‘Inspector, what the hell do you want me to do?’ Gloria cried.
‘Release her to me,’ Kim said, surprising herself as much as Gloria.
Forty-One
‘It’s been a day, hasn’t it?’ Kim asked as she carried Ava’s suitcase to the car.
It had taken some convincing to get Gloria to agree to release the child into her care, but after explaining what Penn had seen at the Chance house, Gloria had relented until she had assessed the living conditions for herself.
There had been many stipulations, but by far the most important was that Ava was not allowed to have contact with Daniel.
‘Can I go home now?’ Ava asked as Kim buckled her into the Golf.
‘Not yet, sweetie.’
‘I miss Daddy,’ she whispered, a sob escaping her small body.
‘I know, Ava, and I know he misses you too,’ Kim said. ‘Tell me some of the games you play while I drive.’
Kim had very little doubt about the sexual abuse allegation, but she’d been deceived before. She was no child psychologist, but this kid wasn’t withdrawn, she wasn’t moody, she wasn’t frightened of Daniel or anxious in his presence. Kim knew the reasons children didn’t talk about sexual abuse. They thought it was their fault, or they’d been convinced that it was normal, or that it was a special secret between child and abuser.
Some children were bribed or threatened and told they wouldn’t be believed. Many children cared deeply for their abuser and didn’t want them getting into trouble.
Kim wanted to make sure she wasn’t making a terrible mistake.
‘We sometimes play Scrabble, but Daddy makes up words that aren’t real. He tries to convince us that they are real words, but they’re not. It makes Mummy laugh.’
Kim chuckled as they headed towards her destination.
‘What else do you play together?’
‘Hide-and-seek,’ Ava said. ‘At bedtime he gives me ten to hide.’
‘Ten what?’ Kim asked.
‘He counts to ten and then comes to find me, but I think he counts for longer so I can find a good spot.’
Clever way of getting her upstairs at bedtime. Turn it into a game.
‘What’s your best hiding place?’ Kim asked.
‘I used to be able to squeeze myself into the drawers under Mummy’s bed, but now I’m too big. If Daddy can’t find me, he stomps around calling my name in strange voices, and I have to try not to laugh to give myself away.’
If this guy was doing anything to this kid, she’d bloody well kill him herself.
‘Then what?’ Kim asked.
‘He takes off my arm and rubs it with cream, and then Mummy comes to read me a story.’
The kind of childhood that every kid deserved… except that now her mum was dead, and her dad had been accused of molesting her.
‘Sounds like you and your dad are best friends,’ Kim observed.
‘He can’t be my best friend!’ Ava chuckled. ‘He’s my dad.’
‘Dads can be best friends too, and lots of best friends have secrets. Do you and your dad have secrets?’
Ava shifted in the seat uncomfortably, and Kim felt her blood run cold.
