Page 40 of Twisted Salvation
“Here,” Rose says, setting down a huge whiteboard against the wall in the living room. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“You just remind me of Myr… of your mom,” I say with a soft smile.
“So, what do we know?” she asks, setting the whiteboard up before writing “Mom” at the top. I watch as she writes her date of birth and her full legal name under it.
“Walter Carrington and Alvin Chambers do not own any property that was not seized by the FBI,” Trish says.
“Ew. They even sound like rapists,” Rose says, writing their name.
“Shouldn’t you—I don’t know—be in bed or something?”I ask.
“Shouldn’t you—I don’t know—be focused on your wife or something?” she says with a frown. I can’t help but smile because she is just like Myra.
“See?” Paul says. “Stubborn.”
“She keeps herself out of trouble, and she always does her schoolwork, so we don’t mind if she has freedom. The fact that she chooses to use that freedom to research how to help her mother definitely makes me want to cry, though,” Megan says.
“Okay,” I say. “I need for the two of you to be honest with me… How do you know Myra?”
“What do you mean?” Paul asks innocently.
“Paul, I am a psychiatrist. I have studied body language. The two of you are lying to me,” I say. “Myra consistently lies when we ask about the first time that she met the two of you.”
“Oh, come on,” Rose scolds them. “Paul was the fire chief when Mom surrendered me. Megan was there when Mom showed up.”
“We talked for a long time. As long as Myra could be away without being noticed,” Megan sniffs. “She told me about what her father and uncle were doing to her. She understood what would happen to Rose if she didn’t give her away. I knew then that she loved her daughter and didn’t want to do that, but that she didn’t see a way out for herself that didn’t get her killed. I promised her that I would take care of her daughter until she was ready to be a mother. She was surrendered directly to me so that we could have a better chance of custody. The court did not hesitate to let us takeher, since she was already staying with us. Myra stayed in contact with us the entire time. She’s been there her entire life, just from a distance.”
“Fuck, that’s pitiful,” Natalie says.
“Are they going to sell her?” Rose asks. We all turn and look at her, and she immediately gets an attitude when no one says anything. “Well? Is anyone going to talk, or is everyone going to stare at me?”
“Why would you think they’d sell her?” Paul asks. “You do understand what that means, right?”
“Yeah. Trafficking. You forget that you’ve let me watch crime shows for my entire life,” she says, waving him off. “Alvin had significantly fewer trafficking-related sentences than any other judge in the city. Also, 26 years ago, he was accused of being involved in trafficking. It never went anywhere because whoever had made the complaint died.”
“How do you know this?” Megan asks.
“More importantly, how did the FBI not know?” I ask.
“Because they are doing things legally,” Rose shrugs.
“Rose,” Paul sighs. “How many times have we told you? You cannot do that. If you get caught, that will hurt you for the rest of your life.”
“Wanna know what else will hurt me?” she asks coldly. “If I have the capability to help my mother, and I don’t because of stupid laws. I’d be charged as a minor anyway. Oooh, so scary.”
“I’m confused,” Matt says.
“Our girl is a little hacker,” Trish says with a grin. “You cover your tracks when you go on these expeditions?”
“No one has even suspected that they’ve been hacked,” she shrugs.
“Wait,” Natalie says. “Roses have thorns.”
“Did you have a stroke?” Matt asks, turning to her.
“Roses have thorns,” she says to Trish.
“Oh, hell,” Trish says.
