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“How many times have we gone through this, Violet?” Luke asked wearily. “I’ve lost count.”
Violet pulled a tissue from her pocket and made a fluttering attempt to dry her tears. “Too many, but I’ve left Ford for good this time. I’m not going back, not ever.”
“Fine, let’s call the police.” Luke came on out into the office and leaned back against Pam’s desk.
“No
, I just want to get away. I don’t want to have to tell my story over and over and then just have Ford laugh at me in court. He saw my angel yesterday and called me a lying whore for hanging out here when he’d forbidden it. He screamed at me that I wasn’t no homeless teen, my home was with him. But not anymore it isn’t. You got some place for me to go?”
Luke stared at her and shook his head. “I won’t waste a bed in a shelter unless you’re finally serious about leaving Ford.”
Violet’s eyes were swollen to mere slits, but she returned Luke’s skeptical stare. “It frightened me at first, but I love being one of Rafael’s angels. There’s no way I’m going to let Ford take something that special away from me.”
Dave came in the door in time to hear the last of Violet’s comment. Stunned she’d been so badly beaten, he looked toward Catherine, who just shook her head sadly. “Shouldn’t we take some pictures?” he asked. “Isn’t documentation important?”
“Yes, it is,” Luke said. “But before we do anything, I need your word, Violet, that you’ll stay at the shelter until they find you work and a home, and you’ll attend their therapy sessions for as long as it takes for you to learn to avoid abusive men like Ford Dolan.”
“I’ve already learned that,” Violet murmured.
Apparently unconvinced, Luke waited a moment longer, but when Violet remained silent, he gave in. “All right, I’ll call the shelter. Take a couple of photos, Dave, but if you have other bruises you’d rather not show him, Mrs. Brooks could take photographs of those.”
“I’ve got bruises all over,” Violet admitted shyly. “So maybe Mrs. Brooks ought to do it.”
“Fine,” Dave agreed. He had entered the office to grab a pencil from Pam’s desk. He got one and left without again glancing Catherine’s way.
“I may have to call several shelters to find a place for you, but I want you to sit right there and wait.”
“I understand,” Violet replied. “I’m not completely stupid about everything, you know.”
Luke caught Catherine’s eye before returning to his office, and it was plain he doubted Violet knew anything at all worth knowing.
Pam left her chair to open the restroom door. “Why don’t you come on in here, Violet, and strip down to your underwear. Catherine can take the photos through the open door so no one else will see you. Then if you change your mind about pressing charges against Ford, you’ll have the necessary evidence.”
“Okay,” Violet reluctantly agreed. She left her backpack on her chair and then shuffled into the restroom.
“I feel sick,” Catherine whispered. “What kind of a monster gets his kicks from beating up such a beautiful child?”
“Ford Dolan’s a pathetic excuse for a man, all right, but this isn’t the first time Violet has shown up here with a split lip or black eye. She’s always refused Luke’s help, but she needs it as much as Ford does. Let’s hope she finally gets it in a battered women’s shelter.”
When Violet opened the restroom door, Catherine took the photographs, but the girl’s arms and legs were covered with so many bruises she looked as though she’d fallen down a flight of stairs. It truly did make Catherine sick to think how Violet must have cried and begged for Ford to stop before he’d finally vented his foul temper.
While Violet was getting dressed, Catherine whispered to Pam. “Luke swore to me that men like Ford Dolan usually come to a bad end, but clearly it hasn’t been nearly soon enough.”
“I hear you, girl. At least Violet came to her senses before she was injured more severely, but for some women, anything short of death doesn’t faze them. At least now domestic violence is treated more seriously, but Luke swears no one is doing enough to prevent it from happening in the first place.”
“He’s right too.” Catherine really did feel unsteady and sat down to rest a moment. “What a way to start the day.”
Pam raised her brows. “Doesn’t bode well for the week, does it?”
“No, it sure doesn’t.” Come tomorrow, her period would be a week late, and she would have no excuse to avoid taking a pregnancy test. It was time, and Luke deserved to know the results just as soon as she had them. Just imagining that conversation truly made her ill.
She pushed out of her chair. “I think I need some fresh air. I’m going to go on across the street. Will Luke need me to ride to the shelter with Violet?”
“No, the fewer people who know its location, the better,” Pam said.
Catherine stood on the steps and took in several deep breaths, but she still felt far from well. When Dave joined her at the corner, she didn’t feel up to arguing with him and quickly said so. “I’m sorry, Dave, I know what you must think of me, but—”
Dave hit the button for the light. “Don’t apologize. Just ask Luke what his hopes are for the future. We eat dinner together a couple of times a week, or at least we used to, and I can guarantee that he’s not interested in having a wife and more kids. You just think about that, because there are a lot of guys, me included, who’d like nothing better than to come home to you and some cute little red-haired kids.”
