleaned from the child's pictures.

"Okay, first, here's the trailer where they lived. See how the back of the trailer is red while the front is white? Have you seen the trailer?"

Jo nodded

"Are the colors the same?"

Jo shook her head. "It's a two tone, single. Top part is white, bottom part is green. No mistaking the color scheme."

"So something angry happened in the back." Eva said as if thinking out loud.

"What's this scribble over here? Is that important? It's right in the middle of the red but it looks ... Not scribble, is it some sort of design?"

"I think so." Eva decided to evade the topic with Jo until she had more time to consider it. "Look at the second picture, the interior. Here is where she and the boy slept. Here, she drew herself but look how faint of an outline she drew of herself compared to the boy. See how she is almost obscured by the covering? Her side of the bed is nearly white while his side is darker, more developed. The symbolism suggests she thinks of herself as someone unimportant, in hiding, no meaning, and/or invisible. I can't say, at this point, if this is wishful thinking or simply how she sees herself."

"What's this marking on the floor on her side?" Jo pointed to yet another place Deci had drawn the design of the charm.

"I'm not sure but let's put that on hold for now." Eva moved to her right and pointed at the third picture, which only contained three things. "You overheard everything right? This is her mother, but all she could draw were the eyes and this design again."

"Okay, now we're getting something solid. The woman in lock up doesn't have blue eyes, they're brown. So she knows that woman isn't her mother. Now talk to me about this design. She's put it in all three pictures so it definitely means something."

For the first time in a long time, Eva had no idea if what she was about to say was what she should say. She took a deep breath and began. "You're right, it is a design. It's a charm as a matter of fact. Where she saw it, how she knows about it, what it means to her are all questions I need an answer to."

Eva stood up and turned to face the detective. She reached into her polo shirt and pulled out her charm. The opening on the polo was quite small, showing no cleavage what so ever. "There was no way she saw my charm at all." Eva placed her charm in her opened palm, the chain still around her neck.

"Holy shit." Jo looked at the charm, looked at Eva, back to the charm and back to Eva again. Then she bent over and picked up the third picture. She held it up next to Eva's face. "So is this wishful thinking, she wants you as her mother?"

"No, you heard me in there, right? I saw she was drawing a set of blue eyes and asked if she thought they were the same color as mine. She shook her head then pulled up a gold crayon next to my face, as if she was telling me she saw the flecks of gold in my eyes." With great discomfort, Eva pulled her sunglasses away from her face and looked directly at the detective. After a few uncomfortable seconds of being scrutinized, Eva turned to the third picture again.

"See how she drew this picture, see where the blue kind of drips out of the iris in both eyes. That's not a mistake; the blue is dripping out in the exact same spot in each eye, the same area where tears come from. She knows who her mother is and she believes her mother to be crying, sad. Keep in mind this is a common theme among children separated from their parent, including the ones who had been abusing them. They all fantasize that their Mom, or whoever they've been taken from is missing them and is sad without them.

"So again, I can't say if the sadness is what she knows to be true or something she wishes to be true. But I can say this; she thinks it a secret that her mother is sad. Otherwise she would have followed the theme more closely and drawn real tears."

"Back to your charm Eva. What the hell does that mean? How can you be sure she never saw your charm?" Jo placed the picture back on the floor.

"It was my mother's and it's like a protective ID dog tag charm to me. I know it's silly. I wear it every day, always. Also, I always keep it tucked in, under my shirt. If I'm doing something active I pin it to my bra. Yeah, superstitious I know, but it's harmless in either case. So there is no way this charm came into view without my knowing it. In terms of what it means that this child drew my charm in every picture? I surmise it means she associates this design as being very significant in her life; perhaps, like me, it's part of her identity? I'm just guessing here because I didn't probe at all on this design. But when we start up again you can be sure I will.

Eva and Jo planned out what points needed to be probed further until they saw that Janine and Deci had reentered the interview room. Deci was holding a pink balloon.

"Oh, that reminds me. I have to make a quick call, be back in two minutes."

Eva fished her cell phone out of her purse and was surprised to see four missed calls from the same phone number. She didn't know whose phone number it was but assumed the four voice mail messages would answer that question. She scrolled down her contact list to find Jeff's number and pushed send.

"Hey there. I've been hoping to hear from you." Jeff decided he should play it cool. Now that he was talking to her the thought of Eva finding out he'd been out back waiting for her to call was distinctly not cool.

"I wouldn't forget something like this. I'm anxious to see you. But this is going to take a while longer. No matter where I am in this session I'll be walking out the doors at 2:30, the child simply can't go longer than that."

"Is it a bad one?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet, but it's a very important one. I have a feeling I'll be ready to collapse once I walk out. Please be here? I know it's a lot to ask, please could you come early and wait for me? I don't think I'll even be able to drive myself home after this."

"I'll be there waiting for you. I'll have a shotgun to shoot stray zombies, a machete to slice up vampires, and what do they say kills a werewolf?"

"A silver bullet, I think." Eva smiled and felt mildly relieved he wasn't acting impatient. "And a chocolate bar in case we encounter any dementors?"

"Dementors? That's a new one for me."

"Are you serious? You've never read any of the Harry Potter books, never saw the movies? Oh you're education is sorely lacking."

Jeff laughed; "Uh, no kids and I'm a little too old for children's books. But I have seen almost every 'Girls Gone Wild.' I can tutor you on those if you missed them?"