Just a Mask

Secret's Out

   Charlize's POV
"I'm gunna start simple, why did you run from us last night?" Lassiter asked.
   "Like I told you last night, my father told me to."
   "So do you do everything he tells you to?"
   "Yes, usually. And last night was no different, he told me if I didn't want a lesson to be thought, I would run."
   "A lesson to be taught?" Jules, I think her name was.
   "Yes, I got home late, I was afraid that I was in big trouble."
   "Well, now you're in even more trouble. Your dad, Jimmy, is a bad man," I knew what he was talking about, "He has helped people smuggle drugs and alcohol into California. Not to mention, he used many of them for his own stash. You have had to have known he was using. Why did you not notify the police?"
  "I-I..." luckily, the dude the called Shawn came into the interrogation room.
   "Lassie, that's enough," he said to Lassiter.
   "I'm not even close to finished Spencer!" He snapped. I jumped at the intensity of his voice.
  "Kid,  if you will, take off that hoodie and take of that makeup," Shawn er Spencer or what ever his name was, demanded while handing me a face wipe. I shook my head. I knew what he was poking at, but the fact that Jimmy hits me was my deepest, darkest secret.
   By now Jules and Lassiter were looking at me curiously.
  "I-I.." I started stammering again.
  "Do it now," Lassiter growled. Man, he reminds me a lot of... no I can't think that way. However, the intense stairs directed toward me made me relent eventually.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I took off my hoodie and revealed my cuts, bruises and scars. Jules gasped, the Spencer or Shawn dude looked at me knowingly and Lassiter scowled in disgust; to me or to Jimmy, I have no idea.
  "Did he do that to you?" Jules asked sadly. I just nodded.
   "Guys, get out here," a man that I didn't recognize poked his head through the door. He was pretty old, but not to old. He looked as if he were balding on the top of his head and he had a few wrinkle lines on his face.
   "Sure pops," Shawn/Spencer said to whom I now assume is his father. Everyone trickled out of the room and then, then I was left in silence in the grey cold room.
   Henery's POV
"Shawn, don't go in there," I tried calling out, but it was to late, per usual. Shawn, Gus, Chief and I were all watching the interrogation of the young girl until Shawn had to go in and make himself noticed, the attention hog. He told the girl to take off the hoodie and her make up and handed her a face wipe. Where the hell did Shawn get a face wipe? As she did what she was told, the three of us watching from the out side stood in horror and absolute shock. I knew that child abuse is an issue, but now in all my years have I ever had to take on a case of child abuse of this status. Her arms were covered in discoloration and it was absolutely grotesque. Grotesque, I like that word, I guess those cross word puzzles work the vocabulary. Setting my stupendous vocabulary aside, we had a problem and we had to fix it.
  "Guys, get out here," I called them out into the hallway.
   "What are we going to do with her?" Chief asked.
   "We can't send her to a regular girls home, not in her state. She will probably stay at the hospital over night for examination, but after that, I'm drawing a blank what to do here," Jules stated. A silence loomed over all of us.
   "I'll take her," I said after a couple of minutes, "I have Shawn's old room and I'm sure I can get something for us to eat other than just steak. I'll take her until we can find a permanent home for her."
   No one disagreed, and so, it was decided. I was to have another child in my walls. Hopefully, shell turn out better than last time, and not pretend to be psychic.
   Hey, another update, yay! Any who, keep reading and comment and vote!
                                  The Author