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Dan decided it was time for a short break. Marjorie brought in lemonade and they all stretched their legs a bit. Ossie showed Maria how to play Fortnite.
He took advantage of the break to speak to Marjorie. “I’m guessing you’ve seen all kinds of kids come through here.”
She nodded. Blonde. Braids. Late 40s, early 50s. Gap between her front teeth. “You would be right about that.”
“Including kids who’ve been abused.”
“Sadly true.”
“What do you think about Ossie?”
“Do you mean, do I think he was abused, out in that remote cabin he told the police about?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. He doesn’t seem to have much to say about this Joe, even though Joe was the only person he saw for years.”
“Ossie doesn’t display the classic signs of abuse, the prevaricating and hiding. The secretiveness. The fear of being alone. But I do sense there’s something he’s not telling anyone. Of course, that’s not uncommon with kids placed in foster homes. They all think they’ve done something wrong, even if they haven’t. They think they’re being punished. They’ve learned to believe they’re inferior, don’t deserve better than they’ve gotten. And Ossie is older than most of the kids that come through here. Legally speaking, assuming he is Ossie Coleman, he’s eighteen.”
“Does that make him more likely to recover? Or just more damaged?”
Marjorie shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.”
Ossie and Maria finished their Fortnite grand combat. Ossie explained that he had only learned the game a few days ago. Maria hadn’t played before at all, but she proved frighteningly talented at it. All that Fitbitting must improve the hand-to-eye coordination, Dan reasoned.
He noticed that Ossie seemed a bit more at ease. Maybe he was getting used to them. “How did you get away from Joe?”
Ossie shook his head. He looked as if he were trying to recall, trying to haul a memory out of deep storage, but it wasn’t coming. “I don’t remember. I think we had...some kind of fight.”
“Like...a physical fight?”
“Yeah. I think he hit me—pretty hard.” He pointed to the left side of his head. “That’s how I got this.” A serious head wound. “My clothes were covered with dried blood. Enough to cause a girl to scream when I ran up to their car.”
“The police say they found you at a downtown crossing.”
“Yeah. I saw a group of people. I ran up to them and told them who I was.”
“You said, ‘Hello, I’m Ossie Coleman.’”
“Actually, my first words were, ‘Can you give me a ride home?’”
“And by home you meant—”
“The cabin. I didn’t know anyplace else. Then I told them my name. The man’s eyes bugged out. I guess he remembered when I disappeared, way back when. He called the cops.”
“After you told the police who you were, they tried to confirm your identity.” But they were unsuccessful. And they still hadn’t been able to confirm that he was or wasn’t who he claimed to be. They hadn’t found the cabin in the woods, either. The problem was, they had no location, not even a rough geographical area, which made searching almost impossible. “So they contacted the Coleman relatives. Your grandfather. Your uncles.”
“Yeah.” A grin broke out on his face. “I never knew I had relatives. I never thought I had anybody.”
“Your grandfather has a ton of money,” Maria said, with her usual bluntness.
The smile faded from Ossie’s face. “Yeah.”
“That doesn’t make you happy?”
“Seems like that makes everything more complicated. If there was no money, no one would care if I was really Ossie. But since there is, they’re suing me.”
That summed it up accurately enough. “They want to be sure, that’s all. It’s not impossible that...an imposter could come along and pose as you to get the inheritance. It’s been tried before.”
“Yeah. I get that. It sucks. But I don’t need a lot of money. Just enough to do what I want to do.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “And what is it you want to do?”
Ossie looked embarrassed. “Aw...you’ll think it’s stupid.”
“I won’t.”
“You’ll tell me I’m just dreaming.”
“Every great career starts with a dream.”
“Well...if I had my druthers...if I could do anything I wanted—I’d be an astronaut.”
Hadn’t seen that coming.
Ossie leaned forward, excited. “You know, they’re training new people right now, out at Cape Canaveral. Not far from here. The president says we’re going back to the moon and then Mars. Man, I’d give anything to be part of that. Sailing through the stars. Bein’ a hero. Someone people admired. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
He didn’t answer for several moments, because he knew if he did his voice would betray his feelings. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what you should go for. Never let other people crush your dreams.”
“But for that, you have to go to college. You have to get trained.”
“You’re going to need some money.”
“Maybe a little, yeah.”
“Did you tell your grandfather about your dreams?”
“No. I don’t think he’s made up his mind about me yet.”
“He’s afraid he’ll get his heart broken,” Maria surmised.
“I’d never want to do that.” Ossie paused, his eyes turning downward. “When I found out I had family, I was thrilled, you know? I thought they’d be just as excited as I was. I was wrong.”
“I’m...sorry.”
“That’s why I want you to handle this case for me. I don’t care about the money. Just give me enough to go to school—they can keep the rest. But I want them to know I’m part of their family. I like them and I want them to like me. You know what I mean?”
“I sure do,” he replied quietly.
“I guess, growing up with just Joe, I didn’t know what I was missing. But now I do. I want to belong.”
He bit down on his lower lip. “Everyone should have family.” He pushed to his feet. “Let me start investigating this, Ossie.”
“So you’ll represent me?”
“Rest assured, Ossie. We will do everything we possibly can for you.” He paused. “I know how important family is. I’m not going to let anyone take yours away.”