Page 29 of Protecting Silver
“No matter what happens, Agent Babcock, you and Agent Mann are the lead in this investigation. I’m assuming you want Ms. Green to go into a safe house?”
“We do,” the two agents said as one.
“I’ll get back to you,” Atwater said, and they knew they were dismissed. They quickly stood, and left the room. Just before the door closed behind them, Tamara looked back in and grinned. “Go ahead and have our sandwiches, we’re not really hungry.”
“Yeah, I can understand why,” Atwater said as he picked up a photo and studied it. He glanced over at his own meal, and shook his head.
The women looked at each other as they stood in the hall, and waited for the elevator to arrive. They both had raised brows, and Jackie sighed. “Well, at least he didn’t kick us out, or yell at us for not having permission to go into Anita’s apartment.”
“I think having her statement and that signed permission slip saved our ass.”
“Yeah, me too.” Jackie nodded, and they stepped into the elevator, lost in their own thoughts.
Chapter 15
Patch watchedas Silver put her fork on her plate, used her napkin to wipe her mouth, then placed it on the table beside her before she looked at him. “I’m not being a bitch here, but I don’t do ‘complicated’.Hewould say something was complicated, and metaphorically pat me on the head, and told me not to worry about it. I won’t do that in this relationship, Douglas. If you want to stick with your story, then I’m ready to leave.”
“No, I’ll tell you,” Patch said as he reached out, and took her hand that still held her napkin. “Maybe I should have said it’s fucked up rather than complicated.” He paused long enough to take a sip of his wine, then encouraged her to continue eating. “I don’t really remember anything before the age of four. The first real memory I have was when I went to live with the Fosters.” Patch watched her closely and saw her expression when she made the connection.
“Foster care?”
“Yes, and my first family I remember were named Foster. I know, it’s weird, but that’s what it was.”
“How long were you there?”
“That’s just it, according to them, they were trying to adopt me when my caseworker showed up at school and took me away. He gave me a line a BS about my foster dad calling him and telling him that he lost his job, and didn’t want to tell me that I couldn’t live there anymore.”
“Holy shit.” Silver looked at him in utter shock. “How old were you?”
“Six. We drove all day, and it was well after dark before we arrived at my new home.” Patch leaned in, and looked over both his shoulders, then waved her forward. “I swear I saw the woman give Merrick an envelope of cash before he gave me to her.”
“No way.”
“Way, and she told me that as long as I followed the rules, then everything would be fine. If I broke them, she’d call Merrick to come get me.”
“Did you break any rules?”
“Yes, and sure enough Sally Albert called, and Merrick was there two days later.”
“Oh my god, what happened?” Silver asked in stunned shock.
“I was eight by then, and I rode my bike over to a friend’s house. My chain broke on the way home, and I had to push my bike. It was over a mile away. I missed my curfew of being home by six at night by thirty minutes. Sally was livid when I finally arrived home. She wouldn’t listen to me, and I had the chain in my hand as proof, along with the grease and dirt from when I fell off my bike, but nope, she refused to listen.”
“Damn, did she do anything else to you?”
“I wasn’t allowed supper that night, then she refused to talk to me until Merrick arrived. She only told me that I broke a rule, that was why she was sending me away.”
“Wow, where did you go after that?”
Patch snorted a laugh, and shook his head. “As much as I don’t want to remember, it’s part of what made me the way I am today. I went to a home where the woman worked two jobs, and the man sat on his ass and drank beer all day. He beat me once, the next time he tried, I hit back and picked up the phone and called 911 in front of him, then I called Merrick and demanded he come get me, or I was walking away. I think I was there for only a month. Then, for the next two years I was in and out of different homes. Some were good, some not so good, but no one ever hurt me again, at least not physically.” He shook his head and dug into his meal, remaining silent for several minutes.
When he resumed talking, he was subdued. “Everything I just told you happened in Colorado. I finally went to a home where there was a great couple, and I loved it there. I was there for only three months when they were transferred here to Montana and requested to take me with them. It shocked the shit out of me when Merrick agreed. We were here in Montana for a good two years when they filed for divorce. During the custody part of the divorce, I learned that neither of them wanted me, and since they never adopted me, it was like a ninety-eight-percent probability that I would go back into the system, but I jumped the gun on that one.”
“What did you do?”
“I requested to talk to the judge. When he talked to me, I laid it all out on the line. I told him I was a good boy and have never been in trouble. I asked to be sent to the local boys’ home, because my best friend lived here, and I didn’t want to leave him.”
Silver giggled as she finished her meal. “Let me guess, Finn?”
