The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [78]
She went inside the shanty, trying to move automatically without stopping to think. If she started to think, she would panic. She was inside some sort of crazy nightmare. Someone would be looking for this little girl. How close were they? What in God’s name was she going to do if they showed up? She could slip back into her mountain woman role, holding the gun to her face again, while that someone took the child away. And with any luck, that would be the end of that.
She put the pot of water on the fire, then helped Sophie out of her clothes. In spite of her lack of experience with eight-year-old girls, Zoe was quite certain that Sophie was not typical of children her age. She allowed herself to be undressed with no modesty whatsoever, as though having a stranger lift off her shirt, tug off her filthy underpants was nothing new to her. That’s when Zoe noticed the large bandage on the little girl’s stomach.
“Why do you have this bandage here?” she asked.
“It’s my catheter,” Sophie said. “It’s taped there so it doesn’t flop around.”
A catheter. Lord, what had she gotten herself into with this child?
“Ugh, those are gross.” Sophie grimaced at the sight of her underpants. “Can we throw them away?”
“Yes,” Zoe said. “As a matter of fact, I think we’ll bury them.” She tossed the soiled underwear a few yards away from them, then wrapped a green bath towel around the little girl, tucking it in at her chest. “Why do you need a catheter, Sophie?” she asked.
“We hook it up to the dialysis machine,” she said.
“So, you have a problem with your kidneys?” Zoe asked.
“Yes, but I’m a lot better than I used to be.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Zoe said, her sense of panic mounting. “How often do you need to have dialysis?”
“It used to be every night. Now it’s just Sunday and Wednesday nights.”
“Today is Wednesday,” Zoe said.
“It is? Wow. I missed Sunday night, too. I feel okay, though, I think. I better not drink too much, though.”
Oh, this was never going to work. Zoe looked toward the woods again, hoping now that someone would appear looking for this child. She would do the mountain mama routine and get the girl out of here.
“The water’s probably warm enough for you now,” Zoe said. “I’ll get you a washcloth, and then you can give yourself a little bath, okay?”
Sophie looked at the door to the shanty. “Can we call my mom first?” she asked.
“Oh, honey,” Zoe said, realizing that Sophie had no idea how much of a predicament she was in. “I don’t have a phone.”
A flicker of fear passed through Sophie’s eyes. “Should we go to a neighbor’s house and use their phone?”
Zoe shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t have any neighbors either, I live very far from anyone.”
“Do you have a car?”
Zoe shook her head again, and tears welled up in Sophie’s eyes once more.
“How can I get home?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” Zoe said. “I’ll think of something. But listen, honey.” She put her hands on Sophie’s shoulders. “For now you’re safe, and that’s what’s most important. You’ll have a good sponge bath, and then you can sleep for a while. I can tell you’re very tired.”
Sophie bit her lip, looking toward the shanty door again as if she thought Zoe might have a phone in there and just not know it. “Okay,” she said finally.
This was a child accustomed to duress, Zoe thought. Accustomed to things not going her way.
She helped Sophie with her bath, then gave her a bite of rabbit and some canned peas before putting her down for a nap on the air mattress she’d prepared for Marti. The little girl was asleep before Zoe had even left the room.
In the clearing, she washed Sophie’s T-shirt and shorts, hanging them over the porch railing to dry. Then she carried the soiled underwear deep into the woods, where she dug a whole and buried them.
Walking back to the shanty, she hoped she would discover that Sophie was gone. Maybe she’d dreamed the little girl’s arrival, or maybe the people looking for her had found her and spirited her away. She walked into the