Protector - Laurel Dewey [174]
Kathy sidled up to Jane and spoke quietly. “It’s not easy keeping track of all the girls’ personal possessions, not to mention their likes and dislikes. But I do! I know every single one of these girls inside out.”
Jane glanced over to Emily, who was showing one of the children where the bathroom was located. “Every girl in this room?” Jane asked, alluding to Emily.
Kathy kept her face forward with a phony smile pasted across it. “Every single one. I know what they love . . . I know what they fear.”
Jane turned to Kathy, contempt shooting from her eyes. “Is that right?”
Kathy faced Jane, matching her contemptible glare. “Yes. And every girl here has been taught to tell her parents anything she sees that scares her or makes her sad.”
“How ironic,” Jane said with a smirk. “I’ve taught Patty the same thing.”
Kathy observed the girls as they chatted amongst themselves and arranged their sleeping bags. “Perhaps I should stay for a little bit until the girls get settled.”
Jane opened the front door. “Oh, now Kathy, if I’m not allowed to hang with them, you sure as hell aren’t. See you in the morning!”
Kathy addressed the girls. “Girls, listen up!” The chatter gradually ceased. “I’m leaving now. Mrs. Calver will be available if you need anything. Since she doesn’t have a telephone, I’m going to leave my cell phone right here.” Kathy pulled out her phone and set it on the side table by the couch. “Now, that’s not for play. That’s only for emergencies. You dial 9-1-1 and then you call me, okay?” Jane bristled as Kathy held court, obviously sending out a loaded message. The girls nodded their heads. “And remember, girls!” Kathy continued. “What are the rules when someone knocks at the front door? We only let them in if they are someone we know or . . . ?”
All the girls, except for Emily, chimed in. “Someone we trust.”
Kathy let out a breath of air and turned to leave. “Happy sleepover!”
The girls plotted out their various sleeping locations across the living room carpet. Jane closed the front door, locking both the handle and the dead bolt.
Emily looked up at Jane. “Mom? Haven’t you got someplace to go right now?” Her eyes urged Jane out of the room.
“Why, yes, Patty. I do. I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs anything.” Jane pulled out a cigarette from the packet in her shirt pocket, lit it and sauntered down the hall to the kitchen.
“Mrs. Calver?”
Jane turned to find Heather standing behind her. “What is it, Heather?”
“Are you going to smoke in the house?”
“Yes,” Jane said, her irritation level rising. “Why do you ask?”
“I have smoke allergies. So do Mary and Virginia. Mary even has asthma.”
Jane regarded Heather as she would a suspect back at DH. “Is that a fact?”
“Yes,” Heather said, her steely eyes sharpened on Jane. “That’s a fact!”
“I’ll crack a window,” Jane turned and walked into the kitchen. Behind her, she heard the overly dramatic sound of Heather coughing in her direction. Jane kept her back to Heather, as she opened up a bag of chips.
Heather stood in the kitchen entryway for several more seconds, shooting daggers at Jane with her eyes. Without Jane noticing, Heather glanced over to the sliding glass door. She spotted a three-foot long wooden dowel propped up against the wall. She recognized the dowel as a tool to place in the floor tracks against a closed sliding glass door to make it difficult for intruders to break in.
Jane turned around. Heather quickly took her eyes off the dowel and stared back at Jane. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Heather?”
“No, Mrs. Calver,” Heather said as she spun around on her heels and crossed back into the living room. “Hey, Patty. If you look in my bag, you’ll find all the CDs!”
Emily eagerly opened Heather’s bag and brought out a stack of country CDs. “Let’s put on Shania Twain!”
Heather smiled the same pasty grin her mother perfected. “That’s my favorite!”
Emily plopped the CD in the boom box and hit the play button. Shania blared forth with “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” The girls began bopping their bodies back and forth to the beat of the song