nodded. ‘Okay. What’s going on?’
‘She says someone is trying to kill her,’ Maggie said.
‘Is this for real?’ Brooke asked, with a dubious furrow in her brow. ‘I mean, you know how it is with these girls. You can’t always take what they say at face value.’
‘Exactly. That’s what worries me. You know all about Cat’s family background, right? You know what happened to her parents?’
‘Of course. It’s awful what she went through. Unfortunately, awful is the ticket of admission around here.’
‘What can you tell me about her?’
Brooke rocked back in her chair and fiddled with a ballpoint pen. ‘Look, Maggie, I want to help, but I can’t talk about what’s going on with any of these girls without their permission. They have legal rights. I won’t put them in jeopardy.’
‘I realize that but I’m not trying to bust Cat for anything. Stride’s got a signed release from her, too. If you need it, I can fax it over here.’
Brooke looked uncomfortable. ‘Fine. Okay. I’ll tell you what I can, but that’s not much.’
‘How long have you known her?’
‘About two years. Her aunt, Dory, was one of my best friends at UMD before she dropped out. Dory brought Cat to the shelter when she started running away. Cat sleeps here off and on, but it’s beena couple weeks now since I’ve seen her. If something’s going on, I haven’t heard about it.’
‘She says someone almost ran her down a block away.’
‘Here?’ Brooke asked. ‘That’s news to me.’
‘It happened in the middle of the night.’
‘Maybe so, but stories like that get around.’
Maggie leaned across the desk and lowered her voice. ‘I’ll be honest with you, Brooke. Something about this girl bothers me. I want to get inside her head. Is she paranoid, or do you think it’s something more than that?’
Brooke frowned. ‘It’s hard to be sure. Most of the kids who come here, they’re on the streets for a reason. Their problems are intractable. You’re talking about severe abuse and emotional dysfunction. This is life or death every day, it’s not “my mommy didn’t love me”. Next thing you know, they’re deep into prostitution and drugs.’
‘I know that.’
‘It’s funny, I remember writing a paper in college about legalizing prostitution. Make it legal and safe and regulate the hell out of it. I was pretty self-righteous. If a woman wants to use her body as a business, why should the government care? I figured, no harm, no foul, right?’
‘A lot of cops feel that way,’ Maggie said.
‘Yes, believe me, I know they do. Cops look the other way all the time. Everybody does. Unfortunately, you can dress it up any way you like, it’s still abuse. I don’t care whether it’s fifty dollars in some doorway or a thousand dollars in a Minneapolis hotel room. These girls are being permanently damaged. It messes with their heads for ever. I wish I’d known that back in school.’
Maggie heard the emotion in her voice. ‘I’m on your side, Brooke, but what does this have to do with Cat? Is she one of the really messed-up ones?’
‘Well, there’s obviously ugly stuff in her head.’
‘That doesn’t help me.’
‘I’m sorry, but I don’t really know anything more.’
‘Come on, Brooke. I know you. You’re not telling me everything. What’s going on?’
Brooke screwed up her pretty mouth, as if she were chewing on sour candy. ‘It’s a suspicion, nothing more. I can’t prove it. Besides, I don’t like to drag up old ghosts.’
‘Ghosts?’
‘Vincent Roslak,’ Brooke said.
Maggie frowned and put the pieces together. ‘The psychologist who was murdered in Minneapolis? What does he have to do with this? I remember he had a connection to the shelter.’
‘Roslak was a psych volunteer,’ Brooke acknowledged. ‘Honestly, at the time, we were thrilled to have him. We needed a counselor and he had great credentials. We can deal with the physical needs these kids have, but if
‘She says someone is trying to kill her,’ Maggie said.
‘Is this for real?’ Brooke asked, with a dubious furrow in her brow. ‘I mean, you know how it is with these girls. You can’t always take what they say at face value.’
‘Exactly. That’s what worries me. You know all about Cat’s family background, right? You know what happened to her parents?’
‘Of course. It’s awful what she went through. Unfortunately, awful is the ticket of admission around here.’
‘What can you tell me about her?’
Brooke rocked back in her chair and fiddled with a ballpoint pen. ‘Look, Maggie, I want to help, but I can’t talk about what’s going on with any of these girls without their permission. They have legal rights. I won’t put them in jeopardy.’
‘I realize that but I’m not trying to bust Cat for anything. Stride’s got a signed release from her, too. If you need it, I can fax it over here.’
Brooke looked uncomfortable. ‘Fine. Okay. I’ll tell you what I can, but that’s not much.’
‘How long have you known her?’
‘About two years. Her aunt, Dory, was one of my best friends at UMD before she dropped out. Dory brought Cat to the shelter when she started running away. Cat sleeps here off and on, but it’s beena couple weeks now since I’ve seen her. If something’s going on, I haven’t heard about it.’
‘She says someone almost ran her down a block away.’
‘Here?’ Brooke asked. ‘That’s news to me.’
‘It happened in the middle of the night.’
‘Maybe so, but stories like that get around.’
Maggie leaned across the desk and lowered her voice. ‘I’ll be honest with you, Brooke. Something about this girl bothers me. I want to get inside her head. Is she paranoid, or do you think it’s something more than that?’
Brooke frowned. ‘It’s hard to be sure. Most of the kids who come here, they’re on the streets for a reason. Their problems are intractable. You’re talking about severe abuse and emotional dysfunction. This is life or death every day, it’s not “my mommy didn’t love me”. Next thing you know, they’re deep into prostitution and drugs.’
‘I know that.’
‘It’s funny, I remember writing a paper in college about legalizing prostitution. Make it legal and safe and regulate the hell out of it. I was pretty self-righteous. If a woman wants to use her body as a business, why should the government care? I figured, no harm, no foul, right?’
‘A lot of cops feel that way,’ Maggie said.
‘Yes, believe me, I know they do. Cops look the other way all the time. Everybody does. Unfortunately, you can dress it up any way you like, it’s still abuse. I don’t care whether it’s fifty dollars in some doorway or a thousand dollars in a Minneapolis hotel room. These girls are being permanently damaged. It messes with their heads for ever. I wish I’d known that back in school.’
Maggie heard the emotion in her voice. ‘I’m on your side, Brooke, but what does this have to do with Cat? Is she one of the really messed-up ones?’
‘Well, there’s obviously ugly stuff in her head.’
‘That doesn’t help me.’
‘I’m sorry, but I don’t really know anything more.’
‘Come on, Brooke. I know you. You’re not telling me everything. What’s going on?’
Brooke screwed up her pretty mouth, as if she were chewing on sour candy. ‘It’s a suspicion, nothing more. I can’t prove it. Besides, I don’t like to drag up old ghosts.’
‘Ghosts?’
‘Vincent Roslak,’ Brooke said.
Maggie frowned and put the pieces together. ‘The psychologist who was murdered in Minneapolis? What does he have to do with this? I remember he had a connection to the shelter.’
‘Roslak was a psych volunteer,’ Brooke acknowledged. ‘Honestly, at the time, we were thrilled to have him. We needed a counselor and he had great credentials. We can deal with the physical needs these kids have, but if
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