The Halfblood Sister

Chapter 4: The Rescue

Joleen

The pizza was so good that the nice guy got for us. He told me to call him Pax and he seems real nice. I don't get any bad feelings about him so far. I'll find out when I have to be alone with him. I can't remember the last time I felt so full. I am so sleepy and I feel like I've been up for days. Mother was able to save enough EBT to get us some cupcakes for my birthday a few days ago. We had ice cream and chips. I hid the rest of the bag after she and Dad were no longer interested in the fact it was my birthday so that Leslie and I would have food in worse times.

They had fought pretty loudly that night and I didn't sleep well. I was sick from the sugar and running to the bathroom. That bathroom I had found her in this morning. I can't stop thinking of that bathroom and how dirty it was. I tried to stay clean as best I could by showering after gym at school. I would wash my sister in the tub I kept fairly clean with what I was able.

I used boiling water and let it cool till I could wash her. Mother would tell me that being dirty was very unbecoming of a young lady and I needed to wash myself "down there" as often as I could at that time of month so the men didn't smell me like chum to sharks in the water. She wasn't very delicate in her descriptions to me. I never told her they already had picked up on my scent because she would only have blamed me. It was a different scent my mother was referring to. How was I to know?

The interview with Pax didn't go as badly as I thought it might. I don't know why I was so scared they would think I had killed them. I knew what our life was like and how easy it was for this to have happened but were they going to see it like that? I had watched too much crime TV I suppose. I had listened to too many crime podcasts in the times I was making my brain focus on something other than pain or hunger. He had asked me to tell him what I remembered over the last few days and I didn't mention my birthday. His eyes tell me he feels sorry enough for me as it is. I told him how tired I was and it's starting to get dark outside now. Leslie is sleeping on a couch inside of the detectives lounge and I'm sitting right beside her.

They are taking us to a group home tonight that houses children who have suffered a traumatic experience. I have heard of this place and go to school with a couple of kids who are fosters there. They seem like they are taken care of and that they aren't abused or anything. I just don't know how permanent this will be and I know sometimes the children are separated by age. I can not allow that to happen. I have to make sure Leslie isn't away from me overnight. Luckily, Detective Pax has talked with them on my behalf and seems to think that this won't be an issue.

Detective Asher

It's quite obvious that Joleen has been through some inappropriate experiences based on her guarded demeanor when I was interviewing her in my office. She was squirmish and fidgety as though just waiting to jump if I had touched her. I worried she might bolt out the door. It took some time to get her to relax and calm down to trust me. She did eventually and I got a very straightforward, matter-of-fact description of what Joleen had seen that morning. She told me and then she took a deep breath as though closing a chapter she never wanted to have to read again but knew she would.

Watching the way that Joleen took care of Leslie while she fed her the pizza made me determined to have the therapeutic foster facility they had made out at Caster's Ranch be where the girls are going. I called the facility and I also called in a favor with the lady who works with the social services program for child placement after traumatic experiences. This was able to ensure that Jo and Leslie would be together and they qualified for any kind of reason that was needed to be considered traumatized. I felt relieved when they called me back to say it was approved. This is such a fresh start for them no matter the horrible circumstances that brought them to this place. Like a Phoenix out of the ashes!

Later that night after work I fell back into my recliner and poured myself a brandy. I had a feeling about these girls that I couldn't shake. I had heard about a couple of missing girls years ago. Their dad had taken off with them and disappeared. They had belonged to the pack that was in my old town. I can't remember very well what the story was but I did remember a trial would be held in the alphas's court. It had been someone in the higher ranks' son and grandchildren.

We didn't get too involved in the wolf business in Langston. They handled their own and stayed out of town and we stayed out of the woods. I hadn't known there were any bloodlines in this part of the state but those green eyes of Joleens make me think of The Emerald Pack. We had never had any bad business with the Emeralds. They kept to themselves and didn't kill livestock or mess with the locals. I had just learned from my predecessor that they ran a tight ship and I wouldn't have to worry about them.

I can't even begin with words on how to explain my reaction when I was told werewolves and vampires and most of all the other things you heard sneak around in the dark, really do! This wasn't a Twilight scene or anything by any means. No way. Vamps and wolves don't have some big beef with each other or anything. At least not what I've ever seen. They just exist and you wouldn't know who was who if they didn't have a reason to tell you. They don't try to live in one another's territories though as that makes for competition in hunting.

A lot of vampires are hegan these days. That's my own word I use to describe a vamp vegan. I find it a bit humorous in such a serious world. I'm getting drowsy now after three of the brandys. I'm going to go to bed and I'll make contact with someone in the morning over the girls. They're safe for the night and honestly should be left alone where they are and not be dragged into any of that craziness.

I mean, I guess I don't have to contact anyone. I don't even know for sure if these girls have anything to do with that. They don't seem strays to me either. Pfff I was just letting my mind run away. Why would I introduce an idea like that to these kids who have had so much taken away from them already? It could traumatize them so much worse if the strangers show up and reject them. I won't say a word to anyone about this and I'll help take care of them myself!