Light-headed, Clary held Leefe’s hand walking inside of the police station.
Jesse stopped at a door. “Wait inside.” She looked pointedly at their hands, glaring at Clary.
“Think she’s angry?” Clary said, opened the door, and then froze as she connected with the saddest eyes she’d ever seen. Howie held Devi beside a slender young boy.
“Ms. Ellis.” Devi wiggled out of Howie’s arms and ran to Leefe. She still wore the clothes that Clary had bought for her, but there was blood on them. The children had obviously been crying, their faces streaked with dirt and tears.
Leefe held Devi, hugging her. “Tough day, huh?”
Devi snuggled into Leefe as Jesse came in with papers in her hand.
“Howie, Leefe, sign these release forms. I talked to Beverly and set up an appointment.” Jesse checked the papers. “Two o’clock, this Thursday. Be sure and take a copy for yourself.”
“Ready to go?” Howie said to the boy.
“Devi, be good. You know where I am,” the boy said, his voice high and scared. Devi nodded and buried her head against Leefe’s neck.
“Could we have a ride?” Leefe turned to Clary with a smile.
“Of course. Do you have some clean clothes for her?”
“We’ll find them at the day care,” Leefe said, handing the papers to Jesse.
Devi pulled away and began to cry. “The box at Papa’s. I forgot.” The tears ran across her black eye, emphasizing the color in the room’s lights.
“We’ll get it,” Clary said, turning to Jesse to see if there was more.
“You’re welcome,” Jesse said sarcastically and settled on the corner of the long table.
Clary handed her car keys to Leefe. “The car’s open. Why don’t you and Devi wait for me there?”
The room cleared. Jesse and Clary stared at each other, and both started to talk at the same time. Jesse went quiet, mouth set in an angry, straight line.
“Thank you,” Clary said deliberately. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Stay away from this part of South Port, Clary.”
“I know this town’s changed. So have I.” Clary crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “What does that have to do with—”
“Leefe’s not like us. You thanked me, but she didn’t.” Jesse’s face flushed. “Don’t get involved, Clary. You’re only here for the summer and I know you. You don’t do casual. Look at Leefe. All that homeless baggage and she can barely carry on a conversation.”
“What? I like the way she talks, and I’ve never had anyone listen as closely as she does. As a matter of fact, she’s one of the most interesting women I’ve ever met.” Clary pushed away from the wall. “She’s not like us? Who are you referring to?”
“She doesn’t have the background—”
“Do you mean our little group of friends, like Kaye and Sharon? I didn’t even know Leefe knew Sharon until tonight. They were friends.”
Jesse came off the desk in a hurry. “I believe they knew each other, but I don’t believe they were friends. Sharon wouldn’t have wiped her feet on Leefe Ellis.” She scowled at Clary. “The best she’ll ever do is the day care or work with the homeless.”
“That’s mean, and what’s wrong with that? Robin worked in a bank. She left without saying good-bye, took my heart and Hannah.” Clary’s blood pounded through her body.
“Yeah, well…” Jesse put her hand on the doorknob. “If Leefe and Sharon were friends, why won’t she tell me why Sharon left? Talk to Linda, the woman who owns The Docks. Ask her about Leefe.” And she was out the door.
Clary pushed out a breath. God almighty. She’d never heard that kind of arrogance from Jesse. Sweat trickled down her back as she walked out of the building to her car. Her hands shook so hard she couldn’t get the key into the ignition until she’d tried several times. Leefe held Devi in the backseat.
“Jesse tore out of here like she was on a call,” Leefe said. “Was it bad?”
Clary looked at her in the rearview mirror. “I hardly recognize her. I want you to know that I said you and Sharon had been friends.”
Leefe met Clary’s gaze in the mirror “I know what Jesse says. I’ve heard it all, firsthand.” Her mouth twisted. “I know who I am, and that’s what counts. I’ll show you how to get to Devi’s. I called Albie and told her we’d be there soon.”
*
Clary took a left down the alley behind the old theater, a place from her childhood. It had the best popcorn in town but had been closed for years. The alley was pitch-black except for her car’s headlights, and there might have been people shifting away, or were they just shadows? Still shaken over the argument, Clary felt as if she was seeing things.
“Do you have a flashlight?” Leefe’s voice broke the silence.
Clary let her car idle and went through her glove box, finding a heavy duty flashlight. She took the smaller one for herself.
“There.” Leefe got out of the backseat with the flashlight. “Come with us, Clary. I don’t want you out here alone. Lock the car.”
The three of them stepped inside an open door, and Clary realized it was a storage room. There were towels, or some sort of rags, covering the floor. She shone her light upward. The entire room was cement bricks. Storage boxes were stacked neatly against the walls, and Clary thought they might be films, and then saw the boxes were stenciled “Tickets.” Fat, half-burned candles lined the floor in front of the boxes. Leefe had her flashlight trained on the corner where Devi was throwing shoeboxes around. Clary turned, and her heart leapt into her throat. A man stood in the doorway.
“Mr. Johnson,” Devi yelled and ran toward them, holding a small wooden box.
“Hello, Devi,” he said. “Ms. Ellis.”
“Hi, Jim.” Leefe smiled at him.
“I wondered whose new car was outside,” he said. “I heard about the trouble with Devi’s folks today.”
“I’m taking her to the day care until we can get this sorted out,” Leefe said. “How’s things here? Everyone down for the night?”
While they spoke, Clary shone her light on another wall. There were three metal buckets in the corner. The odor told her that this was Devi’s “bathroom” and the buckets hadn’t been emptied. She backed away in a hurry, bumping into an industrial single sink, and flashed the light inside. Everything was moving. There were cockroaches everywhere. Her skin crawled when she saw maggots, and she pushed back a gag.
“Can new people move inside?” Jim was saying, and Clary heard respect in his voice. Maybe this was a part of what Leefe did for the police in South Port?
“No, not tonight, but if you don’t see anyone here by tomorrow afternoon, I think you’d be okay.” Leefe swept the light around the room. “Would you do me a favor? Just stack their things over there, on top of the ticket boxes. I’m not sure of anything about this family yet.”
They moved outside and Clary caught a light odor of pot in the warm air, mixed with the sharp smell of beer. A hand brushed her shoulder. She jumped and swept the flashlight around her.
“Move, bitch,” a male voice growled, and she was surrounded by older kids. Heart racing, she froze.
“Gerald.” Leefe’s voice was sharp.
“Ms. Ellis…didn’t see you.” The teenager turned back to Clary. “It’s dark. Sorry.”
The light from her flashlight also showed younger children that looked like the group she’d seen at Mojo’s, dirty and thin. The group edged past, down the dark alley toward the street, and she stepped back with her hand on her chest to slow her heart.
They rode back to the day care without a word, her stomach churning.
*
At the day care, Devi took her medicine, and Leefe made her a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of milk while Albie and Clary got her clothes into the washing machine. When Leefe took Devi upstairs, they looked through the closet for clean clothing. The jeans would make it, but the new T-shirt was probably beyond saving.
Albie held up Devi’s shirt. “God,” she murmured.
“Jesse said the father almost beat the mother to death,” Clary said.
Leefe came downstairs and checked the clock on the wall. “Albie, I know your guy’s in town. It’s not that late so go find him and relax tonight. I’ll stay with the kids, meet with nurses in the morning, and you can come in late tomorrow. When you get here, I’ll go home for clean clothes and a shower.”
“Works for me,” Albie said, gathering her things. “Jacob’s had aspirin so he should be good for the night. I charted his temperature. Give that to the nurses.” Albie gathered her things, gave Leefe a quick hug, and left.
“She could use some downtime,” Leefe said absently when Albie had gone. “What a day.”
“What’s going to happen to Devi?”
“I don’t know. Lawyers, social services, and police handle things like this. God only knows what those kids saw today, and Beverly will get them some help. If what Jesse said is true, the father’s going to jail, and they’ll never leave the children with their mother if she lives. Damn, I hate this.This can happen in a moment.” Leefe sighed tiredly and stepped back.
“It happens in families that aren’t homeless too. Look at Sharon. How could you have been better parents than Maureen and Joe?”
Leefe gave Clary a thoughtful look at that. “Thanks for everything you did, the breakfast, dinner, Devi’s clothes, and…” Leefe pulled in a shaky breath. “And you.” She laid a finger on Clary’s lips. “You taste really good.”
“So do you. Get some rest and see you tomorrow,” Clary whispered with a smile, kissed her lightly, and left.
Clary drove toward Aunt Maureen’s, trying to slow her mind down, and calm her shaking hands. She practically had whiplash from all the emotions she’d waded through today. She’d been truly frightened tonight. It wasn’t the first time she’d been afraid, but it was the first time in South Port.
She pulled into the garage, turned off the motor, but didn’t move. The town had changed, but what hadn’t, and who was Linda at The Docks that Jesse had mentioned? She knew it was a bar that had opened when she’d been in England but she’d never been inside. And God, Jesse. She felt really bad about Jesse and the things they’d said to each other.
She took off her shoes and walked to the yard. The grass felt dry against her feet, and she searched the sky for clouds but it was clear. They could use some rain. The leaves overhead were black against the moonlight in the quiet night, and the lake shone beyond the beach.
She’d come home to South Port, to see what part of herself could be salvaged and straightened out, but Leefe had been the last thing she’d expected. Her body had only given her a test run with Felice, but Leefe was a blinking neon sign that spelled YES. If she’d tried, she couldn’t have found someone more different in her life’s experience.