Chapter 6 - CASEY’S SAFE WORD
Casey was removed from the house that afternoon and temporarily placed with Leah while the court reviewed the evidence.
Corinne was allowed supervised contact.
When she entered Leah’s living room, Casey sat curled beneath a blanket with the teddy bear against her chest.
Corinne did not rush toward her.
She sat on the floor several feet away.
“You’re safe,” she said.
Casey stared at her.
“Is Aunt Gwen coming?”
“No.”
“Daddy said you would take me away and never bring me home.”
Corinne’s throat tightened. “This is your home wherever you are loved and protected.”
The child slowly crossed the space between them.
Then she climbed into Corinne’s lap and began to cry.
Corinne held her without asking questions.
Later, a child specialist named Dr. Helen Park spoke with Casey through games and drawings. She learned that Gwendolyn had moved into the house four months earlier. Ross told Casey that her mother preferred the Army to being a parent.
Whenever Casey asked to call Corinne, Gwendolyn became angry.
The mark on Casey’s wrist happened after the child discovered Ross removing papers from the office.
Casey had taken the silver key and hidden it beneath her mattress.
When Ross announced that Corinne was coming home, Casey placed the key inside the teddy bear’s hat while everyone was distracted.
“How did she know to do that?” Leah asked.
Corinne remembered a conversation from before deployment.
She had taught Casey a family safety rule.
When words could not be spoken, they used the phrase “Don’t come inside.”
It meant danger was nearby.
It meant listen carefully.
It meant do not react until it was safe.
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Casey had remembered.
The warning that had broken Corinne’s heart on the porch had actually been an act of extraordinary courage.
