“He hit you, didn’t he, Ruth?”
The woman glanced out the window.
“Often?”
She shook her head.
“Enough to scare you.”
“Not really,” the woman said, her eyes moist, yet brimming with strength as she glanced back at Meredith. “Though I’m sure he thinks so.”
“Then why don’t you say something? Do something? Why do you let him hold you prisoner to his lies?”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to be married to a lawyer?” she asked.
Meredith paused, waited for calm. “No,” she said, then.
“He’s not only a master debater, but he can take the smallest piece of truth and twist it around so that it’s completely unrecognizable, but still prove that it isn’t a lie.”
Meredith’s stomach tightened. She felt trapped and panicky. She understood what Tommy’s mother was saying.
“Add to that the fact that he’s well known around here and has a great deal of influence…”
“So no matter what you say, he’ll distort facts until they point right back at you,” Meredith finished.
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you leave?”
Meredith knew the answer as soon as she asked. “Tommy,” she said in chorus with his mother.
Ruth Barnett’s mouth was distorted with bitterness. “There’s no way I’ll be able to convince any judge in this county to give me full custody of my boy. And while I might not be afraid of Larry’s attempts to hurt me, I am scared to death of what he’ll do to our son.”
“Of what he is doing to your son,” Meredith said now, completely certain of what she said.
“I still hope you’re wrong,” Ruth said, her gaze forthright. “But in my heart I know that you aren’t. I also know that if I don’t play along with Larry, if I try to fight him at this point, Tommy will be the one who’ll lose. At least while I play dumb and stay quiet, I have access to his home and when Tommy’s there I can see and speak with Tommy whenever I choose.”
“I hope that will be enough,” Meredith replied, fairly certain that it wouldn’t be.
“I do, too.” The other woman’s eyes watered. “You have no idea how grateful I am to you for what you did,” she said, the words no louder than a whisper. “And I can’t tell you how guilty I feel, every single day, for what he’s doing to you because of it.”
&
nbsp; “I only did my job.”
Mrs. Barnett shook her head, and her tears ran slowly down her cheeks. “Teachers don’t stick their noses out like that. They go to the school administration if they suspect something, maybe. But more than that, no other teacher at Lincoln Elementary was even aware that Tommy was having problems—including the school counselor. I’d really hoped she’d be able to help us.”
“So you knew before I came to you.”
“I knew he was unhappy. At first, like everyone else, I was hoping it was an adjustment period and it would pass, but it’d been a year and didn’t seem to be getting any better. I talked to Tommy several times about his father and me, asked him about his visits, his unhappiness, but he won’t ever tell me anything. I didn’t know what to think. You changed that. I’m taking Tommy privately to see a counselor now, so if there is a problem hopefully it will be brought to light. You’re a special woman, Ms. Foster. I don’t know how you knew about Tommy, but I thank God every day that you did.”
As Meredith had thanked him for her gift. These days she’d made a tentative truce with herself to let it come if it would. “I wish I could’ve done more,” she told the other woman.
“You’ve put Larry Barnett on warning. And because of his own quick temper and inability to back down or let go, it’s become a very public warning. Even if everyone believes him now and not you, if Tommy shows up with bruises or shows signs of emotional damage there are going to be doubts. You could very well have saved my son’s life.”
“For now.”
The woman nodded. “And for that, your life is being turned upside down.”