The Pawns that Gleam [Bk 3]

ch.54 Poisonous Medicine

But Carlo hasn't shown his face in the 9 months that he has been out of jail. He's either horribly sorry or he's planning some kind of revenge. Either way, he wasn't here and he wasn't threatening me and I had to be content with that for as long as I could.

That being said, Carlo's dirty crimes made me think about Karter and when he will be punished for what he's done to Becky both emotionally and physically. 

Fear over her welfare brought snippets of my asthma back and I had forgotten where my inhaler was so I had to buy a new one. I felt like a kid again when I took a deep breath but it worked almost instantly. Sometimes you need the right medicine to cure things. Other times, you need the right words.

In the weeks that Becky's been hiding in me and Harry's apartment, she has grown meeker and quieter and it scared my because she's the loud, outgoing one. But in the time that her so-called father has been harassing her, she has been anything but herself. 

So I decided to take a more drastic stance. While nonna gathered decorations for Darcy's upcoming party, which we will hold at the restaurant, I told Becky we were going shopping. She wasn't even in the mood for that ploy.

I placed a very eager Darcy in her car seat and drove us all to the police station. Her jittery claps and kicks numbed to silence when she saw that we weren't actually going to the mall.

I kept looking over at Becky but the sheer, quiet terror on her face was so uncharacteristic that it was natural. Becky never showed any emotion except the ones you saw on billboards. The ones of girls smilling at inanimate objects and staring at mirrors or holding hands with strange men. She showed what everyone expected. She never showed what everyone was dying to see: vulnerability.

Harry jumped up when he saw us enter the station.

"Angie, is everything ok?" he whispered loudly. 

I nodded. Everything was ok with me, but not with Becky.

Harry looked down at Darcy and kissed her cheek. She mumbled and reached her arms out to him but I didn't let him take her.

A few of the officers turned and blinked in confusion when they saw me, Darcy and Becky.

"I want to report a crime" I declared. 

The staff all hovering around the front desk stopped in their tracks and stared at me holding Darcy. Harry took my hand led me to a more private sector of the office. Becky sat down by the waiting section and looked at her hands.

"Angie, what are you talking about?" he asked hurriedly. He scanned me up and and down quickly, for signs of any physical damage but I shook my head.

"Harry, I don't care how many trials it takes, but Karter needs to be sentenced to death row" I hissed. 

Harry took a deep breath and rubbed the back of my hand.

"He will be punished, Angie, but the paperwork that need to be filled out before he can even be on the waiting list for a trial and that would take months" Harry shook his head.

"But Harry-"

"Angie, you know I care about Becky's safety, even if she sometimes has no regard for mine, and you know I would help her in any way possible but-"

"Harry, if a man hurt Darcy, you would want that criminal to be reported on the spot, would you not" I asked loudly. 

Harry stared at me and his eyes widened to reach the balance between terror and fury. I held Darcy in my arms and Harry looked down at her. She waved her small fist and he took it and kissed it.