Page 8 of Forgotten Girls

“I’ll pack a bag for Ginny and Billy.” Beth removed her gloves and pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a band from around her wrist. “The sheriff will be here soon. I guess then we go and hunt down Ethan Shoebridge and the doctor.” She stood hands on hips looking at him. “Ava will need treatment. There’s a good chance they’ll place Billy into care. Ginny is naive and has no idea about what’s happening here.”

Styles looked at Billy devouring the cookies and shook his head. “I can’t allow that to happen. You of all people know what can happen to kids in care.”

“Not in Black Rock Falls.” Beth met his gaze. “You know how diligent Sheriff Alton is about the system in her county. You can’t possibly care for a four-year-old. We’re never home and, going on the amount of cookies you’ve given him, you have no idea how to care for a child.”

Styles shook his head. “Okay, fine. I figure Ginny was doing just fine raising him. I don’t believe it will be an issue, but I’ll step up if needs be.” He stared at her. “Anyhow, we have other things to deal with right now.”

Not wanting to discuss Billy any longer, Styles waved a hand toward the stairs. “You mentioned something about packing a bag?” He glanced at the boy and took the jar of cookies from him. “Do you want to watch some TV?”

“Yes.” Billy ran into the family room and climbed on a chair.

Following close behind, Styles found a kids’ channel and walked back to the passageway. “You asked permission to pack their bags, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Beth smiled at him. “It will give us the chance to look around, although I don’t believe we’ll have a problem getting a search warrant. We can’t take anything incriminating but I’ll photograph anything I see. Then we’ll come back when we’ve got the paperwork.”

Styles headed along the passageway and into the den. He found a man cave with a big-screen TV and games. In one cabinet a stack of DVDs in numerical order, none of them with more than a number on each one. Pornography was left out as if on display. A bar along one side, large comfortable leather sofas, and the smell of cigars tainted the air. The house looked modest but this room held expensive equipment. He pulled on examination gloves and opened a few drawers. Video equipment, cameras of the highest quality, and on a table beside the sofa, he found a laptop. He opened it but it was password protected. He shook his head. Beth could crack it, but right now he couldn’t touch a darn thing. He pulled out his phone and took photographs of the room and everything he’d seen. Not for court but as a record to see if anything mysteriously went missing when they left the premises. With young girls coming and going on a regular basis, it didn’t take too much imagination to realize Ethan Shoebridge was running a halfway house for the supply of minors to pedophiles. If they’d stumbled on the tip of the iceberg, just how deep did it go?

SEVEN

After pulling on examination gloves and looking through the house, Beth located two large suitcases in a closet under the stairs. She went into the bedrooms and packed as many clothes for both of them as she could find. There weren’t many clothes at all for Ginny and nothing new. She added all the toiletries from the bathroom and went through the cabinet and found a number of pill bottles. Having a wide knowledge of prescription drugs and herbs, Beth was able to distinguish the different medications. Ginny’s behavior became clear when she read the labels. If Ginny had been highly medicated over a long period of time, it would explain why she didn’t understand what was happening to the girls her husband brought home. From a young age, she would have been groomed to accept certain behavior. The drugs kept her under control and likely had been used for a number of years. She made a mental note to make sure that a full tox screen was completed on Ginny and Ava. There were many drugs on the market that could alter brain chemistry, and if used in an illegal way, an unscrupulous person could bend someone to their will. If this proved to be the case, it might save Ginny from a long jail sentence. She would need rehabilitation until all the drugs had left her body, plus therapy to ensure she could function in society and care for her son. Although, looking at the boy, he appeared to be healthy and well adjusted.

She went to the top of the stairs. “Styles.”

“Yeah.” Styles came out from the family room.

Beth dragged a suitcase from the bedroom and hauled it into the passageway. “Help me with the bags.” She turned and went to retrieve Billy’s. “I have just about everything they own. Billy doesn’t have much, only the basics. Shoebridge didn’t overindulge either of them.”

“Hmm, from the man cave, I figure he spent all the money on himself.” Styles glanced at his watch. “We’ll need to get moving. The sheriff is waiting outside. He’s leaving two deputies on duty here at all times until we can obtain a search warrant.” He gave her a long look and concern shadowed his eyes. “He has a social worker with him from Her Broken Wings. I explained the situation to her. She appears to be competent. I believe she has their best interests at heart.”

Beth ducked inside the bathroom. “Just a minute.” She grabbed the evidence bag filled with drugs and smiled at him. “This is probably the reason your sister is so strange. She wouldn’t know what day it was if she’d been taking these meds. We’ll go to the local pharmacy and find out where we can locate Dr. Paul Benson.”

“I handed Billy over to the care of the social worker.” Styles met her gaze. “I didn’t want to leave him with her, but she insisted he’d be kept with Ginny until they made an assessment. The child is in no danger from his mother as far as I could ascertain. When you explain to her about the drugs, they’ll take that into consideration and take the necessary steps to help Ginny. I’ll be notified of the outcome either way and made sure my name was down as next of kin.”

Noticing the strain on Styles’ face, Beth smiled at him. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. He looks well looked after and is a normal little boy. The best-case scenario is to keep kids with their moms. Don’t worry too much. They’re in safe hands in Black Rock Falls. I’ve heard only good things about Her Broken Wings.”

Beth went to pick up the suitcase, but Styles grabbed it as if it weighed nothing and headed downstairs. They went out the front door and she stopped and walked back inside, seeing a purse on a small table. She opened it and looked inside. It held a few bills, a phone, a few personal items, and a house key. She pocketed the house key, secured the front door, and followed Styles to the waiting cruisers. Ginny and Ava were already inside the sheriff’s vehicle. Billy was in the other cruiser. “Styles, wait up. There’s an elephant in the smaller bag. Give it to Billy. He’ll need it with him for comfort.”

“Good idea.” Styles handed the larger suitcase to a deputy and bent to open the smaller one. He snagged the elephant and tucked it under one arm, zipped up the suitcase, and straightened. He handed the bag to the deputy. “This one belongs to Billy.” He opened the back of the cruiser and handed Billy the toy. “I’ll see you soon.”

Beth went to the social worker and explained about the drugs and handed her the bag. “Will you make a note of the drugs and dosage before these are logged into evidence? You’ll need to get medical assistance for Ginny ASAP. Coming off this concoction will need medical supervision and advice. She can’t go cold turkey. These are powerful drugs.”

“Yes, not a problem. I have a doctor standing by to examine all of them.” The social worker smiled. “Please don’t worry. Her Broken Wings deals with this kind of thing all the time. We have private funding, and the clients receive the very best care. You have my word they are in the safest of hands.” She pulled a notebook from her purse and wrote down the names of the drugs. When she replaced the notebook, she handed Beth a card. “Any questions or updates, don’t hesitate to call me. Agent Styles gave me his contact info, so we’re good to go.”

Beth remembered Ginny’s purse and handed it to her. “Ginny’s purse. It has a few personal things in it, no weapons.”

“I’ll see that she gets it.” The woman headed toward the cruisers.

Beth liked the woman’s efficiency, and she sure wasn’t like any social worker she’d ever met before. Maybe Sheriff Alton out of Black Rock Falls was as good as everyone claimed. If she stood up for the abused men, women, and children, they were of like minds, but no doubt the sheriff stayed on her side of the law. She had no choice or excuse to take out the bad apples. Beth watched as the vehicles drove away. “Maybe that’s why I’m here. I have a place in this madness. I’m here to clean up what she misses.”

“What did you say?” Styles walked up to her, his boots crunching on the gravel driveway.

Beth shook her head. “Nothing, just talking to myself.”

“They say that’s the first sign of madness.” Styles grinned at her. “But you going the extra mile to make sure Billy and Ginny were okay was a nice touch. I figured your compassion only stretched as far as animals.”

Beth pulled open the door of the SUV. “I don’t know, Styles. Twelve months or more working together and you still don’t understand me, do you?”

“I just don’t dig too deep.” Styles slid behind the wheel. “I’m not sure what lies beneath your mysterious exterior. You’re like a chameleon. I never know which Beth is coming to work each day.”

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