A Child's Haven - 53. Chapter 53

Bubba and I took Sandy to the vets. He was given a vitamin shot and some tablets to take for the next 14 days. She recommended a change in his diet and a new brand of dog food. On the way home, we stopped to pick up dog food and some chews. I then stopped at an artist supply store and bought the large paper that Beth would need and some marking pens.

When we got back to Sanctuary, my favorite policemen were there, “I heard that you have a boy from Mexico here?”

“Wow, news travels fast.”

“We need to talk to him. If he was brought here because of the old slave business, then we need to get a hold of the guy who brought him.”

“Do you speak Spanish? He doesn’t speak English.”

Murray shook his head no and made a phone call. About 10 minutes and a cup of coffee later, there was a knock at the door. Murray got up to answer it when another cop entered. “Brad, this is Officer Juan Diaz. I’ve asked him to come here to interpret for us.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Officer Diaz, would you like a cup of coffee while I get the boy.”

Murray led him to the coffee, telling him about the boy being brought here, and they wanted to know who brought him. When they sat down with their coffee, I entered the dining hall with Carlos. At first, Carlos was nervous and a little upset when he saw the police. I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. I smiled at him, trying to reassure him, it was ok. Officer Diaz saw the child and guessed correctly. He quickly came over to the child, speaking Spanish all the way. I could feel Carlos relax and then a smile. We went and sat down while Officer Diaz talked to Carlos. O’Shea and I got up to get another cup of coffee. “Do you think I could use Officer Diaz for a little while today? I want to explain a little about Sanctuary to Carlos, and it wouldn’t hurt Officer Diaz to learn. He may see other Spanish speaking kids that need Sanctuary.”

O’Shea thought that would be a good idea. Officer Diaz asked for paper and a pencil. I sent Bubba to ask Beth. When he returned, the officer gave the pencil to Carlos. He began to draw. The kid was pretty good. The face that appeared, Murray recognized immediately. “That’s Leon Barkley. His picture was among those that we got from the slave raid. We have been looking for him.”

“He must have left before the raid. Carlos said he brought him here for the slave trade.” Murray called the station relaying the information.

I asked Officer Diaz if he’d ask Carlos questions about other kids. He started to ask Carlos, but I thought I saw a little reluctance on Carlos’s part to answer those questions. “Officer Diaz, I think if you explain to Carlos the idea behind Sanctuary and that there’d be no repercussions if he answered your questions, he may be more willing to give you the information.”

Officer Diaz spent the next 15 minutes telling Carlos about Sanctuary. Every once in a while, he would ask me a question and then repeat the answer to Carlos. At the end of the fifteen minutes, Carlos turned to me and hugged me with tears in his eyes. From that moment on, Officer Diaz had no problem with Carlos telling him all that he knew.

After Carlos was finished, Bubba got him a juice and took him to his room. Officer Diaz began to tell us what Carlos had said. His parents and sister paid this man to smuggle them into the Country along with 12 other families. When they got into New Mexico, the men stopped the truck in the desert; they shot the parents and took the kids to sell. Most of them went into the southern part of California, but a few, like himself, went north. His sister was with him, but she was dropped off at a massage parlor just south of this town. At this news, Murray was on the phone. I knew what was going to happen. Officer Diaz continued with what Carlos told him. When the man stopped at the place where the slave auction was to be held, he found no one around and was very angry. He started to break into the building, and that is when he fled. He saw a sign, Bodega, and went into the store. He told the clerk he was being kidnapped and needed a safe place to stay. They sent him here.

“I just called the precinct, and they are putting together a squad to raid the massage parlor. I also asked them to call the FBI and inform him of the shooting and the children’s disposition in southern California. You may be inheriting a lot of kids soon.”

I asked Officer Diaz to join us for dinner tonight. I didn’t need to ask Murray and O’Shea as they knew that they had a standing invitation. The officers left, and I went to check on Bubba and Carlos.

Bubba and Carlos were getting along just fine for two kids who didn’t speak the other’s language. Sandy loved the attention.

Dinner that evening was grilled chicken with grilled vegetables and soup. The dessert was apple pie with ice cream. The grill that Mario brought from home was getting a workout. The kids loved it by being able to pick out their favorite piece of chicken. I noticed we always had more legs than breasts. Mrs. Jenkins knew her kids.

Murray, O’Shea, and Diaz came in when the kids were eating their desserts. I made sure Mario had enough for them, although I didn’t need to bother. There was always plenty of left over’s that would appear later as something else. I followed Diaz in line as I wanted another cup of coffee. Tony and Aaron were still eating. I took a small dish of ice cream and joined the adults. Murray had a smile, so I knew something they did had gone well. As I was drinking my coffee, “Brad, how many girls do you have enrolled here?”

“Currently only five, why?

“The raid on the massage parlor went well. Can you handle five more?”

“You’re kidding, five underage girls working in that place?”

“Yes, I’ll bring them over as soon as the doctor is finished checking them out.”

I signaled for Mario to come over, “Mario, we have five more coming for dinner.”

He just nodded and went and spoke to Adam. Looking at Adam reminded me he’s going to take his GED’s tomorrow.

After the kids had eaten and began to leave, I saw Jeff go to the grill and take a food package that Adam had for him. I knew that would either be their lunch tomorrow or a late-night snack.

About thirty minutes after the kids had left, I caught Pat’s attention. “You wanted to see me, Dad?”

“Yes, son, if you see Beth, tell her I need to see her for another enrollment.” He looked at me, but I just winked at him. He went and found Beth, and of course, he came back with her and hung around to see the new kids. Pat was a great kid, and I wished he was my real son. He was a joy and wholly committed to Sanctuary. Tony knew how I felt about Pat and kept encouraging me to adopt him. How could I adopt him when all of these kids needed love? I won’t single out one child as a favorite. I tried as hard as I could to treat them all the same.

Murray got a phone call just as Beth and Pat entered the dining hall. He looked at Diaz and nodded his head. Both Diaz and Murray left, O’Shea stayed with me. “Pat, go and get Aaron for me, please. Beth, we have 5 to enroll tonight.”

We waited for about 45 minutes. I must’ve had 5 cups of coffee. O’Shea just smiled at me shaking his head. I think I heard the cars before I heard the knock. O’Shea went to answer the door, and I saw Diaz leading five girls into the dining hall. I noticed the look on Beth’s face. First, there was a little shock and then a big smile. Some of the girls spoke English, but most spoke only what they needed to say in the massage parlor. Again Diaz explained about Sanctuary. When Pat came back with Aaron, I sent him to get Carlos. Murray handed Aaron some files, which I assumed were the doctor’s results from his examination.

“Officer Diaz, there’s food for the girls. Mario is waiting to serve them.”

Diaz explained to the girls about getting dinner as he led them to the line. At first, they were hesitant to take the food until Mario started to put food on their plate. That is when the smiles began and didn’t stop until they sat and started to eat. I watched one girl who appeared very shy. I’d bet that was Carlos’ sister. And I was right. As soon as Carlos entered the dining hall and began to look at the girls, I heard a loud Maria, and he took off to embrace one of the girls. Two kids thought they’d never see each other again, and yet they were here. Then the noise level momentarily rose. I watched the reunion and wondered how many more of these girls lost family in the same way Carlos and Maria did. I noticed that the girls kept looking at the food in front of Mario. “Officer Diaz, tell them they could go back for seconds. My only rule is you must eat what you take, and you can take as many times as you want.”

I watched as they went back to the line. Mario would put a piece of chicken on their plate and then hold up another piece. If they shook their head yes, he would add it to their plate. If they said no, he would put it on the next plate. At the end of the line, there was Carlos and Pat. They went straight to the deserts. Pat stopped and got a carton of milk. When Carlos saw this, he did as well. Officer Diaz mentioned that they could have milk, juice, or water, and they could get it from the vending machines.

When they had all eaten, I noticed Pat helping Mario and Adam clean up the dining hall. Carlos wouldn’t let his sister go. I asked Officer Diaz to help Beth enroll all of the girls and Carlos if she didn’t have all of his information. “Beth, when you are done enrolling the girls, ask them if they want a shower and then give them a tour. Officer Diaz, could you ask Carlos if he would like to take a shower. I’ll have Pat show him the shower area downstairs.”

I noticed that they all wanted to take a shower. “Brad, do you mind if I take a shower as well?”

I wasn’t sure why he wanted to take a shower unless he wanted to satisfy himself that there was no abuse going on there. “Sure, follow the kids downstairs. Pat will show you the boys’ area.”

I looked at Murray, and he just shrugged his shoulders. We went to get another cup of coffee while I waited for the kids to come upstairs. Pat came up laughing, “What’s so funny?”

“Officer Diaz asked where the hot water tap was. I told him to just turn on the water. It will be ok. I heard a yelp as the cold water came, and then he said it was ok.”

“Did you help Carlos get new clothes and showed him where to put his old clothes?”

“Yes, Officer Diaz translated for me. I guess I’m going to have to learn Spanish.”

“That’s a good idea, and then you can translate for me.”

Soon all the kids were back, and those that had makeup on were scrubbed clean and looked a lot better. Beth showed them to their assigned cocoons, how they worked, the clean sheets and pillowcases, and the laundry chute to the basement. As it quieted down for the night, Murray reminded me I had another child coming in tomorrow morning.

That night I thought I need to make a list of information for each enrollment, and I needed it in Spanish and English. It would save time, and I would be sure to cover all bases. I also needed Tony to arrange a fishing trip.