Once in a Blue Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

over her head like the fuzz on a baby duck, and her smile as wide as a truckload of promises.
    That had been a good day. They’d gone out for ice cream afterward, and then to the kiddie park. Kerrie Ann had managed to keep it together for the most part, having vowed for the umpteenth time that she was going to clean up her act. Didn’t Bella deserve a mother who would look after her properly, give her the kind of childhood she herself hadn’t had?
    Her resolve lasted all of twenty-four hours.
    Kerrie Ann was firmly in the grip of her addiction, dealing a little on the side to stay solvent and keep the supply coming, when a concerned neighbor alerted authorities to what was going on at her house. They found her living in squalor, the kitchen awash in dirty dishes and the floors strewn with refuse, an unkempt and underfed Bella dressed only in a pair of dirty underpants. The police searched the premises, but by sheer luck Kerrie Ann was between runs, so they didn’t find any drugs.
    Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, one of the cops, a tall, skinny guy with bad teeth, approached her, saying in a stern voice, “Ma’am, I need you to answer a few questions.”
    Kerrie Ann nodded grudgingly.
    He looked at Bella. “That your little girl?”
    “Yeah. Why?”
    The cop ignored her combative tone. “Shouldn’t she be in school?”
    Kerrie Ann couldn’t remember if it was a weekday, so she said the first thing that popped into her head: “She’s sick.” In fact, it was she who was sick. The jitters were setting in, along with the chills—she’d been on her way to meet her supplier when the cops had shown up.
    “Then why is she running around half naked?” demanded his partner, a fat-bottomed woman with frizzy brown hair. She glanced at Bella, who was staring up at them with huge dark eyes, the fingers of one hand stuffed into her mouth—a baby habit she reverted to when upset—then brought her gaze back to Kerrie Ann, her expression one of contempt.
    In a moment of terrible clarity, Kerrie Ann took in the squalid scene through the cops’ eyes. She saw her daughter—really saw her—for the first time in weeks: how dirty she was and how thin she’d gotten, her ribs sticking out of her narrow brown chest like rungs on a ladder. She saw the stain on the seat of her underpants that had come from not wiping herself properly and having no one to do it for her, the crust of dried food around her mouth. When had she last fed Bella? When was the last time she’d tucked her into bed at night or taken her to school? She couldn’t recall. There was only a terrible rushing sound in her head, like wind howling through a tunnel.
    She watched the lady cop crouch down and begin speaking softly to Bella. It wasn’t until she took Bella by the hand and began leading her toward the door that understanding kicked in. Kerrie Ann moved to block them. “Hey—where do you think you’re going? That’s my kid!” she cried. “Bella, come to Mommy!” It came out more as a shrill command than a cry of distress. Both cops looked worried that she might hurt Bella.
    Even Bella’s big, frightened eyes seemed to accuse her in some way. Bella began to cry.
    Kerrie Ann took a lunging step toward her, wanting to console her, but the male cop quickly moved in, seizing her by the upper arm and commanding, “Ma’am, please.” In a calming voice, he added, “We’ll take good care of her.”
    “You can’t do this. You have no right!” shrieked Kerrie Ann as the lady cop led Bella out the door, her partner maintaining a firm grip on Kerrie Ann’s arm all the while. When she ran out of curses, Kerrie Ann began to plead. “Where are you taking her? Please, at least give me that.” Her eyes were streaming, and phlegmy sobs erupted from her throat. The chills racking her body turned to uncontrollable shivering. She felt as if she were coming unglued.
    “Call this number.” He let go of her arm and fished a business card from his