Once Lured

She said, “The last time we talked, you were afraid you’d have to send her back to her father.”

“Oh, no, we’ve got that legally sorted out. We’ve even got a restraining order to keep him away from her.

Riley breathed a sigh of relief.

“Jilly asks about you all the time,” Brenda said. “Would you like to talk to her?”

“Yes. Please.”

Brenda put Riley on hold. Riley suddenly wondered whether this was such a good idea. Whenever she talked to Jilly, she wound up feeling guilty. She couldn’t understand why she felt that way. After all, she had saved Jilly from a life of exploitation and abuse.

But saved her for what? she wondered. What kind of life did Jilly have to look forward to?

She heard Jilly’s voice.

“Hey, Agent Paige.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“Sorry. Hey, Riley.”

Riley chuckled a little.

“Hey, yourself. How are you doing?”

“Okay, I guess.”

A silence fell.

A typical teenager, Riley thought. It was always hard to get Jilly talking.

“So what are you up to?” Riley asked.

“Just waking up,” Jilly said, sounding a bit groggy. “Going to eat breakfast.”

Riley then realized that it was three hours earlier in Phoenix.

“I’m sorry to call so early,” Riley said. “I keep forgetting about the time difference.”

“It’s okay. It’s nice of you to call.”

Riley heard a yawn.

“So are you going to school today?” Riley asked.

“Yeah. They let us out of the joint every day to do that.”

It was Jilly’s little running joke, calling the shelter the “joint” as if it were a prison. Riley didn’t find it very funny.

Riley said, “Well, I’ll let you go have breakfast and get ready.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Jilly said.

Another silence fell. Riley thought she heard Jilly choke back a sob.

“Nobody wants me, Riley,” Jilly said. She was crying now. “Foster families keep passing me over. They don’t like my past.”

Riley was staggered.

Her “past”? she thought. Jesus, how can a thirteen-year-old have a “past”? What’s the matter with people?

“I’m sorry,” Riley said.

Jilly spoke haltingly through her tears.

“It’s like … well, you know, it’s … I mean, Riley, it seems like you’re the only one who cares.”

Riley’s throat ached and her eyes stung. She couldn’t reply.

Jilly said, “Couldn’t I come to live with you? I won’t be much trouble. You’ve got a daughter, right? She could be like my sister. We could look after each other. I miss you.”

Riley struggled to speak.

“I … I don’t think that’s possible, Jilly.”

“Why not?”

Riley felt devastated. The question struck her like a bullet.

“It’s just … not possible,” Riley said.

She could still hear Jilly crying.

“Okay,” Jilly said. “I’ve got to head over to breakfast. Bye.”

“Bye,” Riley said. “I’ll call again soon.”

She heard a click as Jilly ended the call. Riley bent over her desk, tears running down her own face. Jilly’s question kept echoing through her head …

“Why not?”

There were a thousand reasons. She had her hands full with April as it was. Her job was too consuming, both of her time and energy. And was she in any way qualified or prepared to deal with Jilly’s psychological scarring? Of course she wasn’t.

Riley wiped her eyes and sat upright. Indulging in self-pity wasn’t going to help anybody. It was time to get back to work. Girls were dying out there, and they needed her.

She picked up the folder and opened it. Was it time, she wondered, to get back in the arena?

CHAPTER THREE