The Perfect Child(44)

CASE #5243

INTERVIEW:

PIPER GOLDSTEIN

“You’re saying that all this time Janie never asked about her mother? She never said anything about Becky?” Ron asked.

“She didn’t.”

He looked at me in disbelief. I wasn’t sure he believed much of what I said.

“And you didn’t think there was anything odd or off about that?” Luke asked. The two of them exchanged a look.

“No, not at all. Kids who have been traumatized don’t talk about what they went through until they’re safe. I didn’t expect her to talk about it until months down the road.”

“You at least tried to talk to her about it, though, didn’t you?” Ron asked.

“Of course I tried. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. I questioned Janie about her mother.”

I’d asked all the standard questions. It was one of the reasons our first meeting hadn’t gone well.

“Can we talk about your mommy?” I had asked that day.

Janie had stuck out her lip and crossed her stick arms across her chest. “No.”

“I can see that you don’t want to talk about your mommy. Is it because your mommy is the one who hurt you?”

She had pointed to the hospital door.

“We can talk about something else if you’d like, but it’s not time for me to go yet,” I’d said.

Her eyes had filled with tears. “You go.” She’d pointed to the door again.

“How about we play with your stuffed animals?” I had picked up the dinosaur and elephant she’d been playing with earlier and danced them on the bed.

“No!” she’d screamed. “No!”

I had quickly handed her the toys. “Here you go. You can have them.”

She’d snatched them from me, hurling them against the wall, and screamed like she was in pain. Two nurses had rushed into the room and run to her bedside. Janie had thrown her arms around the one wearing her hair in a tight bun and buried her face in her chest. Her frail body had shaken with sobs.

“Make her go. I don’t like Piper. She’s mean.”

Every conversation we’d had about her mother since then had gone the same way. After a while, I had stopped asking because it didn’t matter. Not as far as my job was concerned. It wasn’t my job to find Becky’s killer—it was theirs.

“Did she ever speak with the Bauers about what happened in the trailer?”

“Not as far as I know.”

“And they would’ve told you?”

“I’m pretty sure.”

“Did they ask you what was happening with the case?”

“They were more concerned with helping Janie transition into their family and society than what was going on in the case.”

Ron rubbed his chin. “I’m having a hard time believing they weren’t worried about it.”

“It didn’t seem weird to me at the time. It just didn’t. If it had, I would’ve done something about it.”

“Really? They were just totally fine with Janie’s mother being left for dead in a closet? The same closet where Janie was tied up before she escaped? They didn’t want the case solved?”

“They didn’t think it mattered.”

“What?” Luke snorted. “How could it not matter?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. It just didn’t.”

“So then why did you ask them if they still wanted to go through with the adoption?”

I tried to hide my surprise. Who had they been talking to? Doing my best to appear unmoved, I said, “Yes, I did ask the Bauers if they wanted to go through with the adoption, but only because it’s my legal responsibility to do so. I have to let them know there’s no going back after they sign the adoption paperwork. Once you adopt a child, you retain the same responsibilities you would have if you’d given birth to the child, and you’re legally obligated to care for them until their eighteenth birthday.” My voice grew stronger as I spoke. “Foster-to-adopt parents have the option of deciding not to care for a child any longer. Fostering is often temporary or a trial period to see if they are a good match. Sometimes families are matched with children that aren’t a good fit, or they discover it’s not as easy as they thought it’d be. It’s hard work to foster-adopt a child. Lots of foster parents are relieved when we offer them a way out.”

“The Bauers still wanted to proceed even with all the difficulties they were already experiencing?” Luke asked.

“More than ever.”

I’d never forget the day I had brought them Janie’s new birth certificate, proudly stamped Janie Bauer. I’d waved it in front of them. “It’s official—she’s yours!”

The two of them had thrown their arms around each other and jumped up and down, spinning around the living room. Janie had danced with them. Christopher’s grin had been so wide you could see what he had looked like as a little boy. He’d grabbed me and pulled me into their circle, twirling me around with them. Their happiness had been contagious, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

The memories hurt. I looked down at my hands twisting on my lap. This case would haunt me in ways I would never forget.