"Well," Meredith said, "we do some chores during the day. She has some responsibilities that are all hers, like laundry, and she makes a few dollars a week from vacuuming and dusting. Then, when Brody gets home, I usually go out to work with the church or such, so she's not really left alone." She looked at him. "What do you two do?"
"Not much," Brody said, hugging Faith again. The girl visibly leaned away, but he still wouldn't let go. "We watch some TV, right? And she spends a lot of time in her room. You know how they are at this age."
"Because you send me there," Faith told him.
"What are you going to do out here?" Brody asked.
Faith gave him an annoyed look. "Watch TV."
"But you like playing with your clothes," he told her. "And you read some." Then he looked at me. "And you know how girls are at this age."
"What do you mean?" I asked, because he was using that like a catchphrase or empty excuse.
"Well, they're starting to figure out they're girls. It's all makeup and dressing to look older than they are. Giggling with their friends and such."
I lifted a brow, mostly to keep myself from scowling. "But she doesn't have friends, you said."
"In general," he corrected. "And she has a shower before bed, but that's pretty much it. We're not exciting people out here in the country, Cy. I'm afraid there's not a lot to tell you."
I nodded, but I wasn't done with this yet. "Are girls as bad as boys about trailing water from the bathroom to their room?"
"What do you mean?" Meredith asked.
I decided to lie out my ass. "Oh, I'm always cleaning up after my roommate. I swear he wraps a towel around his waist but doesn't bother drying at all. The entire hall has his wet footprints on it. Just wondered if girls are the same."
"You dry off pretty well before going back to your room, don't you?" Brody asked her. "Except your hair, that's always wet, but your shoulders look pretty dry."
I was going to rip this man's balls off and feed them to him. But I needed proof. I needed something I could report. Something verifiable. Something official. The problem was that I had no idea how to get it without putting Faith at risk. I knew this would be easier without her in the room, but I also had a feeling that Brody would lie his ass off without her here to correct him.
"And how are things at home?" I tried.
"They fight a lot," Faith said. "Like, always."
"We do not," Meredith corrected, but she was looking at me. "It's just that we're under a lot of pressure with the wedding coming up. Thankfully, Brody's been taking Faith to her dress fittings, because I can't fit everything in my schedule. It's like he doesn't have time for any of it except getting her ready. I think it's because he wants her to be the perfect little flower girl."
"What does your dress look like, Faith?" I asked.
Brody chuckled and finally let go of Faith to reach in his back pocket. The girl quickly moved back over to stand by me while the man flipped through his phone until he found what he was looking for. Then he passed it over.
"It's not quite done yet, but she looks beautiful, don't you think?"
I lifted it up, angling it so Faith could see. "What do you think?"
"I don't like it," she said. "But it's better now. Brody has a lady making it for me." And she flipped the screen sideways, looking for an earlier picture.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Brody tense. On the phone, images passed of her in the middle of putting it on. Then a previous session, then one even earlier. One picture showed her entire bare back. Another had her in just her panties, with no bra, but she was holding the fabric up against her chest. Still, they were all concerning, and from the changes in the dress, there had been quite a few of these fittings. Then she found what she was looking for.
"See? It was like a prom dress!" she said.
It was. It also looked like something for a woman and not a child. "Why'd you change it?" I asked, trying to make my voice sound nothing but curious.
"Oh, that's just the bottom layer," Brody explained. "The seamstress said it has to be tight-fitting, and then she put the layers of stuff over it. The gauzy fabric. Faith says she hates it now, but she tried to keep it like that."
"I didn't like this part," Faith said, pointing to the neckline. "The lady said it wasn't appropriate."
On impulse, I flicked to the next picture, just curious to see what else was in there, but Faith quickly slapped her hand over the screen. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. I'd already seen what she was trying to hide, although I pretended like I didn't. It may have been the hardest thing I'd ever done.
"Brody!" Faith whined. "Why did you take that one?"
