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  I gave her a finger wave to get her attention.

  She looked really tired.

  I introduced her to Teagan.

  She shook Teagan’s hand. “Thanks for coming.”

  Teagan took the lead. She does that most of the time. “We’re here. What’s going on? How can we help? What do you need?”

  She stared into space as she talked. “I was just gonna take off. I’m old enough. I can do that now. I was just going to walk out the door and never look back. But I can’t. I can’t leave my sister in that house. She’s got five more years before she can get out. I thought about killing him. He deserves it.”

  Teagan gave me a look like we’d just stepped through the looking glass to a very ugly land over which we have no control.

  It came out a little bit at a time. When Rikki was younger, she didn’t fight back. She didn’t know any of it was wrong. Then when she was old enough to realize what was going on, her uncle screwed with her mind so completely and effectively she didn’t fight back. He claimed he’d recorded them, that he would put the pictures and videos on the web. Her school website, social media, the world would know, and it would be all her fault.

  By the time she figured out he wouldn’t do anything of the sort, self-protection would be his only motivator to stay private. He told her that he’d provided the images to an equally screwed up friend, and they would go public if he were ever arrested. He had images of the friend’s endeavors, and she recognized his voice doing the byplay. He did voiceovers. While his friend did unspeakable things to a girl much younger than she was.

  It scared her.

  It humiliated her.

  She talked to a girlfriend, and the same thing was happening in her home.

  Rikki said that the exploitation of kids in this country is nothing short of a pandemic, and there was no one to help her and no way out.

  When she told a counselor at school, he victimized her right there in the office.

  She thought about killing herself, but that wouldn’t help her sister.

  Maybe once she made sure her sister was safe, that was the best alternative.

  “Have you told your mom?”

  “She wouldn’t believe me.”

  “What makes you say that? Of course she would believe you.”

  “I told her about my ex-boyfriend, how I didn’t want to see him anymore and how he wasn’t a good guy. She insists he’s great. I guess that was my test. If she stood up for me against him, I could trust her to stand up against her own brother. He’s the one. He’s the one that does all of it.”

  “What about your father?”

  “He’d kill him. What good would that do? Then my dad’s in prison, and my mom still won’t believe me. It will all be a big mess. I’m not doing that. I just need someone that can make my uncle stop. Forever. My mom and dad don’t ever have to know.”

  “It doesn’t work that way.”

  “Okay, well, thanks for meeting me. I won’t bother you again.”

  I reached for her hand. “Wait! Hold on. You can’t just walk away. We’ll figure it out.”

  “You just said there’s nothing you can do, which is exactly what I expected, but my ex said I should give you guys a call. He said that you were crazy and not scared of anything. That you could help me.”

  Teagan smiled. “He got the crazy part right. Where are you staying right now?”

  “I’m not saying.”

  “Okay, better question. Do you need a place to stay right now?”

  “No. I’m good.”

  “Okay, who’s your uncle and where do I find him?”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go have a little talk with your uncle.”

  “You can’t do that.” She panicked.

  “Rikki, what do you want us to do? If we can’t talk to him and you won’t tell anybody else about him, just what do you want from us?”

  “I don’t know. I thought maybe your boss could do something.”

  “Like what? Can she have someone go talk to him?”

  “He’s gonna kill me. I mean that literally. He’ll have one of his pervert friends run me over with a car. He’s told me just how he would do it. Nobody would ever suspect him.”

  “Then why don’t we go to the police?”

  “That won’t work. He is the police.”

  “What do you mean, he’s the police?”

  “He’s a cop.”

  “That doesn’t mean that all cops are bad. There are bad cops, but the vast, vast, vast majority of them are good people. They make good decisions. They only want what’s best for you. They would lay down their lives to protect you. You can’t let one bad cop make you believe all cops are bad.”

  “But he has friends.”

  “So are you saying there’s a ring of pervert cops?”

  “No, his friends aren’t cops. As far as I know, anyway.”

  Teagan tried again. “We could go to Internal Affairs or whatever they call it. My brother’s a cop. He’ll know who we should talk to. To keep you safe and get your uncle held accountable.”

  Rikki shook her head. “You’re so funny. You talk like you actually think that is going to happen. That you’re going to talk to one person and get all this taken care of. Do you really think it’s that simple? Do you think if it was that simple I wouldn’t just take care of it myself? Cara said herself that I’m smart. I’ve been thinking about this for years. It isn’t that easy to fix. I’m stuck. My sister’s stuck. Maybe the best thing to do is just grab my sister and leave. I thought about it. I even talked to her about it. She doesn’t want to come. But he hasn’t started with her yet. I don’t think he has anyway, but when I leave, he will. He will for sure. It’ll be my fault.”

  That did it.

  To that point, Teagan was sad and hurt and full of sympathy for this girl.

  Now she was angry.

  She had laser focus.

  “I’ll tell you what to do. I’ll tell you exactly what we’re going to do.”

  We spent the next thirty minutes talking about Teagan’s plan. She then made a few phone calls and asked her soon-to-be sister-in-law to meet us at the diner. When you’re doing anything with criminals, especially one that’s a cop, having an attorney on your side is really important.

  I called Adeline and asked her if I could put Rikki in the “oh shit” fund. It’s really shorthand for a fund that Adeline set up about a year ago. It’s used for things like medical bills for people that are working hard but can’t cover an expense or victims of crimes that don’t qualify for any other help.

  The requirements are simple. It needs to be someone that needs help, doesn’t qualify for any other charity or program, and it’s a temporary thing that they are dealing with. It’s not a long-term program; it’s a quick helping hand.

  When I explained the problem to Adeline, she said Roland would be joining us tout de suite. I thought about begging off. Roland has done so much for me lately. But then I thought if anyone could get to the bottom of this quickly, with as little publicity as possible, it would be Roland.

  Two hours later, my head was ready to explode.

  Teagan’s sister-in-law sat back quietly and listened.

  She’s good at that.

  I wonder if she could mentor me.

  Roland had shown up. He wasn’t wearing a suit. It was weird.

  Two of his guys showed up with him. Within minutes, they had made arrangements for us to take over the back room of the diner. It’s usually only used for meetings. My guess is more than a few dollars changed hands, because the servers were more friendly than I’d ever seen them, and I go in there a lot.

  Roland had things popping up on his phone with some regularity. I guessed he was having the facts of Rikki’s statements checked out. The guys with him were probably feeding him information. First texting questions to the office for them to check on as they listened to Rikki’s story, and then texting Roland the answers they were coming up
with.

  We were several minutes into it when Roland pushed back from the table, then leaned forward and said, “Rikki, what’s really going on?”

  “What?”

  “The story you told Cara and her sister? You want to try again? This time you want to tell the truth?”

  “I did.”

  “No, you didn’t. I haven’t had every detail checked yet — I will — but I know some of it, maybe all of it, is pure fantasy.”

  Rikki stood so fast the chair scraped on the ground and made a terrible sound. “I’m out of here”

  “Sit down! You dragged all of us into this, and you’re going to tell me what’s going on. You don’t want to get sideways of me. Believe it.” Roland is always kind of intimidating, but his voice was gravelly, and his look would scare the crap out of anybody.

  “I … I … ” Rikki stuttered. That can’t be good.

  Nobody spoke.

  Nobody breathed.

  We waited.

  I could tell Teagan was starting to get mad.

  She can be as scary — if not more scary than — Roland.

  She talked first. “Rikki, I trusted you. I don’t do that a lot. Either start talking, or I’m out of here.”

  Rikki didn’t say a word.

  Teagan stood up. “Come on, Cara. We’ve wasted enough time.”

  “But, what about … ? We can’t just leave.”

  “Roland will take care of her.” Her tone dripped with sarcasm. It was ugly, but it got a response, which is what she was after.

  Rikki started to talk. “Okay, none of it happened. My uncle didn’t do anything. He and my mom are always on me, and I had enough. I talked to my boyfriend. He said Cara and Teagan are basically stupid and wanted so bad to do good stuff that we could get anything we wanted out of them. My uncle is a cop. If I said he messed with me, then even if nothing ever happened, there would always be suspicion, and it would screw him up.”

  “Why would you do that?” I couldn’t help myself.

  “It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Ruining someone’s life isn’t a big deal?”

  “It would just mess him up at work and home. It wouldn’t ruin his life.” Rikki rolled her eyes. It wasn’t cute like when Teagan does it. It was rage inducing.

  All Teagan could do was blink several times.

  Do people really think that way?

  How mentally ill do you have to be to think that way?

  Should I try to get Rikki Baker-Acted? Have them hold her for a psych evaluation. Can a non — family member do that?

  Roland was very quiet. “Your uncle is a very well-respected man. I doubt an accusation from a kid that obviously doesn’t like him would ruin him, but the fact you tried speaks volumes. There isn’t a lot I can do about this. Your crimes were only in the planning phase. What I am going to do is tell your uncle. And your mother. A couple of judges. A few police officials. I will have everything well-documented should the need arise to use our documentation in the future. Filing a false police report’s a crime, and one that I will have fully prosecuted, should the need arise.”

  In Rikki’s situation, I would have broken down. I would have been hysterical, throwing myself at everyone’s feet, begging for mercy.

  Teagan pointed out later when I shared that thought with her that I never would have been in that situation in the first place.

  Good point.

  Rikki left. Picked up in the same beater car she was dropped off in. Teagan’s sister-in-law left. She hadn’t said more than a couple of dozen words all night. She gave Teagan a hug, thanked me for all the meals I’ve cooked for her and her family, and left. I called A.J. and told him Teagan and I were on our way home, and the whole thing with Rikki was over.

  Roland waited until I was off the phone to comment.

  “I doubt this is over, Cara. You just ruined her plan. She had everything set. My guess is it was more complex than she confessed. Revenge or insipid fun and games doesn’t feel right. I think she was trying to get something more out of it. Not sure what. Could be any of a million different things. You keep those doors locked and the alarm on.”

  “It’s become a habit. Second nature, really. I resent it.”

  “Resent it all you want, but stay safe. I’ll call you tomorrow. Oh, and just a heads up, I talked to Adeline earlier today. The cruise is a go. She has talked to the girls. They’re doing their research. It’ll probably be a few weeks.”

  “Sounds like fun.” Teagan smiled.

  Teagan and I tromped off. Feeling foolish. Exploited. Taken advantage of. A little bit angry. A whole lot tired.

  By the time I got home, Evelyn and Suzi were already upstairs, and A.J. was working on ideas for the catalog shoot.

  Teagan begged off and left without having a cup of tea.

  It felt like our non-honeymoon had been months ago.

  I’d barely gotten the kettle on when the phone rang.

  It was my neighbor.

  Rikki called home and talked to her mother before anyone else got the chance. The best defense is a great offense, right? Kathy said after what her daughter had put her through in the last several weeks, she didn’t believe a word of what Rikki had said. She knew that I’d met with her and that she had some things to say about the family. She wanted to know what Rikki had said. We decided to have a chat.

  She’d be over in a few minutes.

  A couple of minutes later, I saw her come through the back gate. She looked exhausted. She looked broken. I felt really bad for her.

  When Kathy sat at the table, she told me that Rikki had always been the perfect daughter. She was a great student. She was a bit of an overachiever, but she had always been able to balance her life well. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew everything had changed.

  We spent a couple of hours talking. About Rikki. About life. About my mom. About Roland and how he’d confronted Rikki. Everything that had been said in all of our conversations.

  By the time Kathy left, I felt like I had a new friend. I don’t really have a lot of friends. My family takes up that place in my life and in my heart, but Kathy seems like she could be a friend.

  Since I plan on living in this house for the rest of my life, and she feels the same way about her house, it seems natural to develop a relationship with our backyard neighbors.

  She left just minutes before A.J. came into the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate.

  I explained everything to him.

  How my interactions with Rikki kind of shifted my brain.

  I could have ruined her uncle’s life had I fallen for all her lies, and the truth is, I’d fallen for every single one of them. Had I not wanted to put her on Adeline’s “oh shit” fund, Adeline wouldn’t have insisted on Roland joining us, and I wouldn’t have had the advantage of all of his data.

  What would have happened to the uncle?

  What would the domino effect have been? Because when you ruin someone’s life, there’s always a domino effect.

  I felt terrible.

  “You can’t be right all the time, Cara. You would have figured it out before you ruined anyone’s life. You have to take things one at a time. Just learn from it and move forward.”

  “I think it’s a life lesson. A lesson to learn to mind my own business.”

  “So the next time someone like Rikki calls and asks for help, you’re going to hang up?”

  “No. I couldn’t do that. It’s not right.”

  “Then what’s the alternative?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve got to think about it.”

  A.J. shifted in his seat. “Suzi and I were talking while you were gone.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “Nothing like that. She has a bunch of stuff in storage. I still have stuff in storage. We’re both going to go through everything and then either combine what’s left over into one storage, or better, move it here. How do you feel about that?”

  “I think you should move everyth
ing here. It’s dumb to pay for storage you don’t need. This is your home.”

  “You haven’t seen everything I have in storage.” He chuckled.

  “Doesn’t matter.” I smiled. “We have a huge basement.”

  He grabbed me. I let out a whoop and a laugh.

  “We’re gonna get started on it this weekend. Want to help?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t want to help us get organized?” His eyebrows almost met his hairline.

  I could read his thoughts.

  You read about people changing their approaches to life the minute they get married. He, for a split second, wondered what he’d gotten himself into.

  I almost laughed.

  “I think I’ll take the opportunity to go through some stuff of my own.”

  “You have everything all sorted out and put where you want it. You were done with that kind of stuff ten minutes after we moved in.”

  “Not all of it.”

  “What’s left?”

  “Bernie’s trunk.”

  ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

  THE TEA SERIES

  Hot Tea

  Sweet Tea

  Iced Tea

  Green Tea

  Peppermint Tea

  Tea To Go

  Summer Tea

  Traditional Tea

  Tea & Honey

  Happy Tea

  Dark Tea

  Healing Tea

  Strong Tea

  THE TEA SERIES: THE BLENDS

  Romantic Blend

  Perfect Blend

  THE GIRLS SERIES

  Las Vegas

  Hawaii Can Wait

  On the Road (Again)

  Spoiled Fruit

  THE AUNTIE SERIES

  Abbie

  LESSONS, THE SERIES

  Consequences

  Coming soon — Promises

  Learn more about Sheila and her books at www.SheilaHorgan.com