Shoot from the Lip Read Online Free PDF

on?” I asked.
    “As far back as I can remember, but before the baby was bom—the one who’s gone—she cut back on the booze. But she still left us alone quite a bit, probably because she was working more. She kept saying how expensive kids were.”
    “Did you ever see this child? Or did your mother come home from the hospital empty-handed?” I asked.
    “She never went to any hospital. I helped her birth the baby at home.” Emma looked down at her hands, her long brown fingers intertwined tightly.
    I tried to hide my shock. “She had her at home? How old were you?”
    “About eight, I think. She had the baby in the bathtub. But the next day when I returned from school, she and the baby were gone. She’d left Shannon and Luke with the neighbor lady who had a home day care—they were just babies themselves. Mom came back that night—alone.”
    “Alone?” I said. “But—”
    “I didn’t ask any questions, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Emma said. “I knew better.”
    “Knew better?” Kate said. “Help me understand what you mean.”
    Emma didn’t make eye contact with Kate or me. “I could tell she was super drunk—probably to dull the pain from the baby coming—and when she was like that, well ... she did things.”
    “Violent things?” Kate asked.
    Emma nodded, and Luke squeezed her closer.
    “And you ... what were you? A third grader? You took care of your sister and brothers while she was gone?” Kate asked.
    “I took care of them even when she was around, so it wasn’t that hard.” Emma had regrouped. She was in control of her emotions again.
    Kate blinked several times, shook her head. “But you were eight, Emma.”
    “I was never really eight.” Her voice was a near whisper. “When you have an alcoholic mother, you’re never a kid and you never really have a mom.”
    “How true. If there’s an upside to this, you’ve gained plenty of insight,” Kate said. “I hope we can talk more in the future about these issues—that is, if you want to.”
    “That might be good. To talk. You both seem like you might actually care—unlike those television people.”
    “We’ll get to them later.” I looked back and forth between Luke and Shannon. “Do either of you remember the baby?”
    They both shook their heads no. Not surprising, since they would have been very young at the time.
    Kate said, “How do you feel about your baby sister’s disappearance?”
    “Sad. I want to meet her,” said Shannon, “Hug her. Find out everything about her.”
    “And you, Luke?” Kate asked.
    “Same thing. I sure hope she has decent parents. That would mean Mom did something good for once. You get what I’m saying?”
    “You mean you hope your sister was adopted,” Kate said. “But we may learn that’s not what happened.”
    “You think I don’t know how messed up this world is?” Luke shot back. “What scuzzes people can be?”
    “Sorry, Luke. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.” Kate’s tone was soothing, sincere.
    “Yeah, I know,” he said quietly.
    I focused on Emma. “Did your mother ever talk about what happened to the baby?”
    Emma rested her hand on Luke’s knee and settled back against the sofa cushions. “When she sobered up about a month later, she had a story. She figured I hadn’t forgotten, even though I never said anything. She told me that Child Protective Services came once I’d left for school the morning after the baby was born. See, Luke had marks on his legs—from the switch Mom used to hit us with. She told me someone notified CPS.”
    “Who might have called them?” I asked.
    “I didn’t ask questions. Maybe the day care lady in the neighborhood. Anyway, Mom said that when the caseworker heard the baby crying, the worker took Mom and the baby to Chimney Rock Center—where the CPS headquarters are. She and the caseworker made a deal. If Mom gave up the baby and no more reports came in about abuse, they’d close the file on