Ollie looked her way and waved to her mother. “Mom! You came. I thought you might be too sick to come.”
Her mother’s expression fell just a little and her step faltered. She lifted her hand toward Ollie’s face where the red mark was but closed it and pulled it away before she made contact. “I’m fine, Ollie. What happened?”
“I’m fine too. But I wasn’t good.” Ollie looked up to the sky, eyes glassy enough to spill tears at any moment. “Jerry’s going to say I didn’t listen. I don’t want to be in trouble with you and the policeman. I know I should have taken off my shoes. He told me I couldn’t wear them where we were going. I didn’t really want to go anywhere with him, and so I said no.”
“Then, what happened?” her mom asked, so slow I wasn’t sure she even wanted the answer.
The look Ollie gave her mom was the exact look I used to give my mother. They both looked at me, ready to lie and keep the secret of abuse in the darkness where no one could document it.
That look, I’d never known exactly how frustrating it was until it had been turned on me. A helplessness rolled through me like it must have rolled through Mrs. Stonewood every time I looked at her when she asked me what was wrong.
I’d been a victim though. I’d been a part of the secret before, and I wasn’t going to allow it to consume two others that day. “Ollie, you’re safe. You didn’t do anything wrong. You keep your shoes on all the time. You know that, right?”
She nodded but her eyes bounced to her mother like she wasn’t sure she should answer.
“Jerry was wrong to hit you,” I emphasized my statement and let my gaze land on each of them, slowly and solidly.
Her mother started to say something, and I knew it would be defensive. I didn’t let her get anything out. “This is your daughter. You are her mother. You are all she has. Don’t do what my mom did. Don’t lie for him.”
She took a step closer like she’d fight me but her daughter chimed in. “Brey, Mom’s not sick today.” She giggled as she leaned away from me and held her arms out for her mother to take her. “She knows I’m her daughter.”
We shared looks as I handed Ollie over. Every muscle in me wanted to retaliate. My mind screamed not to let go. My heart hoped my mind was wrong.
Either way, I couldn’t hold on to her. She wasn’t mine. I had no claim on her, and I had no control over what her mother did with her.
“That’s right, Ollie. You are mine.” Her words were just as direct as mine were and held enough meaning that I had to swallow my knee-jerk reaction to yank Ollie back.
Instead, I rolled my lips between my teeth before I said, “She is. But if something had happened today, she’d be a part of the missing bulletin instead.”
Her eyes widened. She snapped her mouth shut and kept a steely gaze on me for a few more seconds. “I love her more than anything, okay?”
I nodded because I believed her. Maybe she was like my mom, thinking that giving in to Jerry was best for both of them. “Take care of her.”
She dipped her chin so slightly, I almost missed the gesture. She spun on heels then and took her baby with her.
Crumbling in front of them wouldn’t have served anyone well. Jax slid up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist like he knew I needed the support. I sagged into him and answered the questions for cops as quickly as I could.
Answers we wanted didn’t come as readily. They repeated again and again that the investigation was ongoing, like that cleared up my concerns and fears. We did find that Jerry claimed he wasn’t planning on taking her anywhere, that he was just watching her.
His story didn’t align with Ollie’s or her mother’s at all.
And yet, would he be back at their house tomorrow trying the same thing again? The cops assured us that with the evidence of abuse, he wouldn’t.
One state policeman mentioned, “Jurisdiction is tricky when it comes to kids on the reservation. The Tribal Police will most likely have to charge him.”
A tribal policeman shrugged. “The crime happened outside the reservation. We don’t charge anyone off our land.”
My brow furrowed. “So, who takes care of it?”
They both waved me off and I fumed on my way back to the car.
Jax took his time following me and shook all their hands. I turned to see him slip an insane amount of money into one officer’s hands. My stomach rolled and protested the interaction, but I kept my mouth shut until we were on our way home.
“You paid that officer to do the job he should have been doing anyway.”
His eyes stayed on the road. “Every job is a business, Whitfield. I paid him to do his job right.”
“This isn’t a fucking business, Jax. It’s a little girl’s life. Jerry should be going to jail for kidnapping, assault, and attempted ...” I couldn’t finish as I choked and then gasped out a sob.