Lucinda was on her way out of her office when the phone on her desk rang. Normally, she would have just kept going but now, with Charley missing, she couldn’t ignore the call. ‘Pierce,’ she said into the receiver.
‘Hey, lieutenant, this is Brubaker. That little girl you were worried about this morning, someone matching her description came in here in cuffs.’
‘In cuffs? I don’t think it could be her.’
‘Lieutenant, it looked a lot like that photo you emailed down here. You’d better check it out.’
‘Where is the kid?’
‘Property crimes, second floor.’
‘Thanks,’ she said, and went down the stairs to the floor below hers and asked the first officer she saw.
‘You just bring a little girl in here?’
‘Yeah. Sure did.’
‘Is her name Charley Spencer?’
‘Don’t know, lieutenant. But she’s in Interrogation Room B; you can go check her out.’
Lucinda went down the hall to the room in question, stretched out her arm to push on the door. ‘Hold on a minute, Lieutenant Pierce.’
Lucinda turned around and spotted the sergeant walking her way. ‘What’s up, Cafferty?’
‘The little punk’s been asking for you.’
‘What little punk?’ Lucinda asked, hoping it wasn’t Charley.
‘Her name is Charley Spencer – leastways that’s what she told us before she got stubborn and refused to talk to us until she talked to you.’
Lucinda’s hands planted on her hips. ‘So why didn’t you call me, Cafferty?’
‘She didn’t kill anybody, lieutenant. It wasn’t a case for Homicide. And since I knew she was lying when she said that you were her friend, I didn’t want to bother you.’
‘You idiot. She wasn’t lying. You didn’t call me because you didn’t want me around to keep an eye on you. I’ve heard of your division’s reputation with minors. Twist their minds up until they confess and then the hell with the truth. I’m going in to talk to her.’
Cafferty glowered at Lucinda as he slid between her and the door. ‘I can’t let you do that, lieutenant.’
He was two inches shorter than Lucinda and of average height and build. In her heels, she could look down on the top of his head at the brown hair slicked back from his forehead. She lowered her stare to his artificial contact lens blue eyes. ‘Out of my way, Cafferty.’
‘Sorry, lieutenant, conflict of interest. I am following procedure when I refuse you access to the subject,’ he said with a smirk. ‘Can’t have you interfering with an investigation, now can we?’
Lucinda had a strong urge to punch him in the face but held it back. ‘Why did you arrest that child in the first place?’
Cafferty leaned back against the door and folded his arms across his chest. ‘It’s solid, lieutenant,’ he said with a smile. ‘9-1-1 got in a call saying that there was an act of vandalism in progress.’
‘Who made the call?’
Cafferty shrugged. ‘Don’t know. No identification on the incoming call and the number tracked back to a disposable phone.’
‘Oh, that sounds real credible.’
‘It panned out, lieutenant. We sent out two squad cars. When the four officers got there, she was inside the apartment. She was caught with a can of red spray paint in her hand – kind of like catching literally red-handed,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘She also had a cut on one of her hands that she admitted was from the broken window and she was standing with her feet ankle deep in water. They figured she had to have been there all night to flood the place. They’re trying to estimate the damages right now – only a broad estimate of twenty to sixty thousand at the moment, they’re working on narrowing that down. No doubt, though, it’s a major crime. Your little friend is in a shitload of trouble.’
‘You’ve got the wrong kid. She was not out all night. She was home in bed.’
‘You know that for a fact, lieutenant? Were you there, too?’
‘No,’ she sighed, regretfully accepting the fact that he was completely within his rights as lead investigator to block her from having any contact with Charley; in a similar situation, she would do the same. She was determined, though, to get other concessions. ‘Can I just see her through the glass?’
Cafferty eyed her suspiciously as if he thought it was a trick. ‘OK. Come on into the observation room.’ After stepping inside, Cafferty warned her, ‘Stay clear of the control panel. I don’t want you getting a wild hair and pressing the intercom button to deliver a message to that kid.’
Lucinda suppressed the urge to lash back at him and turned her focus to the little girl on the other side of the glass. It was Charley all right. But Lucinda could not believe that Charley was responsible for destroying that apartment. There had to be another reason for her presence at the scene.
She studied Charley’s posture. Her shoulders were slumped, her head bowed and her hands folded neatly on the table in front of her. It broke her heart when she realized Charley’s little legs were too short to reach the floor. They just dangled from the seat, dripping water from her shoes and the cuffs of her pants. Anger rushed in to replace her sorrow. The least they could have done was get the child – any child – out of wet clothes.
At that moment, as if Charley sensed Lucinda’s eye upon her, the girl raised her head and stared straight at the glass. Everything about her demeanor said she was docile, cowed, ready to cooperate – perhaps on the verge of making a confession – except for one thing: Charley’s eyes flashed bright. Lucinda knew that look. Charley was thinking and planning, and biding her time. The expression on her face indicated her determination to find a solution and her commitment to never, ever giving up. A smile crossed Lucinda’s face.
She spoke to Cafferty without turning to face him. She forced herself to restrain her involuntary smile. ‘OK, Cafferty, would you at least let me be the one to inform her father?’
Cafferty paused for a moment and then said, ‘All right. But make sure he understands he needs to get down here so we can question his daughter.’
When Lucinda reached the stairwell, she called Evan on her cell.
‘Lucinda?’ he answered.
‘Yes, Evan. I found Charley.’
‘Oh, thank God! Is she OK?’
‘She’s unhurt, Evan.’
‘Where is she?’
‘She’s here at the Justice Center.’
‘I’ll get there as quick as I can.’
‘No, Evan, wait.’
‘What do you mean “wait”?’
‘She was arrested on a serious charge – felony vandalism.’
‘What?’
‘I don’t think she did it, Evan, but she’s in one heck of a mess.’
‘Well, get her out of it, Lucinda.’
‘I can’t. They will not let me talk to her. I got to see her through the glass and she’s doing fine – I can tell because the fire is still in her eyes.’
‘Isn’t there something you can do to get her out of there?’
‘No, Evan. They know of our personal relationship and because of that, my opinion is irrelevant; it’s the way it should be, but it certainly has me frustrated.’
‘OK. Fine. I’ll take care of it. I’m on my way.’
‘No, Evan. There are two things you need to do first.’
‘You’re trying my patience, Lucinda.’
Lucinda wanted to say something sarcastic about that but knew it wasn’t the right moment. ‘You need to do two things before you drive over.’
Evan’s exasperation was apparent in the quality of his sigh. ‘What?’
‘Charley needs a change of clothing, including shoes.’
‘Shoes? Good grief, what happened to her?’
‘She walked through some water, Evan, that’s all. She’s not hurt but still I think she needs to get out of her wet things.’
‘Oh, I see they’re taking care of her really well—’
‘Evan, don’t worry about that now. Just get the damn clothes.’
‘What’s the other thing?’
‘She needs a criminal attorney – a good one. She’s up against a division that has a long history of success in obtaining confessions from minors and doesn’t seem overly bothered if the kid’s story matches the facts at the scene. She needs the protection of a skilled attorney.’
‘I didn’t pick a winner for myself, when I was in trouble. I really don’t trust my judgment here, Lucinda. Who would you call?’
‘Bill Waller. I don’t know if you can get him. He’s really picky about the cases he takes on. But if you tell him that a Detective Cafferty in the property crimes division is pushing your daughter, I imagine, if he’s available this morning, he’ll at least get you through this initial phase.’
‘What’s the name of his firm?’
‘Waller, Clutter and Rea. And if Waller is not available, try for one of the other partners. They’re all good but Waller has the most experience with the tactics that division has used with minors in the past. He’ll know what he’s up against and won’t need to waste time assessing the situation.’
‘OK. OK. I’m on it. You sure Charley’s going to be OK until I get there?’
‘I’ll make sure Officer Brubaker keeps an eye on her. He’s a good guy. If anything looks questionable, he’ll let me know right away. I’ve got to run out to the warehouse but I’ll have my cell on and will not turn it off. Call me if you have any problems.’
The call ended and now Lucinda felt helpless. She’d done what she could do to protect Charley but it didn’t feel like enough. And what if her instincts were wrong? What if Charley was somehow involved? How could she help her then?