Page 105 of A River of Crows

“She’s been weird,” Sloan said. “I wish you could come stay with us like you did before.”

“I do too. I just can’t right now.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“Your mom tells me you’re spending a lot of time with Noah. That’s great. I always liked that kid. Is he your boyfriend?”

“No,” Sloan said, but her voice lightened.

Libby laid back on her bed. “Well, he’d be crazy not to like a pretty girl like you.”

“I think he might,” Sloan whispered. “He held my hand last week when we walked to the creek.”

“Ah, I’d say he does like you then,” Libby said. “Have you gotten to visit your dad recently?”

Sloan groaned. “Did Mom tell you to ask me? I haven’t seen him again since I promised her I wouldn’t.”

“Okay. But if you wanted to, that would be normal. He made some awful decisions, but he was a good dad, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” Sloan said. “I really miss him. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“You know the trial is over. Nothing you say about your dad will change his sentence, so I have to ask you. Did your dad ever hurt you, Sloan? Did he abuse you?”

“No!” Sloan answered immediately. “The police already asked me that.”

“Did you ever see him hurt your mom? Or Ridge?”

“Yeah,” Sloan said. “He tried to hurt Mom a few times during his nightmares. Once Ridge jumped on his back, and Dad threw him off.”

Libby squeezed her eyes shut. This was the same story Ridge told. “But what about when he was awake?” she asked. “I remember Ridge had bruises right before we moved.”

“Daddy didn’t do that,” Sloan said. “Ridge was running around in his socks even after Doreen told him not to.” Sloan laughed. “Sorry, it’s funny to remember the way he slid.”

“It’s okay to laugh,” Libby said. “It’s okay to remember.”

“Hey, Doreen, do you remember that? When Ridge slid across the waxed floor?” Libby heard Sloan ask.

Doreen chuckled in the background. “That boy was something else, wasn’t he?”

“Well, thanks for calling,” Sloan said. “Doreen’s finished cooking dinner, so I should probably go. Love you, bye!”

“Love you too, sweetie.” Libby sat frozen with the phone in her hand.

It had been lies, all of it. No, her best friend’s partner wasn’t who she thought he was, but turns out, neither was her best friend.

Libby was about to push the switch hook and call Caroline. Call her and call her out, give her a real piece of her mind, but she hesitated. Just because Jay hadn’t hurt Ridge that particular time didn’t mean he never had. And she’d often seen kids lie for abusive parents during her time at the shelter. She needed to be sure and knew how she could be.

Libby sat on the bed and continued explaining her afternoon to Vince. “So, I got the number of Sloan’s teacher, the one she supposedly told about the abuse.”

Vince stopped his pacing. “Tell me you didn’t call her, Libby. Not her and Doreen Dawson in the same afternoon. You realize you calling and snooping around like this raises all sorts of red flags.”

“I said I was with CPS,” Libby said. “Told her there had been an anonymous call about Sloan Hadfield being abused last year, and we were just doing some final checks before closing it out.”

“And?”

“And nothing. She never saw a single sign of abuse on Sloan, and they were very close that year. After Jay was charged with Ridge’s murder, she even asked Sloan point-blank about abuse, and Sloan denied it. What’s more, Mrs. Evans never even met Jay. Caroline told Ridge that Sloan’s teacher didn’t believe her because she didn’t think Jay was capable, but turns out, she didn’t even know Jay Hadfield from Adam.”

Vince began pacing again. “We should have never trusted Caroline.”

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