Rock Bottom

Matt drove home, her uncle's and aunt's faces running through his mind again and again. Candy's uncle looked so MEAN, brutal, almost, he thought. And her aunt, with that pinched, sour face. She'd lost her parents early on, she'd said. He wondered what her life was like, with such relatives. Couldn't be all that great, judging by her shabby, patched up clothes and the fact that she had been alone at home even when she was obviously not well.

His thoughts flew to his own parents. Pretty, blonde Melinda Kane, juggling her roles as wife, mother and committee member of several social and charitable organizations with grace and ease. She was actively involved in various local committees, doing work that mattered and which she believed in, while at the same time being at his father's side for the numerous high-profile dinners and gatherings he needed to attend as senator. And yet, his mom always had time for him. Though they had a housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, who cooked and managed the other staff, his mom still liked to get breakfast for him herself.

His dad, too, had always put family first. A third-generation industrialist, Richard Kane had applied the same integrity, hard work and diligence to his political career and had been elected to the Senate by a massive majority a couple of years back. After seeing Candy's family, Matt felt more grateful for his parents than he had in a long time.

The Kanes were out that evening, so Matt had a glass of milk and went up to his room, not feeling in the mood to eat. He watched television for some time, his mind not really on what he was seeing.

He'd speak to Mom tomorrow, he decided as he went to sleep. She'd know what to do.

The next morning, his mom was making pancakes when he went down.

"Just in time, honey," she smiled as he sat down at the cozy kitchen table.

"Hey, Mom." Matt poured himself a glass of orange juice as his mom placed a stack of pancakes drizzled in maple syrup, just the way he liked it, in front of him. She poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table.

"Is something the matter, honey?" she asked. "Want to talk about it?"

His mom could always pick up on his moods, thought Matt. "Yeah, Mom, I actually wanted to talk to you. It's about this girl at school…"

When Matt finished his mother sat thinking for a minute or two.

"From all that you've told me, it sounds as though the Clarkes may not be treating Candy very well," she said at last.

"So what do we do, Mom?"

"I think I should go there with a couple of social care workers and meet Candy, to start with."

"Her uncle's a real ugly customer, Mom – you gotta be careful."

"Let me speak to your dad as well – perhaps it would be better to take a couple of police officers along," she said thoughtfully.

"Cool – I'll get ready then." Matt got up and took his plate and glass to the sink.

"Honey, you're not coming with us – it may not be safe for you," his mother said firmly.

"But Mom -"

"Matt, sweetheart, I'll call you as soon as we speak with Candy, okay? I promise."

"Okay, Mom," Matt agreed reluctantly.

A couple of hours later Melinda knocked at the Clarkes' door, two social care workers by her side. A couple of police officers waited behind them. Lucy Clarke opened the door a few minutes later.

"Yes?" she inquired suspiciously.

"Mrs. Clarke? I'm Don and this is Mona. We're with social services, and this is Mrs. Kane, who's on our committee," one of the workers said, showing her his ID card.

"So? What d'you want?" Lucy asked, her eyes darting from one to the other.

"We believe your niece Candy Clarke lives with you. We'd like to meet her, please."

"Why d'you want to meet Candy?" Lucy's tone was belligerent.

"Just a routine meeting, to make sure everything is well with her," Mona replied.

"Of course everything is well with her – she don't need to meet you folks." Lucy tried to close the door but Don stopped her.

"Ma'am, we need to meet Candy," he said firmly.

Lucy still seemed disposed to object so one of the police officers stepped up.

"Ma'am, please step aside and let them speak to your niece," he said.

"Ed! Ed!" shrieked Lucy as everyone pushed past her into the house. Just then Ed Clarke came blustering up.

"What's all this going on?" he asked aggressively.

Melinda looked at him and actually felt herself recoil. I wouldn't want any daughter of mine near him, was her first thought.

"Mr. Clarke? We're from social services and we'd like to meet your niece Candy," Don said.

"You can't meet Candy!" Ed exclaimed.

"And why is that?"

"Uh – because – because she's not here," said her uncle triumphantly.

"Where is she then?"

"She – she's gone out of town – to visit a friend," Lucy said hurriedly.

"Yeah – been gone for a week," Ed added.

"That's it – I've had enough of your bullshit," Officer Cameron said, coming forward. "Step aside, Mr. Clarke, we're going to search the house – unless you'd rather just tell us where she is."

"Hey – you can't do this – it's MY house – I know my rights!"

Ignoring him, Don, Mona, Melinda and Officer Cameron moved further into the house, leaving the other officer to keep an eye on the Clarkes.

It was Melinda who found her, lying motionless on a thin, hard mattress on the pantry floor.

"Oh my God!" she breathed. "I've found her!" she called to the others, kneeling down quickly to check Candy's pulse. Her breathing was shallow and her skin hot and clammy. Candy didn't stir to her touch. Melinda was already calling an ambulance by the time the others came there.

"Jesus – poor kid!" Mona said. "Do you think these guys had something to do with her condition?"

"I'm taking them in," Cameron said grimly. "Making her sleep in the pantry and not treating her when she's obviously ill is cruelty enough in my book."

"There are two bedrooms in the house," Don informed Melinda as Cameron went off. "One is the Clarkes' and the other is fitted as some kind of home gym, for that brute of an uncle, I guess. No evidence the kid slept anywhere except here."

They heard the wail of an ambulance coming down the street and a few minutes later, two EMTs came in. They shifted Candy with practiced ease onto a stretcher, hooking her up to an IV before carrying her out.

"We'll follow in the car," Melinda told them. "She has no known relatives so Senator Kane and I will take responsibility for her treatment."

Melinda waited with Don and Mona outside the ER. About fifteen minutes later a doctor came out to meet them. He looked grave.

"She has a fever of 105," he said. "The cause seems to be septicemia – there are severe lacerations on her back, some of which are infected."

Melinda drew in a sharp breath.

"What could have caused those injuries, Doctor?"

"My guess is a whip or belt or something like that," he said.

"And how is she doing, Doctor?" Melinda asked, her heart clenching with anger at the Clarkes and pity for poor Candy.

"Prognosis is guarded right now, I'm afraid," he said soberly. "She hasn't regained consciousness so far. We've done the blood work and started treatment, but we'll have to wait for some reports to know the specific infection. Also, her overall health is not very good, you know. There is evidence of malnourishment, so her body's immune system isn't at its best."

"So she was abused," Mona said as soon as the doctor left. "We need to speak to Cameron and let him know."

They moved off and Melinda called her husband, needing to hear his comforting voice.

"She's just Matt's age, Rich," she said, her voice breaking a little. "I can't imagine what she's gone through all these years. The doctor said she has older injuries as well, so this is not the first time she's been abused."

"Oh, Mel, honey." Senator Kane was silent for a moment. "I'm coming there, sweetheart. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Thank you, Rich," Melinda said gratefully.

"Oh, and Mel? The one positive we can take from this is how responsibly Matt has behaved throughout."

Matt! She had promised him she would call once she saw Candy – he must be waiting, she thought. As soon as her call with her husband ended, she phoned Matt. He answered on the first ring.

"Mom? Did you speak to her? How is she?" he asked eagerly.

"Matt, honey, we found her, but she's not doing very well, I'm afraid."

Matt listened in silence as his mother explained how they'd found Candy and what the doctor had said.

"Mom, I'm coming there," he said when she finished.

He reached the hospital just as his dad's car drove up. They hurried in to meet Melinda.

"Mom, what happens to her once she's out of hospital?" Matt asked.

"Well, we'll have to check if she has any other relatives and whether they're willing to take her in, else we'll have to try and place her with a foster family, which may be difficult at her age."

"I'll ask my staff to look into her family," Rich said. "I spoke to Chief Parker as well on my way here. The police are questioning the Clarkes based on the doctor's assessment of Candy's injuries. I guess there's nothing more we can do here now, so shall we go home, dear?"

"Mom, Dad, I'd like to stay in the hospital tonight," said Matt. "I know there's nothing we can do, but there's no one for her and if she wakes up, I'm the only person she'll know."

"If you're sure, honey," Melinda said.

"We'll be back early tomorrow morning," Rich added.

Matt settled down in the waiting area after his parents left. He had a lot of soul-searching to do, especially about how he had led the way in making Candy's school life that much more difficult for her. His intention had been simply to have some fun at her expense, and he had never stopped to consider why she might be so different from the rest of them. He had been a jerk, thought Matt unhappily. A complete and total jerk.