Free Amazing Grace by Lesley Crewe Page B

understand what the policeman’s saying to the voice on the radio. He puts a blanket around me and gives me a chocolate bar.
    â€œDo you have some cat food? My cat is hungry.”
    â€œWait.” He opens up a piece of tin foil. “I have a tuna sandwich my wife made this morning.” He passes it back to me. I feed it to Buddy. He licks the tuna off the bread. When the policeman isn’t looking I eat the bread myself.
    â€œCan I come home with you? Your wife sounds nice.”
    He glances back at me in the rear-view mirror and clears his throat. Another police officer gets in and they drive me away from the chaos of the farm. I see Helen standing by her mom as she holds her little sister. They’re all crying. I wish Helen was with me, but maybe she’ll hate me now.
    We drive out of the gates and into the world. All my life I’ve dreamt of this and thought it would be like flying in the sky. But it’s nothing like that. I get up on my knees and look out the back window.
    â€œI need to go back! My mama and sister might come looking for me! Stop!”
    They keep driving.
    The next few days are jumbled up in my mind. A lady takes Buddy away, despite my wailing. She tells me he’ll be looked after. I throw up when she walks out the door with him, because he cries and meows for me. I never see him again. I hope the policeman with the nice wife took him in.
    In the hospital they give me lots to eat and I gobble everything. But then a doctor comes in and wants to look at me. I scream blue murder because he’s a man. Finally a woman comes in wearing a stethoscope around her neck. She sits beside me on the bed.
    â€œHello,” she smiles. “I’m Doctor Stevens. What’s your name?”
    â€œAmazing Grace Fairchild.”
    She looks delighted. “Imagine! You must be very special, to have a name like that.”
    â€œI think so. My sister is Ave Maria and she’s special too.”
    â€œI’m sure she is. Now Amazing, I want to tell you what’s going to happen. I need to look at you, to check your body, to see if you’ve been molested. Do you know what that means?”
    â€œI think it means he married me.”
    Dr. Stevens gathers herself. “I’m going to put a sheet over you, so no one else will see but me. Do you trust me to do that? I promise I won’t hurt you.”
    She does have a nice smile. “Okay.”
    It’s over pretty quickly and she doesn’t hurt me. She takes off her rubber gloves and throws them in the wastepaper basket. Then she comes close to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. “All done.”
    â€œDo you believe me?”
    â€œYes, I believe you.”
    â€œWhat will they do to him?”
    â€œHopefully he’ll go to jail.”
    â€œCan I come home with you?”
    She quickly turns her head. “Let’s just get you better. You rest now and I’ll be back to check on you.”
    â€œOkay.”
    But I don’t see her again either. A nurse comes in instead and she’s very brisk. I don’t ask to go home with her. She probably hates cats.
    Then another man comes to see me—I pull up the blankets around my neck.
    â€œGrace, I’m Detective Grant. I want to ask you a question.”
    â€œAm I in trouble?”
    â€œNo, not at all. But before we can proceed further, I need to know if you’d be willing to testify against Mr. Wheeler.”
    â€œWho’s Mr. Wheeler?”
    â€œThe man who did this to you.”
    â€œWhat does testify mean?”
    â€œTell your story in a courtroom to a judge and jury. All you have to do is tell the truth.”
    â€œWill the man be there?”
    â€œYes, I’m afraid so. But you’ll be protected from him, I promise.”
    Promises don’t mean anything. “No.”
    â€œDon’t you want him to go to jail?”
    What a dumb question. He tries hard to change my mind but gives up after a