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Earlier today, Grant was nothing but defensive of his mother. Now, I can see the cracks in that relationship, too.
“We’ll be right back, okay?” Piper gives Grant a smile he doesn’t see. Before she heads down the hallway, she waves for me to come with her.
“You don’t trust me alone with the kid?” I drawl in her ear.
Piper hesitates outside the bedroom door at the end of the hall. She sags back against my chest, letting me hold her weight. “It’s not that. I just… I don’t want to do this alone.”
My arms stay by my side, but a few quiet seconds pass that way. The two of us nested together. Breathing in rhythm.
Then I reach around her and knock. A voice on the other side beckons us inside with a hollow croak.
Piper lifts herself back to standing as I turn the knob. When she walks through the door, I’m just half a step behind.
We were just in this room earlier today, but the smell of sweat and dust is still a shock.
“Trish?” Piper calls softly to the lump on the bed. “Hey, Trish? It’s Piper Quinn. With Child Protective Services.”
There’s a faint rustle of blankets as Trish turns her head. Her eyes are heavy-lidded and puffy. She squints against the light from the hallway. I wonder how long it’s been since she has seen the sun.
“You’re still here?” Trish mumbles.
“No, I—that was hours ago,” Piper says. “I came back because… Did you know Olivia is missing?”
Trish blinks and, for a second, I swear I can see a flash of understanding. It’s like a ray of sunlight breaking through a sky choked with clouds. She sits up a little straighter and frowns.
“Olivia,” she repeats, nodding. “Yeah, she’s…she’s not here. She went with… Where did she go?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Do you know of anywhere she might have gone?” Piper asks. “Do you have family in the area? Or maybe she has a favorite store?”
Trish opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. She shakes her head, her face twisting into grief. Suddenly, a loud, wracking sob echoes off the low ceiling.
It’s an animal sound. It’s the cry of a weak, dying animal who has nothing better to do. Nothing else to give.
Piper jolts in surprise. I hook an arm around her waist and pull her close to me.
“Go back with Grant,” I whisper in her ear. “Tell him everything is fine.”
I can tell she wants to leave, but she feels like she shouldn’t. “She is upset. I should—”
“I’ll talk to her,” I say. “Go.”
Piper hesitates, but then Trish lets out another wail. It’s obvious Piper is in over her head. She has never dealt with anyone like this.
But I have.
Piper slips through the door. I move to the edge of the bed. The sheets are dingy and sweat-stained. They need to be washed, but that would require Trish getting out of bed for a few hours. I have a feeling she hasn’t done that in a long time.
“Stop crying,” I say flatly.
The woman keeps wailing like I haven’t even spoken.
I lean forward and snap my fingers in front of her face. “Now.”
She blinks and looks over at me, snorting and sniffing. “My b-baby girl is g-gone. Will they put me in jail?”
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “Probably. If Olivia dies, then almost certainly.”
Her chest hitches as she whimpers and gasps. “I didn’t mean for anything to happen to them. I just get so tired when I’m taking care of them. I left for a few minutes…”
