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31

The day was bright and there was a chill to the air, but that did not stop eighty-three percent of the fe tiny shorts and cut-off T-shirts that revealed many pierced belly buttons

I had already tried one of the classroo the schedule Cindy had faxedlady who looked like the framed picture on the Peterson&039;soutside a classroo I was on the seventh floor and had a great shot of what the students here called Middle Earth, a beautiful central park located within the ca into were that irls could have been A Peterson Hell, most of them were cute with dark hair

"Excuse me," said a voice behind me

I turned away from theI saw that the class across the hall had just let out, and I had alreadyin front of me was clearly A Peterson Cute face, cute button nose But the cuteness ended there Everything else about the girl was anything but cute

"Miss Peterson?"

She nodded, frowning "Are you the private investigator that came to see my mom?"

She looked haunted No She was haunted Her pale eyes were ehed her down, and she was hunched forward to support soht Her ar her bony shoulders Her hair was dyed pitch black, skin pale andHad she decided to wear s around her eyes

"How did you know me?" I asked

"My ht Said a tall muscular man with a full head of blond hair and a tattoo of a black horse on his forearm had come to see her about Amanda" Her voice was soft and wispy I strained to listen to her

"And I fit the description?"

She looked atsteam from its nostrils, was clear on my left forear heat"

She pointed to the bulge under ainst the wall in such a way that the bulge was evident to those who knehere to look

"You would ator," I said

"Investigative journalism is myjob," I said "What&039;s your name?"

"Annette," she said

"Ah," I said

"And you found ht have grinned, but she had probably forgotten how

"Glad I have your vote of confidence"

"I assume you&039;re here to talk with me about my sister?"

"Yes," I said "That and more Is there somewhere we can have privacy?"

32

We were in Middle Earth, surrounded by oaks and pines and a lot of rolling green hills Students with laptops were banging away under trees nearby Other students were soaking in the sun, and too feereat it like e at its best

We were sitting on the grass My back was up against the trunk of a gnarled ash tree, and Annette was leaning against her

"Are you a senior?" I asked

"Yes"

"Do you live at home?"

She shook her head veheet away Far away But I couldn&039;t leave mother and my sisters So I compromised with my mother I live in a dorm here at UCI, and my sisters and mother can come visit me anytime"

I said, "Your father is abusive" It wasn&039;t a question

"Do you knohere ht?"

I had a sinking feeling "The hospital"

She nodded "You are good Two broken ribs and a broken nose Said she fell down the stairs We don&039;t have fucking stairs"

"Shit"

"Shit is right The oddamn animal and I have hated him my entire life"

"He abuse you?"

"Often"

"Sexually?"

"No Not ht hi the shit out of rab it and shake until so snaps"

"Were your sisters sexually abused?"

"I think so, and I&039; the worst of it now, especially now that she&039;s alone with him"

"Has your mother ever tried to leave?"

"No He tells her he will kill her and her daughters Classic shit She&039;s terrified of hione to the police? Have any teachers ever noticed the bruises, questioned your broken arms?"

"The answer is no Father is an assemblyman for the county He can have anyone&039;s job He knows it and they know it Our plight has been ignored"

"Plight," I said, grinning at her "You must be a writer"

"Someday soon I hope to even make money at it"

"Would you like your father to stop the abuse?"

"Of course Stupid fucking question" She leaned forward, hands flat in the grass Not surprisingly, her nails were unpainted "Are you going to stop hiive a shit if he&039;s an assemblyman I work for myself I could make most men on this earth bend to hed and clapped, and that pretty much made my day She said, "That&039;s such a funny way to describe that you are going to royally kick his ass"

"Royally"

"He&039;s a big guy," she said "But you&039;re bigger"

"I&039;er than most And if I happen to break his araze hardened "Tell him it was from me"

A Frisbee landed next to us I flicked it back to an eht it neatly with one hand and dashed off

"One ," I said "Do you knohy Amanda quit her school band?"

"Because the band director was a creep"

"How do you know?"

"He made a pass at her," she said

"What did she do about it?"

"Told him to leave her alone"

"I assume he didn&039;t"

"No"

"And then she quit?" I asked

"Yes"

"Did she often confide in you?" I asked

She looked away "Yeah, ere close"

"I&039;ave her one of my cards, and she looked at it

"Nice picture, Mr Knighthorse," she said

"I know"

33

It was earlyand the crowd in McDonald&039;s consistedshoes Most didn&039;t look like they didBreakfast with Jack at the back of the restaurant He was sipping his lukewarodlike in his bu to him, this is how I expected hi the universe if you&039;re down here with me?"

"I can be in many places"

"Convenient," I said "Mustin line for Zeppelin tickets a breeze"

"Andchores a snap"

"Was that a joke?" I asked

"Yes"