Page 2 of Night Moves
“When did he do that?” Natalie held her breath waiting for the answer.
“Right after Mom left. He likes pounding a hammer. Makes him feel better.” Willow gnawed hard on her lip, a habit Natalie had frequently seen Willow engage in, and her lip and the skin below remained red and raw. “I was mad and wanted to hammer too. Dad wouldn’t let me. Said it was just for him.”
“What else did he do?” Natalie asked.
“Built a new deck. He said the patio was too small. So he dug it out and put a huge deck over it.”
Natalie’s sixth sense never failed her when she worked with troubled children, and it was humming like a high-speed fan.
“I wish Mom would come home. She would like the deck in the summer. She liked sunshine.” Willow worried that lip again. “But she can’t come home. Dad said a bad man musta taken her.”
Natalie wanted to punch the pillow. What a terrible thing this was to tell a child. He’d told Willow this story, but not the detective. As the family social worker, Natalie had access to the police reports that said Kirk claimed Tracey had taken off on her own. That she’d had enough of being a wife and mother. He even described the jacket she was wearing and the purse and tote bag she was carrying as she walked out the door and slammed it in his face.
So Natalie needed to dig deeper, but she made sure her tone was gentle. “Why does he think that?”
“’Cause she never would’ve left us. She loved us too much.” Willow drew her legs up to wrap her arms around them. “I miss her.”
Natalie squeezed Willow’s knee. “I’m so sorry she’s not here, sweetie.”
Willow frowned.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Mom called me sweetie.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“No. I kinda liked it. Dad’s not like that.” Willow’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Except when he does my nails. Then he gets weird like I told you.” Willow sighed. “He said when I get older, I’m gonna replace Mom if she doesn’t come home. I already have to help take care of Sadie and Logan. I don’t want to do more. Like cooking. I don’t like to cook. Or wash dirty clothes. They’re stinky.”
Natalie didn’t want this eight-year-old to have to raise her siblings either. Natalie had to care for her sister at a similar age, and she’d resented it. “Do you want me to have a talk with your dad about that?”
“No!” Willow screeched. “No. Please don’t. I’ll get in big trouble.”
“Shh, it’s okay.” Natalie held Willow’s hand to calm her. “I won’t say a word.”But I will go looking for that hidden basement.“Where was the door to your basement?”
Willow raised her right eyebrow, just like her father did when he was suspicious of something Natalie had said.
Natalie waved a hand. “Just curious to see if I can tell if it was once there.”
“You can’t. Dad did a good job.”
“Mind if I look for myself?”
“By the back door. There’s a bookshelf there now.” Willow yawned.
“Time for lights out, sweetie.” Natalie stood. “I shouldn’t have kept you up so late as it is.”
“I like talking to you.” Willow snuggled down under her Princess Barbie comforter. “It’s like talking to Mom. Not Dad. Dads just aren’t the same. They have too much to think about and can’t pay attention. But moms don’t work all the time, and they can think about you. At least sometimes.”
Natalie tugged the covers up to Willow’s chin, wanting to give her rosy cheek a kiss, but that would cross the professional line Natalie had to draw with clients. She shouldn’t even have agreed to bring the children home tonight, but Kirk had been injured in a car accident, the children’s nanny, his emergency contact, was unavailable, and he didn’t have anyone else to pick the children up. If Natalie hadn’t gotten them, someone else in social services would’ve taken the call and put them in emergency foster care, likely splitting them up. Natalie had spared them additional trauma by bringing them here until Kirk was released from the ER.
Natalie forced a smile for the girl. “Sleep tight, Willow.”
“I wish you could babysit us all the time. You’re nicer than our nanny.” She turned over and tugged a well-worn Curious George plush monkey to her chest and closed her eyes.
Natalie closed the door and charged down the stairs. Those poor children. They needed her. Maybe more than she’d first thought. Still, it was only a gut feeling. She had no grounds to remove them from the home. Yet.
Sure, Kirk’s inability to pick them up tonight and a failure of his backup plan was a red flag, but still not reason to remove them. Just a reason to counsel him and help him find a backup to his backup.
