Look For Me (Detective D.D. Warren #9)(42)

“Yep. Mother Del’s. Farmer and the dell, farmer and the dell.” The kid hummed again, then stopped just as abruptly. “But they got out. Real mom cleaned up her act, took them away. Who knew it could happen?” He shrugged. “They left. Didn’t see them again for years.”

“They left? But you stayed at Mother Del’s? Are you still living there?”

“Since I was five.”

“And the foster home is here in Brighton?”

“Farmer in the dell, farmer in the dell, farmer in the dell,” he droned.

“I’m confused. If the foster home is here in Brighton, and Juanita lives in Brighton, where did the girls go after they returned to their mom? Wouldn’t you have still been in school together? Seen each other there?”

“Roxy’s mom works at St. Elizabeth’s. That is Brighton. Foster home is Brighton. But Brighton is expensive, so Mother Del has many kids, especially babies. Lots of money in babies. But Roxy’s mom is a real mom, not foster care. State doesn’t pay for her kids. So she moved out to the burbs. Cheaper rent.” Mike nodded sagely, rocked back on his heels. “Stable housing being one of the conditions for a child’s return.”

I thought I was getting it. Brighton was too expensive for a single mom with three kids, so while Juanita had worked in Brighton, she’d moved outside the city, most likely commuting to keep her costs down. As Mike had said, the family court would’ve attached a number of conditions to her regaining custody of her children, and stable living conditions would’ve been one of them. “So when Juanita got Roxy and Lola back, they moved . . .”

The boy shrugged. “Out.”

“Okay, but they ended up returning to Brighton,” I filled in. “How come?”

“Charlie the contractor. He has a house in Brighton, fixing it up. He met Roxy’s mom in the ER. Cut himself on the job. She stitched him up. Then moved in with him. His house is closer to her job. Free stable housing. Conditions met.”

I nodded. “So Lola and Roxy had left the area, then returned. But not you,” I added quietly. “You had to stay at Mother Del’s.”

He blinked his eyes rapidly, didn’t say a word.

“When did you meet again?”

“Last year.”

“Roxanna showed up at the high school?”

“Right before Christmas.”

“She remember you?”

Mike stopped bouncing, stared at me. “She will never forget me.”

“What about the other kids from the foster home?” I asked slowly, starting to get some ideas. “She encounter them, too?”

“Anya, Roberto,” he said promptly, resuming his jangle. “Never get caught alone at Mother Del’s.”

“What did Roberto and Anya do, Michael?”

“Anything they could get away with.”

“Did they hurt you? Roxy? Lola?”

“We put Ex-lax in their food,” he said. “Ipecac syrup. Anything we could get away with.”

“You incapacitated them? To keep yourselves safe?”

Less talking, more jangling.

“Did you ever tell Mother Del about the things they were doing? Tell anyone?”

Mike’s eyes widened. Vigorous head shake.

“Okay. So when Roxy returned to Brighton, she saw you again, but also this Anya and Roberto.”

“Yes.”

“Did she recognize them? Did they recognize her?”

“Yes. Never get caught alone.”

“They tried to pick up where they left off? What—bullying and torturing Roxanna?”

“Never get caught alone,” he intoned again.

I thought I understood. And I wished Sarah had met Roxanna sooner. Because Sarah’s first instincts had been correct: Roxy had been terrified and she’d needed help. Her mother’s happily-ever-after with the contractor guy had apparently returned her and her sister to a slice of living hell. Which, being kids, they’d told no one about. I got that. Sometimes, adults didn’t speak up either.

“What about Lola?” I asked now. “She’s three years younger, meaning she was at a different school. Were there kids from Mother Del’s at middle school, as well?”

“Everyone has friends, especially mean kids who have mean friends. Roxanna is my friend. We’re outsider friends. But for Lola, family and friends, it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She wanted to feel safe everywhere.”

“Is that why she joined the gang? She thought belonging with a group like that would protect her from kids like Anya and Roberto?”

“She didn’t understand,” Mike said.

“Didn’t understand what?”

“Roxy told her she would protect her. That was Roxy’s job. Lola got into trouble. Roxanna kept her safe.”

“Roxy didn’t like the gang. Was she afraid for her sister?”

“She was afraid for all of us.”

“Because of being back in Brighton? Seeing kids from the foster home again?”

“Never get caught alone.”

“What about you, Mike? When Roxy and Lola left, you were all alone.”

“I kept Roxy safe. I tried to keep Roxy safe.”

“Ex-lax, ipecac syrup,” I filled in quietly. “What about a gun, Mike? Did you give Roxanna a gun? Or help her buy one?”