Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Author:Kate Jarvik Birch [Birch, Kate Jarvik]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781622662685
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Published: 2014-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

The lights in the police station were cold and unforgiving. I sat in a chair by Officer Robert’s desk, waiting. I’d already been waiting for hours. I guess that’s what you did when they brought you in to the police station.

But the officers were kind. It didn’t take me long to realize that they weren’t the ones I should be afraid of. If I could have stayed with them indefinitely then maybe things would be all right. It was after the congressman arrived that I needed to worry about.

I pulled a blanket tighter around my shoulders. It was cold in the police station, even though it had been so hot outside, even this late at night, and Officer Roberts had seen the way I sat shivering in the chair and had gotten me a blanket from the back room. It was thick and scratchy, but warm. I pulled it over my legs.

“You don’t think it’s weird?” Officer Roberts said to his partner. “It feels wrong giving her back, you know? Like, I’m supposed to be protecting her.”

“It’s a property dispute case,” his partner said.

Officer Roberts shrugged. “I know, but I don’t like it. I’ve heard people talking about it, but I guess I never really thought about it before. She’s the first one I’ve seen in person.”

Simultaneously, they turned to stare in my direction.

“She kind of reminds me of my niece.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Officer Roberts said. “She’s in eighth grade. Tell me there’s not something wrong about this whole thing.”

Just then the doors on the other side of the station swung open and the congressman strode in. He was dressed in one of his expensive gray suits, but underneath the luxurious clothes was a haggard man. His eyes were rimmed in red and a bit of stubble grew along his jaw.

“You must be Mr. Kimball,” Officer Roberts said, walking across the room to shake his hand.

The congressman held out his hand. “Congressman Kimball. It’s nice to meet you.”

Officer Roberts caught the correction. “Yes, Congressman. If you’ll follow me, we’ve got your…” He paused, obviously deciding how to word it. “We’ve got Ella right back here.”

“Thank God,” the congressman said, coming to a stop in front of me. He shook his head. “I still don’t get how she got down here. It’s over a five-hour drive from New Canaan. Has she told you anything?”

“She hasn’t spoken since we picked her up,” the officer said. “There’s a lot of fanatics all worked up about that law, though. Probably one of them got wind you had a pet and thought they’d try to set her free. We’ll let you know if we find out anything. We’ve got officers following up on a few leads. It’s just a good thing she had the microchip, otherwise you might not have gotten her back.”

Microchip? I frowned at the word. The only things I had with me were the clothes on my back that the lady at the safe house had given me. There was no way she would have given me something that the police could have used to find me.

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