Where the Forest Meets the Stars(84)

Ursa nodded, her head down.
“You’re not Ursa, so you can tell us.”
She looked up. “I guess you’re right.”
“What was going on with Ace and Cory?”
“Ace was there because he was always there. And he . . . you know . . .”
“What?”
“He went in Ursa’s mother’s room with her. Her mother said they were partying when they did that.” The glint of shame in her eyes revealed that she knew very well what they were doing in the bedroom.
“Why was Cory there?”
Ursa looked down again. “He came with Ace. To party.”
“Was he using drugs?”
“He acted like that, and he was drinking beer. He was waiting . . .” She leaned over and again picked up the stuffed tabby kitten to give her fingers something to fiddle with.
“Was Cory waiting to go in the bedroom with Ursa’s mother?”
“Yes,” Ursa said.
“What was Ursa doing?”
“She was watching TV in the living room. There was a movie on—that one where the twins meet at camp.”
“Parent Trap .”
“Ursa liked that movie.”
“Was Cory in the same room with Ursa?”
“Yes,” Ursa said, looking down at the tabby kitten.
“Tell me what Cory was doing,” Jo said.
“He kept laughing at the movie and saying how stupid it was. It made Ursa mad.”
“Then what?”
Ursa finally looked at Jo, begging with her eyes not to say more.
“Please tell me. It will be okay.”
Tears dripped from her eyes. “He put his hand on Ursa where he wasn’t supposed to. She told him to stop it and pushed him away. He said he would give her five dollars if she let him do it. He said she was going to be like her mother anyway, and if she was going to be a whore, she should start when she was little . . . because girls were prettier when they were little . . .”
Gabe pressed his hand to his mouth.
“What did Ursa do?” Jo said.
“She said her mother wasn’t a whore. But Cory laughed. Ursa got mad and turned off the TV. She tried to go in her room, but Cory grabbed her arm. He pushed her onto the couch and he—” Her tears became sobs. “He tried to take off her pajamas. She was screaming and hitting him . . .”
Jo was too choked up to ask, but Kellen did. “What happened? Tell us.”
“Ursa’s mother ran out of the bedroom,” she cried. “She screamed for him to get off Ursa, and she picked up a chair and hit Cory on the back with it. Ace grabbed the chair away from her, but Cory took it from him. He smashed it on the side of Ursa’s mother’s head.” Ursa covered her face. “He hit her really hard! She fell on the floor, and something was coming out of her head. It was her brains, I think . . . they were coming out . . .”
Jo pulled Ursa against her chest and held her.
That wasn’t enough for Kellen. “Why did you run?” he asked. “Did they threaten you?”
“It wasn’t me!” Ursa screamed.
“Why did Ursa run?”
“Ace was cussing at Cory and saying Ursa saw and she would tell the police. Cory said she wouldn’t tell, and he grabbed Ursa. He put his hand on her neck and pressed hard. Ursa knew he was going to kill her. She kicked him and bit him and got away. She ran in her room and jumped out the open window.”
“Wasn’t there a screen?” Kellen said.
Ursa shook her head, wiping her palms down her cheeks. “The landlord wouldn’t put screens in even though Ursa’s mother wanted them. They used to get in fights about it.”
“What was the name of the man in the restaurant?” Kellen asked. “You said he was Ace and Cory’s friend.”
“I don’t know if he was Cory’s. He was Ace’s friend. He used to party with Ace and Ursa’s mother.”
“What’s his name?”
“I’m not sure. Sometimes they called him ‘Nate’ and sometimes they called him ‘Todd.’”
“Nathan Todd!” The detective slapped the back of his hand against his notebook. “Now I’ve got him!”
“Do you know him?” Gabe said.
“Oh yeah, I know him. And the phone we found on Ace’s body shows he received a call from Todd around the time you were in the restaurant. With Ursa’s ID, I can pick him up.”
“On what charge?” Gabe asked.
“He’s an accessory to attempted murder.”
“Won’t that be difficult to prove?” Gabe said.
“We have our ways.” He put the notebook in his pants pocket and walked over to Gabe. “I have to thank you, Mr. Nash,” he said, shaking his hand. “We’re rid of two major scumbags. You’ve made my job a lot easier.” Jo found it unsettling that he was congratulating him for killing two human beings. But she saw the world differently than most, having been raised by pacifist parents.
Jo had absorbed many of her parents’ philosophies, and one of them was the belief that children deserved to be told the truth as much as possible. She often pondered how Gabe’s life might have been different if he’d been raised with the truth, knowing he had two fathers who cherished him.
Jo climbed off the bed. “Before you all leave, I’d like to say something.”
Everyone in the room—detective, deputy, psychologist, and social worker—faced her. Gabe looked nervous, maybe for good reason. Jo was too exhausted to know if what she was about to do was best for Ursa.
“I have a feeling this will be the only time I have so many people who are deciding Ursa’s future in one room.” Facing the two law officers, she said, “I know you won’t decide where Ursa goes, but whether or not I’m charged with a felony will affect her future.”