Cape Refuge (29 page)

 

C
ade waited until late that night, until the lights began going off in the nursing home. Then he returned early the next morning and waited some more. Rick Dugan never showed up. Realizing his trip had been for nothing, he decided to see what he could find out about Sadie.

He looked up the number of Miss Tina's Day Care, got the address, then made his way through town. He found it easily, then sat out in his car for a moment, bracing himself for what he might discover inside. Was there an abandoned child who needed her?

He went inside and found the children all lying on little cots and in their baby beds. It was naptime, and soft lullaby music played over the intercom.

One of the teachers got up and started toward him. “May I help you?” she asked in a voice just above a whisper.

“Yes,” he said, flashing his badge. “Is there someplace we can talk?”

She nodded to an office and led him inside. He closed the door quietly, hoping not to wake the children. These teachers probably needed this break.

“I'm Matthew Cade from the police department,” he said, not bothering to clarify that he was from Cape Refuge, not Atlanta. If Sadie was in trouble, he didn't want to lead a trail to her.

“Yes, officer, what can I do for you?”

“I understand you have a child here by the name of Caruso. Caleb, I think it is?”

“Yes,” she said. “I wondered if something was up—with his mother in jail and all those calls from his sister.”

Cade leaned forward. “His
sister
?”

“Yes,” she said. “Sadie keeps calling to make sure he's all right.”

“So—who does the baby live with?”

“His father, poor child. The rumor is that Sadie ran away. Is that why you're here?”

“No one's reported her missing,” he evaded. “How can I reach her father?”

“Oh, he's not
her
father. He's her mother's boyfriend—or he
was
before she went to jail. A real scary guy, if you ask me. No wonder Sadie ran away.”

He let those words sink in for a moment. Her broken arm and the bruises on her face bore witness to that fact. “Do you know how old Sadie is?”

“Sixteen. Sweetest kid in the world. I hope nothing happened to her. On the other hand, she's probably better off now. I feared for her, living with that man. Poor little Caleb. Shame she didn't take him with her.”

Cade took his pad out of his pocket. “Could you tell me his name?”

“I don't know his first name. Last name is Dent. I can give you an address, since you're the police. Caleb's mama registered him, but it's the same address.”

Cade wrote the address down, then looked up at the woman again. “Why is his mother in jail?”

“Some kind of drug charge. And she seemed like such a nice person. Nearly broke Sadie's heart. I know, because Sadie used to pick Caleb up every day.” She looked down at her desk. “Caleb. That's a Bible name, you know.”

Cade nodded.

“It's a good name for that baby. As scary as the father is, I'd say he's going to have to be very strong and courageous.”

Cade got to his feet. “Can I see the baby?”

“Oh, he's not here today. Sick, I guess. Didn't come in.”

 

 

C
ade had a lot to think about as he made his way back to the nursing home and checked at the front desk to see if Rick had been by. He hadn't.

He went by the Atlanta Police Department to see if a missing-persons report had been filed on Sadie. Either no one had noticed her missing or no one cared.

Then he found the street where Dent lived and counted off the house numbers until he was sure he had the right one. He pulled into the driveway of the old house with peeling paint and a leaning foundation. As he walked up the cracked sidewalk, he saw that the second step on the porch had caved in. Carefully, he stepped over it.

He heard a baby crying through the door and something crashed. The baby's cries hit a higher octave.

He knocked. When no one answered, he rang the bell and knocked again, harder this time. Finally, he heard footsteps bounding across the floor, and the door jerked open.

Through the screen he smelled the alcohol breath of the man standing before him with a week-old growth of beard and a baseball cap on backwards. Scraggly, dirty auburn hair stuck out beneath it.

“Yeah?” the man barked.

Cade knew better than to tip his hand about Sadie's whereabouts. “I was looking for Mrs. Caruso,” he said. “I'm with the school board.”

“Sheila ain't here,” he said, talking loud over the sound of the baby's cries. “She's in jail.”

“Oh,” Cade said. “And where is she being held?”

He gave him the name of the prison. “So is this about Sadie?”

“Yes. We're checking on her truancy,” he said.

“I didn't know they came after tenth graders. I thought you could drop out any time you wanted to.”

“We like to have our paperwork in order,” Cade said.

The man stepped out on the porch and spat. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his hairy chest covered a tattoo that was indiscernible. “Well, I ain't signing nothing,” he said. “That girl's nothing but trouble. I ain't even related to her except through that kid in there.” He nodded toward the door.

The baby kept screaming, anguished, gut-wrenching cries. “Do you need to go get the baby?”

“Naw, he squawks whether I'm holding him or not,” he said.

“Where is Sadie?” he asked. “I need to talk to her.”

“She ain't here right now,” he said. “Girl runs wild.”

“Do you know when she'll be back?”

“Got me.”

“When's the last time you saw her?”

The man squinted at him, as if he'd asked one question too many. “What difference does that make to you?”

“Just trying to get a clue where I might find her.”

The man studied him through his bloodshot eyes for a moment, then shook his head. “I got a baby to tend to,” he said.

Before Cade could answer, the man slammed the door. He heard him bounding back across the house as the baby continued to scream.

Cade's heart was heavy as he headed back out to his car. Something had to be done about that child. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to see that the man was an unfit parent. But first he needed to talk to the mother.

That would shed a lot of light on Sadie's and Caleb's situations.

 

S
adie's mother, Sheila Caruso, was in the jail in downtown Atlanta. Cade found it easily.

She came to the visiting room wearing a baggy brown jumpsuit. Her brownish-blonde hair was pulled back in a rubber band. He could see Sadie in her face and knew she had once been pretty.

She eyed him suspiciously through the glass, then picked up the telephone that opened their communication.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Mrs. Caruso, I'm Matthew Cade,” he said. “I'm police chief in Cape Refuge, and I wanted to ask you some questions about your daughter, Sadie.”

The woman burst into tears and leaned forward, her eyes fixed on his. “Leave her alone, won't you?” she said. “I know she's run away, but please let her go. Wherever she is, she's better off.”

Cade hadn't expected that. He waited for more.

“She wasn't safe in Atlanta,” she cried. “And neither is Caleb. If you're concerned about any laws being broken, then go get my baby out of that house, get him away from Jack. He'd be better off with almost anybody. Just, please, don't leave him with him.”

“Mrs. Caruso, if he's his father, then—”

Her eyes grew hard, more determined. Though she looked young—no more than thirty-five, perhaps—her skin was lined and tired. “You take children away from parents all the time. You can do this. I'm telling you, he'll hurt the baby. He may even kill him like he tried to kill Sadie.”

“Mrs. Caruso, if he's abusive, why hasn't anyone reported him to Human Services?”

“I have, but nothing's been done,” she said. “They think I'm saying it for spite, but I told them Sadie'd had a broken jaw and a concussion and two broken ribs. There are doctors who can vouch for it, X-rays, but they won't do anything. Sadie came here with her arm all bashed in and her face swollen, and I told her to get on a bus and go as far as it would take her. That's why she left. So you might as well not be looking for her. She's going to be all right. She's got a good head on her shoulders and she's been through tough times. She practically raised herself, when I was doing drugs, and she took care of me—”

She collapsed in sobs, and Cade felt as though he had intruded on her private sorrow. All he could do was hold that phone and avert his eyes. He looked at a spot on the ledge of the glass until she could speak again.

“She's run away before, but he goes after her, chases her down, and drags her back. I'm going to be in here for five years, at least. I want both my kids in one piece when I get out. ‘Til then, there's nothing I can do except beg. Please, I don't know why you're here, but please get my baby out of that house.”

“I'll do what I can,” he said. “Meanwhile, I can tell you that Sadie's safe, her arm's in a cast, and she just started a new job. She has a nice place to live and people watching over her.

Her face twisted, and she touched the glass. “Thank you,” she said.

Cade could only nod, for his throat was too tight to say another word.

 

 

T
he best Cade could do was report possible abuses to Human Services before he left Atlanta. It was clear that they were overworked and understaffed and had a long list of abuses to look into. He tried to convince them to move little Caleb to the top of their list, but he wasn't sure that they would.

As he drove back to Cape Refuge, everything kept running through his mind. He hoped the baby would survive the father's abuse, and he didn't know what to do about Sadie. No missing-persons report had ever been filed, and technically, she wasn't a runaway since her mother had sent her away. He needed to pray over this a while before he took any action. And while he was at it, he would pray for little Caleb, and for the mother who seemed so remorseful and helpless as she sat in prison.

 

C
ade went straight to Hanover House as soon as he got back to Cape Refuge. He found Morgan, Jonathan, and Blair in their parents' office, trying to figure out how they could hold onto the house if the city forced them to evict their tenants.

Blair noticed the somber look on Cade's face. “Cade, what's wrong? Has something happened?”

He shook his head. “No, I was just in Atlanta for the past couple of days trying to find some leads on Rick.”

“And?” she asked.

“Didn't find anything. But I came here to talk to Sadie. She home?”

Morgan looked up at him. “Upstairs. Want me to get her?”

“If you don't mind.”

Blair got up and came closer, searching his face. “Cade, what is it? Has she done something wrong?”

“No. I just . . . I found out where she's from.” As Sadie came down the stairs, he stepped out of the office into the living room. Blair followed.

Sadie stopped at the bottom and stared at him with big, worried eyes. It was clear she thought she had been found out, that she would be arrested and sent back to Jack.

“It's okay, Sadie,” Morgan said. She took her hand and pulled her down to the couch, sat next to her with her arm around her. Blair sat on the other side, staring at Cade as she waited. Jonathan kept standing.

Cade sat down and fixed his eyes on the girl. “I was in Atlanta today, Sadie.”

She leaned back hard on the couch, as if she knew what was coming.

“I met your stepfather.”

“He's
not
my stepfather,” she said. “He was my mother's boyfriend. That's all.” Her face twisted as she started to cry. “Why'd you go there? I haven't done anything wrong. I've been getting along with people, and I've got a job. I'm earning money. I'm going to be able to support myself and take care of everything.”

“Sadie, you're sixteen,” Cade said.

Morgan didn't look surprised.

“You don't understand,” Sadie said.

“I understand more than you think,” Cade cut in. “I told you, I met Jack. I saw what kind of man he is, and I can see what drove you away.”

She sprang up off of the couch and cut across the room. “He's the devil himself, that's what kind of man he is,” she said. “My mama let him move in because she was lonely and he gave her drugs. That's not the first dumb thing she's ever done.”

Morgan went to her. “But isn't she worried about you?” she asked. “I mean, your mother must be crazy wondering where you are.”

“My mother's in jail.”

Morgan caught her breath and looked at Cade.

“I met her too,” Cade said.

Sadie's face changed, and she stepped toward him. “You met my mom? You went to the jail?”

“Yes,” he said, “and the fact is, she begged me not to tell where you are. She said to let you stay here, that you were better off.”

“She's right,” Sadie said. “I may be sixteen, but I'm old enough to know when I'm in danger.” She took another step toward him and breathed in a sob. “Did you see Caleb, my baby brother? Is he all right?”

“I talked to his day-care teacher,” Cade said. “She said he seemed all right.”

“But did you
see
him?”

“No,” he said. “I heard him crying in the house, though.”

“I've got to get him out of there,” Sadie said. “He won't be safe. Jack's a crazy man. He has a methamphetamine lab, and he's a drug dealer. He gets high and comes home with all these lunatics for friends. And when Caleb cries, he just goes berserk.”

She knelt beside Cade's chair, looking up at him with beseeching eyes. “Please. Isn't there something you can do to get him out of there?”

“Your mother asked me the same thing.” He touched her shoulder and looked into those big eyes. “I'll do what I can, Sadie,” he said. “I can't promise anything. This is way out of my jurisdiction. But I do think you're all right staying here. No missing-persons report has been filed. Your mother knows where you are, and she gave her permission—so technically, you're not a runaway.”

Her face twisted. “You didn't tell
him
where I am, did you?”

“No,” he said. “You don't have to worry about that.”

“He's smart. A lot smarter than he looks. Every other time I've run away, he's found me.”

“You don't have to worry,” Cade said.

Sadie stood back up, and Morgan touched her face. “Honey, is he the one who beat you up?”

She nodded. “I should have brought Caleb with me. He beat me and threw me out of the house, and I slept in a car that night. The next morning I hitchhiked to visit my mom, and she told me to get on a bus, not to go back home for anything. But I shouldn't have left Caleb that way. He doesn't have anybody to protect him.”

“How old is he?” Blair asked.

“Nine months. That's all. He's so little, so helpless. He cries all the time unless I'm there. He misses Mom. And now he misses me.”

“We'll get him out of there, won't we, Cade?” Blair asked.

Cade nodded. “I reported him to HRS before I left town. Hopefully, they'll remove the child.” He looked at the broken girl. “I'll follow up on it, Sadie. I won't let you or your brother fall through the cracks.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

As he left the house, his heart broke for the desperate girl and for the baby whose cries would haunt him tonight.