I hate to say it, but that’s the vibe I’m getting.”
He always told his deputies to trust their instincts. Jenna in particular knew how to read abused women. If she thought there was something else going on, then he believed her. “Maybe you should talk to her alone.”
She glanced up at him in surprise. “Really?”
He knew better than to micromanage his team. “Yeah. Why not? Claire trusts you.”
“Okay.” She took a sip of coffee. “Have to admit, it was creepy finding that newspaper clipping of me in her pocket.”
He couldn’t agree more. “I’ll start a background check on her while you two talk. Hopefully there isn’t a warrant out for her arrest.”
Jenna’s expression turned grim. “I guess I wouldn’t be too surprised if there was.”
There was a muffled thump from upstairs, indicating Claire was awake. Griff finished his breakfast and then rose to his feet, intending to make Claire’s omelet.
“Good morning, Claire.” Jenna greeted the girl as she hesitantly stepped into the kitchen. “Help yourself to coffee.”
The girl wrinkled her nose and slipped into the vacant chair closest to Jenna. “No, thanks. I’d rather have a diet cola.”
Griff took a soft drink from the fridge and handed it to Claire, noticing she was wearing her charm bracelet. It didn’t take long for Jenna to comment on it, too.
“Who gave you the bracelet?” she asked. “A boyfriend?”
Claire paled and shook her head. “No, my mother gave it to me shortly before the stupid woman from child protective services took me away from her. It’s all I have left.”
Now it was Jenna’s turn to go pale. She pushed her plate away and wrapped her fingers around her coffee mug as if craving warmth. “What happened to your mother?”
Claire grimaced. “I don’t know. I’m going to try and find her.” Jenna lifted a curious brow. “I know she had problems, but they had no right to take me away.”
“Drugs? Alcohol?”
“Drugs,” Claire admitted with a heavy sigh. “She’d stay clean for a while, but then one day I’d come home from school and find her strung out.”
Griff tightened his grip on the spatula, imagining what Claire had suffered. Maybe she had broken the law at some point. He only hoped that the crime wasn’t so bad he couldn’t help her get out of it.
He slid the omelet onto a plate, added toast and set it beside Claire. She glanced up and gave him a nod of thanks.
Jenna paused for a few minutes, allowing her to eat. Claire eagerly dug into the simple meal, making Griff glad that he’d taken the time to cook a hot breakfast.
He’d fully intended to leave them alone, but since Claire seemed willing to keep talking, he decided to clean up the kitchen a bit, admittedly eavesdropping on their conversation.
“How old were you when you entered the foster system?” Jenna asked in a gentle tone.
“Eleven, almost twelve, and I hated every minute of it,” Claire said flatly. “My mother’s rights were terminated a year later. I was adopted by an older couple, but I didn’t handle it well. I caused a lot of trouble for them, so I couldn’t really blame them for giving me up for re-adoption.”
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