Page 19 of Protecting Silver
“And he took you instead of giving his statement.”
“Correct, now I didn’t know this next part, because I wasn’t there, but the Fosters told me that Merrick said he had no clue what had happened to me. Whenever anyone from the school said that he’d taken me from there, he denied it. Back then, they didn’t have cameras like they do now.”
“So, it was his word against theirs.Son of abitch!”
“Yeah, and it got me to thinking. If he did that with me, how many other kids did he do it to? You always hear in the news about some foster-care kids missing, but what if someone like Merrick took them? I was one of those missing foster-care kids, but he drove for hours to take me to my new home. I remember the clock in the car said it was ten twenty-one. We never arrived at our destination until after one in the morning. This was back in Colorado. He took me to the other side of the state.”
“Away from anyone who might find you, or recognize you. Son of a bitch!” Finn felt his anger rise for his friend.
“Yeah, but I did something.”
“What’s that?”
“A nurse woke me from the dream of me being taken away by Merrick. Said I had a trauma coming in and had fifteen minutes. I immediately called Grady and asked for the guy’s phone number who did the research on the guy he was suing. Instead, he gave me Wolf’s number, which I already had. I called Wolf and briefly explained why I wanted his computer guy to look into something for me.”
“And?”
“And the night of Silver’s attack, he called me and asked a few questions. Once he had all the information, he said he’d get back to me, but not to expect a lot of answers right away. He didn’t work that way.”
“What way?”
“That he would dig as deep as he could, then once he couldn’t dig any deeper, he’d compile his information and get back to me. Said might take a couple of weeks.”
“Okay, but what aren’t you telling me?”
“I had the papers that Silver wrote the name of her attacker on in my hand. I hadn’t yet given them to Amos. Hell, when I got that call, I was on my way to tell you guys what was going on. I explained everything that was going on with Silver, and gave him the information.”
“I understand that, and if you get a bill from this guy, let me know, I’m going to pay it. But what exactly was on those papers. I was too much into keeping Veronica grounded to really pay too much attention.”
“She came to long enough to request a pen and paper.” Patch moved his fingers in a ‘writing’ motion. “I gave it to her, and she wrote down her attacker’s name, personal cell phone number, social security number, and even his badge number.”
“Badge number?”
“Yeah, turned out the asshole was an ex-boyfriend from almost five years ago, and he’s a cop for Chicago PD.”
“Shit.” Finn stared at his best friend in shock.
“Yeah. Once I had that information, I gave it to Tex, and he was going to run with it. It’s been almost six weeks since I gave him the information about Merrick, and almost three for Silver.”
“Just what do you want him to look up about this Merrick guy? I’m still confused about that.”
“If he could lie to the principal of a school, and remove me from the facility without any hassle, then drive me across the state and basically sell me to someone else, what’s to stop him from doing it to someone else? Does he have other co-workers that do the same thing, because we both know that civil servants don’t make a whole hell of a lot of money, maybe twenty-five grand a year, if that. But, if he sold me for twenty-five grand, what’s to stop him from selling others to less reputable people? What if he somehow sold kids to sex traffickers or something? I know I’m reaching on that one, but it made me wonder. That’s the only question I have left to answer before I can fully embrace myself to accept the love the Fosters are throwing at me with everything they have. I need to know why Merrick took me, and whether he lied about Max saying he was losing his job. I know now it’s a lie, but I need to know why Merrick lied about it. Then, and only then, do I think I can move on, and accept the Fosters completely.”
“Holy shit,” Finn said. That seemed to cover it all. The two men remained silent for a long time as they cleaned up the kitchen, then settled back at the table, both lost in their own thoughts.
After several minutes of mutual silence, Patch looked at Finn, and asked, “You still got time?”
Finn looked at his watch and nodded. “Yeah, what’s up?”
Patch sat forward, placed his arms on the table, then entwined his fingers. Finn saw that they were gripped so hard that his knuckles were white. “I have a question to ask you, and I don’t want you to think I’m a pervert or a horndog, or anything like that.” He watched a frown come over Finn’s face, then grinned as he continued, “What do you think my chances are if I ask Silver out on a date? Like a real date.”
Finn stared at him in shock, then laughed. He held up his hand and shook his head. “I’m not laughing at your chances, but I pictured you taking her to your favorite Italian restaurant, going all out, then realizing her jaw is still wired shut and she can’t eat.”
“Oh, shit,” Patch grinned along with him, and chuckled. “That’s exactly where I was going to take her. What do you think the chef would do if we ordered the lasagna to be put through the blender?” They shared a laugh, then when Patch sobered, he shook his head. “I know this isn’t a laughing matter, and I forgot all about her broken jaw. I want your opinion on the fact if you know whether she would be receptive of my asking her out.”
“You’ve liked her for a long time, haven’t you?”
“Ever since I met her at the aquarium fundraiser, but I never did anything about it, because back then she didn’t seem receptive to anyone’s advances, let alone mine. But, now, since she’s been attacked, I have no clue what my chances would be with her.”
