Tamia's Case
663 Words
ADA Rhonda Sykes and Detective Rita Benson were sitting in DA Barry Samuels’ office with Judge Hank Russel. Stopping the recording, both women watched the men process this, “My god this poor girl. I understand her fear, but where is she living? Who is she living with? How in the hell is she surviving out there? We need to find out and get her somewhere safe. What if this Reggie punk goes after her?” Judge Hank fretted.
Rita shook her head as she tossed out disgusted, “He’s already moved someone to Heavy’s spot. I have a contact close to it, Reggie’s not even looking for justice. He knows it wasn’t someone disrespecting him, and since he doesn’t want to be caught up in a human trafficking charge no way would he run at Tamia.”
Rhonda agreed as Barry fiddled with his expensive fountain pen, “So…someone saved her from Heavy the first day he bought her. They run, this person has been keeping her safe, and after Heavy sees her, tries to force himself on her, she kills him.”
Judge Hank looked at a school picture of Tamia and shook her head. Such a pretty young girl and she was dealing with all of this?
“She’s only a child. Turned sixteen two days ago. She can’t handle living on the streets, she needs to be in school around kids her own age. She needs deep psychological help.”
Rita threw her hands up at Judge Hank’s words, “We tried to convince to her come down here, talk with us, but she’s too traumatized. There is no way in hell that little girl is going to trust an adult ever again. Not with a history of abandonment, abuse, neglect met by crippling disappointment.”
Rhonda looked at her boss sadly, “And then she was sold like an object. We failed her.” Barry agreed to some degree and asked out loud for them all, “Well what do we do now? Let her be on the streets and do gods knows what to stay alive?”
Rita agreed it was a gamble, but she admitted reluctantly, “She was clean, promised she wasn’t hooking, and I believed her. I think she’s just found a way to survive until she’s eighteen on her own terms.”
Leaning forward, Barry stressed, “That may be true for now. But a lot of things can change in two years. And I don’t want another little girl to turn up missing and have the media getting hold of it. We already had so many things going on with Brianna and how THAT turned out.”
Rhonda winced at that name.
Her old boss, Terrance Jones had been dead six months. It was an odd hollow feeling in her heart. He was a good boss, a good man. And Rhonda had adored his wife who’d bring her lunch sometimes. Talk smack about her husband when he was being a hardass.
Since his death, there was a coldness in his place. Not to mention the supreme guilt they felt knowing Brianna and Jeremy were possibly somewhere in horrible predicaments. It was not only bad PR for their office but also horrible for young people they had once seen every day around the office.
But this was even worse.
Barry looked at the picture and made his decision going on a gut feeling. “Leave her be. For now...”
Judge Hank couldn’t show he agreed or even heard Barry telling Rhonda to just leave Tamia alone. To keep an eye on her from a distance just to make sure she’d be okay. But the order was given and then the conversation was changed, to less heart-wrenching topics.
- Writer
