Page 60 of Heart of a Hero

“I hear you two got to have a sleepover with Mr. Roscoe last night. That sounds special,” Mark said.

Before Marty could say anything, Zannie burst into giggles. “We slept on his couch. I was on one end, and Marty was on theother. But he says that sometimes I kick, and I woke up when I heard a thump. I looked down, and Marty was on the floor.”

Marty looked over at Zannie, and Karen saw a flash of a typical boy irritated with his little sister by his expression. She patted his hand and said, “I have two daughters, and when they’ve tried to sleep in the same bed, one always kicks the other.”

His eyes widened, and a smile replaced the scowl.

She looked at Mark. “Would you like to talk to Marty and let Zannie hang with Mr. Roscoe for a little while?” Karen asked in an overly bright voice.

“Yes, that would be good,” Mark agreed.

“I hope this won’t be a problem, but I assured Marty I will be there, too,” she added softly.

Brad spoke up. “No, that won’t be a problem at all. In fact, we need a witness and child advocate.”

She smiled at him, then turned back to the table. “Okay, Zannie, you stay out here and watch TV with Mr. Roscoe, and we’ll be right back.”

Zannie seemed perfectly happy to follow Karen’s instructions and bounced over to sit on the couch.

Karen itched to hold Marty’s hand as she led him and the men to the back toward Roscoe’s bedroom but didn’t want Marty to feel embarrassed. The bedroom wasn’t large, and she knew it would be a tight fit. Once inside, she sat on Rosco’s bed and patted the space beside her. Marty eagerly hopped up on the bed next to her, scooting close. Brad took a position near the door, leaning casually against it while Mark brought in a chair from the dining room. While he was sitting in the chair, it put him at a much better height to talk to Marty.

Mark took the lead. “Marty, we’re here to help. That’s the most important thing you need to know today. You and your sister are not in trouble in any way, and Detective Brad andI, along with Mr. Roscoe and Ms. Karen, just want to make sure that you and your sister are healthy and safe. Do you understand?”

Marty nodded and leaned slightly into Karen. She wrapped her arm around him and smiled encouragingly.

“The first thing we need to do is understand who you and your sister are. Can you give me your full name?”

“Marty John Perkins. And Suzanne’s name is Suzanne Marie Perkins.”

“And you attend Baytown Elementary?”

Marty nodded again. “I’m in fourth grade, and Zannie is in second.”

Mark smiled. “What’s your favorite thing about school?”

Marty shrugged and then replied, “Reading. I really like reading. I’m good with math, but I like it best when the teacher gives us free reading time, and I can get any book I want from the bookshelf.”

Mark smiled. “Sounds good. I have a little boy, about a year older than you. He loves to read also.”

Marty smiled shyly.

“Okay, let’s talk a little bit about your mom.”

Marty’s smile dropped quickly. “She’s Carla. Carla Perkins. I don’t know her middle name.”

Karen caught a look between Mark and Brad, and then her heart broke as she watched Marty struggle with some of the answers. He didn’t know where she worked other than she worked nights and slept during the day. He also mentioned that Alan had only been her boyfriend for a few months. He didn’t know the full names of her previous boyfriends.

“We’ve lived in a lot of places,” Marty said. “Usually, Mom had a boyfriend who let us stay with him. But we moved into the home next door when she met Alan. I thought he was mean, but Mom said we had to be good ’cause it was his money that let usstay there. At least Zannie and I had a room. We could be there when they were yelling.”

“And Alan’s last name?”

“Solster… or Solsten… something like that,” Marty said, scrunching his nose as though smelling something unpleasant.

Another look passed between Mark and Brad, causing Karen to want to beg them for whatever they knew. Instead, she looked down at Marty, squeezed his shoulder, and smiled.

“Okay, Marty, tell us why you and Zannie are here with Mr. Roscoe. You can say whatever you want and just talk to us. Or if it feels more natural, you can just talk to Ms. Karen, and we’ll listen, asking questions as we need.”

“Um… well…” Marty stammered, looking unsure.

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