Awash (The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 6) Read Online Free Page B

me. My mom liked you a lot.”
    Maggie felt her throat thickening. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she spoke.
    “I still care about you,” she said. It took her a moment to speak again. “Zoe, I’ve been through what you’re going through. Please don’t be embarrassed in front of me.”
    Zoe looked up quickly. “It happened to you?”
    Maggie nodded. “When I was fifteen.”
    “I’m sorry,” the girl said softly, and Maggie’s soul wept. “But you’re okay now?”
    That morning’s nightmare flashed into Maggie’s head. “Yes,” she said anyway. “And you’ll be okay, too. Different from yesterday, but okay.”

    Maggie sat next to the exam table, on the little stool with wheels, as she watched Dr. Broderick. The doctor’s ash-blond ponytail hung over her shoulder as she held Zoe’s right hand and gently scraped under each fingernail. Zoe sat straight as a board in her thin hospital gown, staring without expression at the wall behind Maggie.
    Lynette Boatwright had quickly opted out of accompanying her niece during the examination. Her relief at having a stand-in was obvious, but Maggie didn’t know if it was because it gave her the chance to take smoke breaks, or because she was uncomfortable with the proceedings. It occurred to Maggie that she just didn’t care, but she tried to push that thought into a corner of her mind. It wouldn’t be helpful to build a bias against the woman.
    Maggie was glad that they’d gotten Valerie Broderick. Maggie didn’t know her socially, but they’d crossed professional paths many times. She was in her early thirties, pretty but not in a distracting way, she knew her stuff, and she treated victims with respect.
    “All right, Zoe,” Dr. Broderick said gently. “I’m going to have you lie down now so that I can conduct a vaginal exam. Have you had one yet?”
    “No, ma’am,” Zoe answered. When she glanced at Maggie, her eyes showed her anxiety.
    Dr. Broderick put a hand on Zoe’s upper back. “I’m not going to start without telling you first, okay?”
    Zoe nodded, just barely.
    I’m going to have to use a speculum to enable me to see any signs of injury. Do you know what a speculum is?” the doctor asked.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Then I’m going to use one of these to swab for any semen,” the doctor said, holding up a long disposable swab.
    Zoe nodded. Dr. Broderick moved her hand to Zoe’s shoulder. “Listen to me,” she said. “You didn’t make an appointment for this. It’s an invasion and you’ve already had enough invasion. I’ll be as gentle and as quick as I can, all right?”
    “I’m okay,” Zoe said to the wall.
    “Okay, let’s go ahead and lie down,” the doctor said gently, and she laid a folded blanket across the girl’s slim hips before moving to stand at the foot of the exam table.
    Maggie was surprised when Zoe reached out and took her hand. She scooted her stool closer to the table and covered their clasped hands with her free one.
    “Okay, Zoe,” the doctor said softly. “I’m just going to take your foot and lift it into the stirrups, okay?”
    Zoe nodded sharply, staring stoically up at the ceiling.
    “And now the other foot.”
    The reaction was so sudden that Maggie jumped just a bit. Zoe yanked her hand from Maggie’s, covered her face with both hands, and let out a sob that was raw and feral. Dr. Broderick rested a hand on Zoe’s knee, and Maggie let Zoe go a minute before she put a hand over Zoe’s.
    “Zoe, look at me,” she said gently. “Look right at me.”
    After a moment, Zoe’s cries turned to great, heaving breaths, and she took her hands from her face. Maggie gently curled her fingers into Zoe’s as the girl turned her head to look at her. Maggie leaned toward her, put her face just inches from the girl’s.
    “Where do you look first when you stop a ball?” Maggie asked her gently.
    “First base,” Zoe whispered immediately.
    “When can you steal?”
    “When the ball