Page 25 of Whisper Through the Pines

“I came on the bus.” She waved a ticket. “I came to see my sister.”

“You came alone?” Maggie raised both eyebrows. “Where are your parents?”

“They didn’t come back.” Jill’s eyes filled with tears. “These people came and took me and my sister away. They made me stay with horrible people. I never saw my sister again. The woman told me I should be taken to Black Rock Falls like my sister because that’s where all the bad men killed people.” She held her cup with two hands and blinked at Raven. “I didn’t believe her about the bad men and came to find my sister.” She sniffed. “She’ll beat me if she finds me. I took money from her purse to buy a bus ticket.”

Raven smiled at her. “You’re so brave. Don’t worry, we’ll find your sister. What’s her name?”

“Rebecca but I call her Becky.” Jill sniffed. “Don’t take me back to the horrible people. They lock us kids in closets.” She looked at him, her eyes pleading. “My mom told us if we needed help, to go to the sheriff and you would keep us safe. I couldn’t find a sheriff, and the cops just took me back to them. At the bus station I asked the lady selling the tickets if Black Rock Falls had a sheriff and she told me the bus stop is right opposite the sheriff’s office. So, I got on the bus.”

Anger shot to the surface and Raven swallowed hard. He patted her on the arm. “You did the right thing. You’re safe here. I promise.”

At that moment, Jenna and Kane came through the door with Duke close behind. A few seconds later, Jo and Carter followed. Raven looked at the girl and straightened. “That’s the sheriff. I’ll go and tell her what’s happened. I’ll leave Ben here to keep you company.”

“I like Ben.” Jill leaned against Ben. “He’s smiling at me.”

Raven followed Jenna up the stairs to her office and waited for her and Kane to remove their coats. “There is a young girl downstairs. She arrived just before on the bus. She’s alone and tells of bad treatment in what I assume is foster care. She believes her sister is in Black Rock Falls. Something happened to her parents and people took her away and gave her to what she describes as a horrible woman. The child is very obviously neglected. Her name is Jill Marsden and her sister is Rebecca.”

“Okay, I’ll go and speak with her, but I’ll call Rhett and Julie. They’re involved with the foster care system at the ground-roots level. They might be able to help find the sister.” Jenna made a note on her legal pad. “For now, she can be under my protection, I’ll initiate an emergency protective services petition and we’ll care for her at Her Broken Wings. There are other kids there she can play with while we find her sister.”

Rhett Lawson and Julie Wolfe had met at a career’s convention the previous year and Rhett had arrived in town when he’d discovered he’d inherited a ranch in Black Rock Falls. Attracted to Julie, he’d made his life there but not as a rancher, as a children’s advocate, and now worked alongside Julie at children’s services. Raven pulled at his short beard. “She needs medical evaluation. Not by me, by a female doctor. She told me the woman who cared for her locked her in the closet.”

“That’s my next step.” Jenna smiled at him. “I’ll call ahead and ask for an assessment by a female doctor. Trust me, now she’s here, I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“If we can find out where she came from, we can bring in Agents Beth Katz and Dax Styles.” Kane leaned on the back of his office chair, his face grim. “If anything bad is happening there, they’ll come down on them like a ton of bricks and make sure they’ll never foster kids again.”

Raven nodded slowly. “She trusts sheriffs, not cops. Her mom told her to go to the sheriff if ever she needed help. It seems to me she went to the local cops and they sent her back each time.”

“So, she runs away frequently.” Jenna pulled on her bottom lip. “This case might be out of my jurisdiction, but the girl is my responsibility now.” She nodded as if making up her mind. “I’ll go and talk to her.” She turned to Kane. “Would you notify Rhett and Julie—oh, and Father Derry? We’ll need a safe place to take her once she’s been cleared by the doctor.”

“I’m on it.” Kane went to his desk and picked up the phone.

“Okay.” Jenna smiled at Raven. “Let’s go.”

Concerned, Raven walked beside Jenna down the stairs. “I wonder what happened to her parents? Is it usual for kids to be split up?”

“We’ll find out and, yes, they do split up families in some counties, but not in mine.” Jenna didn’t look at him. “I’ve been trying hard for the last seven years to clean up the foster system. I believe that ours is the best in the country. Mainly because we have good people here who are checked regularly as well as the kids. I make visits to the schools to speak to them privately and they know if there’s a problem, they can speak to me or any of us here. Now we have Rhett and Julie working at children’s services, it will be an added level of protection.” She shot him a side-eye. “It’s all about being vigilant but not intrusive.” She smiled. “So, this little girl wasn’t afraid of you?”

Shaking his head, Raven smiled. “No, not at all.” He shrugged. “Ben might have helped. She liked him.”

As they entered the foyer, Emily came through the door with Rio and Rowley close behind. Raven paused to greet her. “What brings you by so early?”

“I need to discuss a few things about the current cases.” Emily’s gaze moved to the little girl behind the counter. She indicated with her chin toward the child. “Who’s that?”

Raven moved deeper into the office out of earshot. “Maggie found her on the front steps this morning. Jenna is getting more information, and Julie and Rhett are on their way.” He sighed. “It appears she ran away from a foster home and it seems she’s been mistreated. I don’t have all the details.”

“Oh, I left when Julie got a call.” Emily frowned. “The poor kid. Well, she’ll be in good hands. Rhett has been very involved in his work and Julie did her first court appearance last week as children’s advocate. They love their work.” She smiled. “Julie is very happy. I honestly believe she and Rhett are a match made in heaven. They get along so well, and like the same things.”

Raven leaned his hip on a desk. “Like us?”

“Yeah, like us.” Emily gave him a long look and then sighed. “I’d better head to the conference room. I’ll see you in a few minutes. You’re coming soon, right?”

Raven nodded. “Yeah, as soon as the little girl is safe.”

As Emily reached the stairs, a woman burst through the glass doors, raven hair flying. She didn’t fit Black Rock Falls, with her faux-fur ankle-length black coat, ear muffs to match, and knee boots with six-inch heels in patent leather. Raven groaned, recognizing someone from his past. He went to turn his back. Too late.

“Johnny Raven. Or should I say Dr. Johnny Raven?” The woman ran toward him arms outstretched. “Imagine finding you in this backwoods town. I couldn’t believe it when I caught your advertisement for security canines on a flyer at the airport.” She threw her arms around him. “It’s fate, I tell you. My flight was grounded due to a mechanical problem. I’m here until they can get me another flight.”

Raven peeled himself from her grasp, one eye on Emily, who stood frozen on the stairs. “Jennifer, it’s been a long time. I didn’t recognize you. How did you find me?”