Guardian Of Justice. Carol Steward

through the tiny opening. And by the time she made it, who knew where Betsy would be?

      “What happened?”

      “Mickey hurt me, so Cody…” She choked up and couldn’t talk.

      “What did Cody do?”

      “He got mad at Mickey, and—” The noise of a motorcycle roaring down the quiet street drowned out her words. “—bat and broke the window. And Mama told me to scat.”

      Kira recalled the time her brothers had run through the sliding door playing football, and how upset her mother had been. Hiding makes perfect sense to me, but… “Mamas get mad sometimes, don’t they? Did you say Cody was mad at Mickey?”

      “Yep. Mickey’s mean. He’s a bad dude.”

      Kira glanced around the yard, certain that Mickey was the crazy man who’d scared her. Kira leaned closer to the basement window and looked inside. She didn’t hear anyone else in the background, but saw a soft glow coming through a doorway—likely the source or the light? “Betsy, are you alone in the basement?”

      “Yep, I locked the secret door.”

      Secret door? Kira looked harder, getting as close as she could without sticking her head in the window well. She couldn’t see much, and felt for cobwebs. It felt clear.

      She eased even closer to the window well and finally ducked her head in, bracing herself against the brick house. There weren’t just lights in the other room, there were plants. Lots of them, from what she could tell. “Was Mickey coming after you?” She tried to keep her focus on the little girl and still per around inside. If it wasn’t so bright in the other room, I could see her better. “Betsy, I want to help you. Come on out.”

      “Mama be mad,” Betsy said with a catch in her voice.

      Kira didn’t miss things like that. “I’ll talk to your mama for you. I want to help you and Cody.”

      She was met with silence again.

      She waited several minutes before she went on. “Betsy, I know you’re scared. Together we’ll find a way to help you and Cody. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She picked up the bear the child had thrown out. “What is your teddy bear’s name, Betsy?”

      Kira waited, and finally she heard movement. And then a little blond head again appeared in the opening. The child looked around before climbing out to Kira, hesitating as if she had second thoughts.

      “It’s okay, Betsy. I’m going to help you.” The little girl’s eyes reflected not only sadness, but fear and neglect. Kira’s heart ached. “Here you go, Betsy. Your teddy missed you.”

      The little girl snatched the bear from Kira’s grip. “Fuzzy.”

      FOUR

      “Miss Matthews?” Dallas paused. “Williams, where’s my ride-along? I told you to watch out for her.”

      Kira started to answer, but one look at the fear on Betsy’s face told her to wait. The child was Kira’s priority now. “Come here, Betsy. It’s okay. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

      “She was next to the car just a minute ago,” the other officer answered.

      Dallas didn’t sound happy, a fact she could hear in his voice even from the other side of the house. “Kira!”

      Betsy started to run, but Kira caught her.

      “We’re back here,” she said quickly, then glanced at Betsy. “It’s okay, honey. It’s not Mickey. This is a police officer. He won’t hurt you.”

      Dallas rushed around the corner of the home, then came to an abrupt halt. “Oh, there you are.”

      Betsy let out a squeal, and Kira wrapped her arm around the little girl. “It’s okay.” Dallas was tall, with broad shoulders, a menacing sight with the glow of the streetlight behind him. He must look frightening to such a petite girl. Kira let go of Betsy, stood up and offered her hand instead. The little girl shied away when Dallas looked down at her. Betsy clung to her ragged bear…what was left of it.

      Kira grasped the child’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Betsy, Officer Brooks is our friend. He’s going to help you, and Cody, too. Aren’t you, Officer Brooks?”

      Dallas’s blue eyes met hers, and Kira felt his anger fade. He reminded her of her oldest brother, Kent. Strong and stubborn. But when it came to kids, she could see his soft side.

      “Yeah, we’ve been worried about you, Betsy. We couldn’t find you.” He knelt down several feet away and smiled at the little girl. “Did you dial 911 for help?”

      Betsy tightened her grip and shook her head, inching behind Kira.

      “It’s okay if you did. It was very smart to call. And we came here to help you. Betsy, did you get any scratches from the broken window?” he asked gently. Kira realized that with his military haircut, Dallas looked a little like a teddy bear, with a stocky body and full face shadowed with dark stubble.

      The little girl kept moving farther away, spinning Kira around in the process. As soon as Betsy realized she was face-to-face with Dallas again, she ducked behind Kira once more.

      “I’m going to stay right here. I won’t come any closer. Can you show Miss Matthews your arms so we can make sure you’re okay?”

      Betsy showed one arm while keeping a death grip on Kira, then switched.

      Dallas gave a smile of approval. “Thanks, Betsy. Could you answer a few questions for me?”

      The frightened child nodded, peeking out from behind Kira.

      “Do you know if Cody was playing baseball tonight?”

      She shook her head.

      “You don’t know?” Dallas prompted.

      “No, he wasn’t playing baseball,” Betsy said softly.

      Dallas glanced at her bear, then back at her. “What was Cody doing?”

      “He was mad at Mickey,” she whispered, repeating the story of Mickey hurting her, so Cody took a swing at him with the bat. “I don’t like Mickey. Cody don’t, neither.”

      Officer Brooks glanced at Kira, obviously sharing her concern. “Did Mickey hurt you, Betsy?” Kira asked.

      Betsy immediately shook her head. Her response was almost too quick.

      “If he’s hurting you, or your brother, or your mom, Betsy, you need to tell Miss Matthews so we can make sure he doesn’t anymore.”

      Betsy turned away.

      “Let’s go back into the house. We can talk more later.”

      Dallas hadn’t missed the child’s body language, either, Kira noted. She watched the interaction with admiration. She didn’t have fond memories of the officer who’d taken her and her younger half-brother Jimmy away after her parents’ car accident. And she would never forget the night Jimmy’s family had taken him away, leaving her with the foster family. Which was half the reason she was here tonight. It was time someone made Protective Services fit the name.

      After Officer Brooks asked Betsy several more simple questions, he said, “Why don’t you go into the house and see your mother?”

      Betsy took off running.

      Kira sent him a silent plea, which he ignored. He started to follow the child.

      “I need to talk to you,” she said quietly. He stopped, and she continued talking. “I’m not comfortable leaving the little girl here. She was trying to sneak out of her house.”

      He glanced at the running child, then back to Kira. “She’s not too concerned to go back now.”

      As soon as she was out of earshot, Kira cleared her throat and crossed