Sharon said, “I took pictures on my phone. Would you mind taking a look and telling me what you think?” Without waiting for a response, she got out her phone and scrolled to the clearest image.
Niki took the phone from her outstretched hand. She stared at the screen for a moment and then swiped to see the other images, finally landing back on the one Sharon had first offered. Her face colored with sympathy. “Poor little thing.” She looked up and met Sharon’s eyes. “Someone needs to help her.”
“You think so?” Hearing someone else say what she’d been thinking was unnerving. “I had the same thought, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t witness anything abusive, just odd. And I don’t know the family.”
“It’s a hard call,” Niki said.
“Do you think I should call someone?”
“You mean like child protective services?”
“Yeah, like that.”
Niki twisted her mouth in thought and then shook her head. “There’s no abuse that you can prove. And you don’t even know who this kid is. It might turn out to be nothing.”
“But it seems like something,” Sharon said.
“I think so too.”
“So what to do?”
“Get to know them and watch. Trust me, if it seems odd, there’s probably something wrong. When you know more, when you have more actual information, then you can report them. If you do it too soon, you give them a chance to cover it up.” Niki sounded like she spoke from personal experience, making Sharon wonder yet again what she had gone through.
“Good advice.” Sharon peered through the window, but there was no one in sight and nothing to point to a problem in the Fleming household. She felt better having told Niki. Two sets of eyes were better than one.
Chapter Five
“Mia! Mia, where are you?” Coming from the direction of the front door, Ma’am’s voice sliced through the room. Mia, who’d crawled into the space between the couch and the wall, scrambled out. So far, no one knew about her hiding spot, and she wanted to keep it that way. When Mister was traveling, and Jacob was in his room or at school, and Ma’am was gone or busy, the spot behind the couch had become her place to just be, undisturbed. Of course there was her room in the basement, but she wasn’t allowed to go down there until the end of the day, the reason being that she had to stay within calling distance. Sometimes seeing her idle reminded the family of something that needed doing, so if she stayed out of sight she could have a few moments of peace. Ma’am didn’t like her on the furniture, and sitting on the stairs all the time was tiring. Being able to hide behind the couch helped, as long as she stayed alert. She still had to come when her name was called or there would be trouble.
And if Ma’am discovered she hid back there, punishment was sure to follow.
“Here, Ma’am.” Mia came out of the living room, meeting her in the front hall. Griswold, Mia’s faithful canine companion, trotted at her heels. Mia took Ma’am’s purse and keys, then turned to put them away: the keys on a hook in the kitchen, and the purse in the linen closet, a place Ma’am believed burglars would never think to look.
Behind her, Mia heard the thunk of Ma’am kicking off her high heels. She knew her next chore would be to retrieve them and put them on the shoe rack in Ma’am and Mister’s closet. First, though, they’d have to be inspected. If the soles were dirty, Mia would be expected to clean them, and if they were scuffed, she would need to polish them. Ma’am was very fussy about her things.
“Oh, what a day I’ve had, Mia!” Ma’am’s voice had a weary air. “I had to wait for an hour at the doctor’s office, and then he wouldn’t even listen to me. After that, I had to stop and look at fabric samples at the upholsterer’s, and that was your basic nightmare. Traffic was terrible, so I nearly missed my nail appointment. And then my friend was late meeting me at the restaurant for dinner. I’m completely frazzled. Believe me, I’ll never schedule so much in one day again. You’re lucky to be able to stay home all the time.”
Mia answered from the kitchen. “Yes, Ma’am.” She stood on tiptoe to put the keys on the hook. She had been proud when she’d first realized that she’d grown tall enough to do it without using the stool. That’s how she knew she’d changed since arriving at the Flemings’ house three Christmases ago. She could look at herself in the mirror, of course, but she didn’t like the way she looked. Ma’am cut her hair short in what Jacob called a Dora the Explorer hairstyle. So often she wished for longer hair, but every time it grew even a little bit, Ma’am got out the shears and chopped it all off.
It hadn’t always been so short. Once Ma’am had gotten impatient when combing it out after it was washed and said that Mia’s long hair was too much trouble. After that, the regular haircuts began. If only she had pictures, she could see exactly how it had looked back then and how much she’d changed in the meantime, but Ma’am had made it clear that photos of Mia were forbidden. Once Jacob had taken a photo of her with his phone and added bunny ears and a nose, which made her look so cute and funny too. He’d warned her not to tell his mother, saying, “If you do, you’ll be sorry.”
Sometimes Jacob said he would crush her, or throw her out in the yard face-first. He never did either of these things, but sometimes, when Ma’am berated him, she saw a change in Jacob, an anger simmering under the surface. To her, he was mostly nice, letting her have snacks when his mom wasn’t around since she often did his chore of picking up the dog poop in the yard. She didn’t mind. Griswold usually came with her and led the way, proudly showing her just what she needed to pick up. Silly little dog.
Mia went to put Ma’am’s handbag in the linen closet, tucking it next to the hand towels, then straightened the towels to keep them orderly. Next she went to retrieve Ma’am’s shoes. She was relieved to see that the bottoms were clean and they didn’t need polishing. That was one advantage to winter. Walking through snow kept Ma’am’s soles from getting dusty or splattered with mud.
In the kitchen, Ma’am yelled, “Mia, come here right now!”
Mia hurried to the doorway, a shoe in each hand. “Yes, Ma’am.” As usual, Griswold trotted at her heels. Jacob always said that he was Mia’s shadow.
“Did you finish the laundry and put it away?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Clean the upstairs bathroom and wash the kitchen floor?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Refill the soap dispensers and empty the wastebaskets?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Mia was proud to have gotten all of it done, and in record time, too, not that Ma’am cared how long it took.
“Where is Jacob?” Ma’am glanced over Mia’s head as if her son might come around the corner at any second. This was unlikely to happen, especially if Jacob knew she was home. Mia had once overheard him talking on the phone to a friend, saying that he hoped his parents would get a divorce, and if that happened, he’d go live with his father.
Mia pointed upward, indicating that Jacob was in his room. Jacob was a senior in high school this year. When he was in his room, his parents always assumed he was studying. She knew better.