It all Started with a Car Crash

I worried all through the next couple of days. There was no word of anything, which limited my ability to go out and check up on her. It was driving my anxiety. It became too much, so after work, I drove out to the house. I hoped he wouldn't be there, but as I pulled up in front of the house, there he was. "Whattya want?" he said with real venom.

"I just came out to see how Aroha was getting on."

"She's busy, so you may as well fuck off."

"I only want to talk to her, see if she needs a ride to hospital. She needs to get the cast checked."

"I said fuck off, if they wanna see her, I'll take her in."

"You don't have a car."

"Look, you nosy fucking cop, get your arse off my property. I'll lay a complaint of harassment."

I drove away feeling like I had let Aroha down. I shouldn't have let him bully me around. Dad would have laughed his arse off.

Work for a trainee is hard. I got stuck with writing reports, and doing all the menial stuff. Yeah, I was on duty, as well, and I just couldn't escape the drudgery of doing everybody else's shit for them.

It came as a shock when Thursday night while on patrol with Rob, we were called out to the Watene house. It came as an emergency call, sirens on and we hit the road.

When we got there, I was surprised to see an elderly Maori woman laying the law down to old Watene. She was going hammer and tongs at him, her finger pushing ferociously on his chest as she berated him.

I jumped between them. "Okay, settle down, what's going on?"

"This old bugger has beaten up his daughter again. I warned him last time if it happened again I'd report him."

Turning to Watene, I asked, "What happened?"

"None of your damned business. This is a family matter."

"Like hell," the little wizened up old women said loudly. "That poor girl's got a black eye so big her eye can't open. Her lip's the size of a house, and she's got bruises all over her."

"Where is she?" I asked.

Watene went to push me, and Rob stepped between us. "Old man, you stay over there." He shepherded Watene away from us. He turned to me. "Go and check on the girl."

"Where is she, Ma'am?" I asked.

"In the house; she's too bloody scared to come out. That old bugger needs a kick up the arse."

"Perhaps you could come with me."

We walked towards the house. "How do you know them?"

"I live up the road. I bring kai for them when I can. That poor child, she needs to get away from him. He has a rewera raging inside him."

"What is your name?" I asked.

"I am Marama Te Huiti. I live a couple of gates up the road."

"Thanks for the call, Mrs. Te Huiti. I have been worried about Aroha."

We found her curled up on her bed, sobbing her heart out. Marama sat on the edge of the bed, placing her hand on Aroha's hip. "Let it out, girl, let the tears wash away the pain."

Aroha sat up and they hugged. "Thanks Auntie," Aroha sobbed.

I sat on her other side. "Are you okay, Aroha?"

With her arms still around Marama, she turned and said through swollen raw lips, "I'm okay."

"Did your father do this?"

She looked scared, and maybe ashamed as well. Her eyes told me, but no words came out.

"Tell her, Aroha. If you don't, I will. He might be my Cuzzie, but he has to be made to stop this. I seen too much of this shit from him lately."

"Talk to me, Aroha. I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

"He got mad at me, complaining because I totalled the car. Then he started hitting me and wouldn't stop."

"So he gave you all these wounds?"

She nodded, then snuggled back into her hug with Marama.

"I can't let this go on. I know he is your father, but this is too much. I'm going to have to charge him."

"Bloody good job," Marama said loudly. "He needs to pay."

"I can keep him in for a couple of days, but he will be released on bail. Could Aroha stay with you Marama?"

"Of course, girl. She's always welcome, but that old bastard will just come over and harass us both. I don't got no man. It's just me and the animals."

Now I was stuck, I knew damned well the court wouldn't hold him for more than a few days, at the most. He might get jail time, but it would be unlikely. It was important Aroha got completely out of his reach.

I also knew that there were only a few places available for teenage girls, and they were all full. A young girl I dropped of at the facility took the last bed, two days ago.

"Aroha, would you like to stay with me for a while?"

She turned, her eyes hooded, doubtful. "Why would you do that? You already brought me clothes."

"I'm just trying to help. As Marama said, your father could still assault you again. I could apply for a non-association order."

"Hah." Marama sneered. "As if that old bastard would care."

"Aroha, I have a spare room, you're more than welcome to come and stay until this all gets sorted out."

"But what about Dad? Who will look after him?"

"We can worry about that later. He is going to be held in remand until he goes before a judge. That won't be until next Monday, at the earliest."

She sighed sadly, her eyes downcast. "It'll be okay, Aroha. I promise, it's for the best, you can't stay here by yourself."

She blubbered. "I could stay with Marama, and help her with the animals."

"Tamaiti, I love you, but I got me daughter and her whanau staying at the moment. I will never turn my back on you, but I think you need to get away."

Outside, I walked over to Rob, who had old man Watene backed up against the car. I told him what had happened, and he agreed.

"Mr, Watene, you are going to be arrested. You will be taken into custody and charged with assault and battery. Do you understand?"

"Fuck you, she's my daughter. I can punish her."

"That wasn't punishment, you bully, that was assault. You can plead your defence in court."

We handcuffed him and shoved him in the back of the squad car. Aroha, who had gathered her belongings together, sat in the front with Rob

He was chargedThere wasn't much to be done except dress the wounds and check for broken ribs. Her bruising was extensive, but no breakages. I did make sure to get plenty of photos.

Back at the station, I explained that

On the drive out to my little farm cottage, Aroha asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know, I like you and want to help. Your father is a very mean man. I think you need to be out from under his influence."

She started crying softly. "Thank you."

I reached over and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it'll be all right."

Arriving at my place, I showed her into what would become her room. When I saw her meagre belongings, I almost cried. She had basically nothing. The only clothes less than a couple of years old were the ones I bought her.

Leaving her to put her stuff away, I went out to start making dinner. I was famished. The call had come just before we were due to have a break.

The microwave hummed as I thawed out some chicken. The oven warmed as I dug out some frozen chips.

The chicken sizzled in the pan as it fried, the chips cooked in the oven and I was just finishing up a garden salad when Aroha walked into the kitchen.

"Can I help?" she asked.

"Nah, although you could get some plates and cutlery on the table."

She worked away as I put on some music, something to take away the awkwardness. My playlist wasn't exactly filled with anything I thought Aroha would enjoy, but it was only background, anyway.

I got us a couple of cokes and we sat down to eat. Even with her bruised and battered lips, she scoffed her food like a starving hyena.

"What do you want to do with your life, Aroha?"

She flinched. "Dunno, ain't much going on around here."

"You must have some dreams about what you want to do with your life, teacher, doctor, there has to be something."

"Nah, I'm to dumb for any of that shit."

"Why did you say that? You seem to be bright, switched on."

"Nah, teachers told me I was wasting their time."

"That was probably more to do with attitude than ability."

She laughed with a subtle giggle. "The chicken's awesome. You're a good cook."

"Thanks, but don't change the subject."

"I was never any good at school. I hated it, I was too dumb, always last in everything."

"What about your father, didn't he help?"

"Hah, he said school was a waste of time. He told me not to bother, get a job."

That was sad, but familiar story from kids from low socioeconomic environments. I could tell she was bright, quick witted.

"What do you like? Apart from school, there must be something you're interested in. Computer games, music, dance..."

She shrugged casually. "I like animals."

"There you go, what about that?"

"Too dumb," she muttered.

"Stop saying that, what about on a farm, or gorse stud?"

"Nah, I hate the way they treat horses, making them race."

"What about dogs, or cats?"

"Love dogs, cats not so much, but I like em."

She helped me clean up, and then we settled down to watch TV. Sitting together, I managed to get her to open up. She had clearly been affected by the death of her mother; loosing her brothers in the same accident must have been so traumatic. It came out in our conversation.

I didn't say much, I just listened. The hurt ran deep, and she couldn't hold back the tears. It ended in a hug, and I just tried to console.

She couldn't do much with her leg in a cast. She was pretty much stuck at home. I could see she was getting claustrophobic. We drove into town, got KFC and then drove on towards Rotorua. Every day I learned a little more about her. She was still enrolled at Toke high school, and could actually go back. I talked to the headmaster. He wasn't exactly cuing up to have her back, but did say he would give it a go.

Her father did get released on bail; his court case was going to be over a month away, so at least he couldn't hassle us.

When I raised the idea of going back to school, Aroha wasn't thrilled, but the more we talked, the easier it got. We went shopping Friday and I got her a some new clothes, that at least seemed to cheer her up.

"I haven't even got a fucking uniform," she complained when I said I had spoken to the headmaster.

"Aroha, please don't swear all the time. I now you were allowed to at home, but not here, not in my house."

She scowled as she looked away. It wasn't our first discussion about the language. I tried to keep it non-confrontational, but it annoyed me.

"I'll buy you the uniform, but only if you promise to at least try. It would be a waste of money if you just go along to cause trouble."

"I never cause trouble," she grumbled. "I got blamed for it, but it wasn't my fault."

"Aroha, it's always our fault. If i go into a place knowing that trouble is happening in there, it's my fault if I get caught up in it. We are in charge of our own destiny. Don't blame others, I'm sure you could have walked away."

"Fucking easy for you to say. You're rich, you got money. I got nothing," she screeched loudly.

"Rich, shit girl. You know nothing. Everything I have I paid for. My parents didn't buy me anything. They weren't wealthy; I took out student loans to pay my way through Uni. I worked night stacking shelves at the supermarket. I waited tables, worked at KFC. The only thing my parents gave me was love."

She blushed brightly, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not embarrassed. Aroha, I just want to help. I know you have had a hard time of it, but you're a clever girl, you are way smarter than you think. If you put as much effort into school work as you did into being the class clown, you would graduate with honours."

"The fuc..." She cut herself off. "Sorry, it's hard, I always swear."

I laughed at her. "Babe, we all swear, I do it every day, but I try to control myself. I know it offends some people, so I don't do it. When you're with mates or whatever, you can do what you want. All I ask is when we're together we try to keep it down."

"Yeah, I'll try," she mumbled apologetically. "I was gonna say, how do ya know that?"

"Because you're intelligent, you're so smart. I know you could do it. I'll help, I can use a calculator."

She giggled crazily. "Why you need a calculator, can't you count or something?"

I laughed along with her. "Actually, I'm shit at math, so yeah. I need a calculator. You know that's the thing about being clever. You work out what you're good at and get help with the other stuff."

We had fun shopping for her uniform; it made a hell of a hole on my credit card, but it was a fun day. I never had a sister, so it was fun playing big sis. We found some makeup and tried just about every tester in the shop.

Aroha did pretty well looking after the place while I worked. She did what she could. Monday, I dropped her off at school. She looked pensive as she opened the door. "They're gonna laugh their arses off. I said I was never coming back."

"You can win them over with your charm. Yeah, they'll laugh, but if you're smart, it'll be you who gets the last laugh."

She grimaced as she climbed out. "Thanks, Charli. I dunno why you're doin all this, but thanks."

"Aroha, I like you, that's why I'm helping. Now get in there and knock them dead."

I got roasted again by the guys. Even a couple of the female cops gave me shit. "Charli, you're wasting you money on that kid. She'll let you down."

Deep down, I had the same fears, I remembered back to my days at high school. There were a group of kids who loved trouble, sought it out. I knew most of Aroha's friends probably came from similar backgrounds. I just wanted to try; if I could get one kid out of the clutches of gangs and jail time, then it would be money well spent.

It seemed to be going pretty well. She seemed to be trying, but the middle of next week we got a call over the radio a group of kids had been busted shoplifting at the Warehouse. Sirens on, we skidded to a stop outside the front doors.

"Where are they?" Rob yelled as we burst in.

"They made a run for it. Got out about five minutes ago. You should be able to catch the one in the leg cast."

My heart sank as Rob gave me a "I told you so" look.

Outside, he said. "I'll head west, you take the east."

I set off at a fast run. They had a head start, so it was full tilt run. As I ran flat out a group of elderly pedestrians pointed me in the right direction. These young kids had been creating a very unsavoury atmosphere around the town.

As I turned the corner, I saw them headed over the little stone wall into the small park. They obviously weren't expecting anybody to still be on their tail. When they saw me, they turned and sprinted off. I wasn't going to be deterred. I caught the last of them just on the other side of the park.

I flung myself at them and rugby tackled two of them to the ground.

They started kicking and flinging their arms around, trying to escape. I had them and I wasn't letting them go. When they realised they were caught, they stopped trying.

By the time Rob turned up with the vehicle, I had the kids in handcuffs. When he saw me, he laughed loudly. "Really, do you think they need that?"

"They were going to run, what was I supposed to do?"

"You did good, I was just winding you up." We got them into the car and drove to the station.

"What happened about the girl in the cast?" I asked.

All of the five kids in the back shrugged. One of the smart arses said, "Whatchoo talking bout, pig."

"Yeah that's smart, insult the person who can get you locked up. I ask again, who was the girl in the cast?"

"She wasn't with us, she was just hanging around."

At the station, we had to call in the youth corrective services to sit in on the questioning. Then it was parents. Wow, that was eye opening for a newbie. The parents were so angry, so violent. It was no surprise the kids were as they were.

They were all charged, as this was their third offence. I was left wondering about Aroha, was she involved?

I telephoned the school to be told she hadn't been to school.

When I drove to the school, after work, I found Aroha loitering by the front gate. She limped over, and climbed in. "Hey, Aroha, how come your foot is sore?"

"Hey, Charli, I was just mucking around."

I drove off wondering how to handle it. "You made me a promise Aroha. Why did you break it?"

She flinched nervously. "Whatcha mean?"

"I phoned the school earlier. They told me you never showed up today."

"I was here, you dropped me off."

"Don't lie to me, Aroha. I'm trying to help you."

"It's too hard, I'm just stupid. You're wasting your time."

"That's not true, I don't believe that for a minute. I have faith in you. I can help."

"I can't do it, I'm miles behind the other kids. The teachers get pissed off, the kids are pissed."

"Aroha, give me a chance to help. Tonight we can go over some of the stuff you're struggling with. We can do it."

We drove on in silence for a few kilometres before I asked. "Were you with the kids shoplifting today?"

When I looked at her, she turned away quickly, her dark brown face blushing red. "Are you gonna dob me in?"

"No, I should, but no. Just tell me why. I brought you clothes."

"They're my friends, we used to hang. They're the only ones who let me in. All the other kids just make fun of me."

I reached for her hand. "Everybody needs friends, and I remember what it's like to not fit in. Life's hard, and you have to make hard choices. Those kids are all in serious trouble now. That's their third offence. They could be taken from their parents, they could end up in care."

We cooked dinner together in silence. I could see the concern, it was etched into her pretty features. Dinner was the same, it was completed in silence, just my tired old playlist for entertainment.

After we finished, she went off to her room. Frustrated, I tried to watch TV, but couldn't focus. I spotted her walking out carrying some exercise books. Standing beside me, she asked. "Could you help me with this?"

You couldn't have removed my smile if you tried. For the next two hours we went over several projects she had, we sat side by side working and she listened. Oh my god, she listened.

Closing the folders, she stood up, wrapped her arms around my head and whispered hoarsely, "Thanks, Charli."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for."

For the rest of the week it was the same every night. She worked hard, she listened okay. She wasn't a genius, but she was smart. As we worked every night, we talked and when I questioned her about her future, she always went back to animals.

I asked casually, "Do you have any pets?"

"Yeah, I got Milly."

"What's that?"

"My dog, she probably ran away, Dad wouldn't feed her."

"We could go and get her if you want?"

"You'd let me keep her?"

"Yeah, I love dogs. Be good to see how your Dad's doing as well."

She nodded. "He'll be pissed. Probably tell us to fuck off. He hasn't even tried to get in touch."

"He may have tried."

I watched her trembling as we pulled into the driveway of her old home. We pulled up outside the front of the house, still nothing. We wandered around the back and the door was unlocked. Pushing it open, I called out, "Are you home Mr, Watene?"

Still nothing. Aroha hobbled around the house calling his name, but nothing. The kitchen bench was piled high with dirty dishes, there was mouldy food spilt everywhere. Opening the fridge, I was greeted by a horrendous smell.

I listened as Aroha called his name, over and over as she hobbled around. She did her best to rush outside. "Milly!" she cried out. She looked through the out buildings, still nothing.

Aroha couldn't hide her fear, the anxious tears flowed unrestrained down her face. As we drove out the gate, I said, "Which driveway is Marama's?"

She guided me, and as we pulled up outside her door, this monstrous big Rottweiler came bounding towards us. "Milly!" Aroha cried, kneeling down to give her a cuddle.