But there was no child in the backseat.

I watched him drive off, then got out of my car and walked closer. I was staring at the house, when I heard the unmistakable sound of a child crying.

It was coming from inside of the garage.

NINETEEN

Then

When Saturday morning finally came around, Kitty woke up early and got dressed in her favorite sundress and sneakers. She couldn’t wait to go to Disney World with Officer Damian. She was so excited, she had barely slept, and after she ate breakfast, she stood by the window and stared into the street, jumping at every car that drove by, thinking it was him.

When he finally drove up, she couldn’t wait. She opened the door and ran to him. He pulled her into a deep hug.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, smiling down at her. “Well, it looks like it. What a beautiful dress, almost as pretty as the girl wearing it.”

Kitty nodded eagerly and blushed, following Officer Damian out to his car. As they drove to the amusement park, they talked about all the rides they were going to go on and the food they were going to eat. Kitty had never had cotton candy before, or caramel apples, but had heard about them, and always wanted to try them. Damian promised he would get her all of it.

“And Dippin’ Dots,” he said. “You gotta have some Dippin’ Dots too.”

“And I wanna meet Mickey, and Minnie, and—oh—Daisy, and all the princesses. Belle is my favorite,” she exclaimed.

That made him laugh out loud. “Of course, she is. Because Belle means beautiful, and that’s what you are. I’d say that you’re even prettier than her. I hope you know that.”

Kitty’s eyes grew large. She couldn’t believe he would say that. That was a very nice thing to say, and she didn’t quite know how to respond. No one was prettier than Belle. She blushed and looked out the window, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She felt like a princess herself. She wished this day would never end. She never wanted to go back to the mobile home park and her parents, who always yelled at her.

When they arrived, Kitty’s eyes widened in awe. The park was huge, with roller coasters, water rides, and much more. It was truly as magical as she had imagined. Famous characters were greeting them everywhere. She met Donald Duck, Goofy, and even got to hug Daisy. Later on, Cinderella came waltzing down the street, and Kitty ran to her and got another hug, and Damian took a picture of them together. She got to visit Mickey’s house, where both he and Minnie were. She rode the train around the park. She ate cotton candy for the first time and had a caramel apple, all at the same time.

Kitty was practically bouncing with excitement. They raced to the biggest roller coaster they could find, and Officer Damian held tightly on to her hand as they rode the loops and twists. Kitty screamed with delight, and Officer Damian laughed.

After a few hours of riding rides and eating junk food, Officer Damian decided to take a break and sit on a bench with Kitty. As they rested, he reached over and took her hand in his without saying a word. He just held it, and Kitty smiled.

It felt nice. Very, very nice. Officer Damian was such a kind man, and Kitty wished that he was her stepdad instead of Cole.

She looked up at him, endearingly, and he smiled. “All right, kiddo. One more ride, and then we’ll need to head back.”

“Aww,” she said and looked at him beggingly.

He gave her a look. “No, I promised I’d have you back by late afternoon.”

“Please can we stay a little longer, please?”

He narrowed his eyes and looked into hers. “What am I going to do with you? Okay, I’ll tell you what.”

She felt excitement again, as she could tell she was persuading him. She knew she could.

“What?”

“I could call and tell your parents that we’re running late due to the horrible traffic and then we can stay for two more roller coaster rides, how about that? And maybe we can pop in at the Beast’s castle and see if Belle is there? A pretty girl like you should at least meet her favorite princess, right?”

She literally jumped in happiness. “Yes, please oh please, yes thank you, thank you.”

She had gotten ready to walk away, to run for the line to the roller coaster before he changed his mind, when he stopped her, grabbing her hand.

“Uh-uh,” he said, then pointed at his lips.

She paused. His grip was tight on her wrist. What did he want?

“I deserve a proper thank you, don’t you think?” he said.

She smiled nervously. She stared at his lips underneath the mustache. There was a little bit of pink cotton candy stuck to the bottom of it.

“Just a little kiss,” he said with a grin.

She stared at his lips again, then leaned forward and kissed him, closing her eyes, feeling her heart race in her small chest.

TWENTYBILLIE ANN

I rang the doorbell first, then knocked hard on the front door when no one answered.

“Cocoa Beach police, open up!”

I could hear the child crying, and it was driving me crazy. I waited patiently, but there was still no answer. I looked around the porch, scanning for any signs of forced entry. The door was locked, so I pulled out my lockpick set and went to work. As I worked on the lock, I could hear the child’s cries growing louder, and my heart raced with urgency.

Come on, Billie Ann, come on!

Finally, I heard a satisfying click, and I pushed the door open. The house was dark and quiet, except for the sound of the child’s cries. I drew my gun and called out again, “Cocoa Beach police, is anyone here? Hello?”

Suddenly, I heard footsteps rushing down the stairs, and a woman appeared in front of me, her eyes wide with fear. She saw the gun and paused with a light gasp. She was holding the crying child in her arms, and I could see the bruises on the child’s face.

“What’s going on here?” I demanded, my voice stern.

The woman began to sob. “He hit her again. He’s been hitting her for days. I didn’t know what to do. I was too scared to call the police.”

I took a deep breath, trying to contain my anger. I looked at the woman and child, tears streaming down their faces as they clung to each other. It reminded me why I went into the force in the first place, to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Domestic abuse happened often, and my involvement could escalate the situation for this woman if I wasn’t careful.

“Is he your husband?”

“Y-yes.”

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“He’s just left,” she whispered, “but he’ll be back soon. He just went for smokes.”

I nodded, signaling for her to stay put.

“Please don’t take my babies away.”

“Babies? You have more than one?”