Thank you moviemom44. This is Chapter three sorry ot took so long. Please read and review.

Chapter Three

Charlie's Story.

Gage walked into the store. He smiled and took a deep breath. The smell of leather enticed him. He ran his fingers over the merchandise, scanning the inventory for the perfect...Ahhh, there it is. He nodded. He purchased the items and with a smile he drove back to work. He had what he needed. Now had to wait for the time to be right to put his plan into action.

That night, while Gage and Sydney watched a movie in the living room Charlie wrestled with his sheets, sweat pouring off him.

Darkness again, the smell of mildew and mold made him feel sick. He was in the basement again. Punishment for spilling milk. He heard the footsteps overhead and the sound of the door above him opening. The sound of metal scraping glass let him know his dinner was served. Leftovers scraped on the floor. The door slammed. He slowly stood up and limped up the steps to the food that laid there waiting for him. He shoveled the food quickly into his mouth as tears rolled down his cheek. Cold oatmeal. Better than the moldy bread they threw to him last night.

He sat straight up on the bed drenched in sweat and tears. He couldn't get out of bed. Was it allowed? He didn't want to make Gage mad at him, but he had to go to the bathroom. He swallowed hard and pushed the covers off his body. He pushed himself off the bed and slowly walked toward the door. He peeked around the doorframe into the hall and into the living room where Gage and Sydney sat on the couch watching a movie. Could he make it to the bathroom without them seeing him?

Sydney's instinct made her look down the hall. She saw the boy peeking around the doorframe.

"Gage," she said quietly, angling her chin in the boy's direction.

Gage followed her gaze and saw the boy. He turned the TV down and stood up.

"Hey Kiddo."

Charlie's eyes widened as Gage approached and out of fear he relieved himself. Gage saw the fear in the boy's eyes and the moisture on the front of his pajamas. "Syd," he said in a broken voice.

Sydney sat with Charlie on the bed after his accident. He had on a clean pair of pajama bottoms and he was staring at the floor. She had seen bruises and horrible welts on his legs as he pulled on his clean clothes. She looked at him and spoke softly.

"Do you feel better now that you changed your pajamas?" He nodded. "You wanna talk about what happened?"

He looked into the hallway, then at Sydney. "I-I just h-had to go pee," he whimpered with tears in his eyes.

Sydney's heart broke. "Why didn't you go to the bathroom across the hall?"

"H-he didn't sa-say I could get o-outta bed," he hiccupped in between sobs.

"Who? Gage?" He nodded. She smiled. "Hon, if you need to go to the bathroom or want something to eat, you can get up out of bed and do what you need to do. Gage won't be mad at you."

Gage stood outside the bedroom door and leaned against the wall listening to the conversation. His heart hurt and tears stung his eyes. He knew the fear and inability to trust. He knew it well. He prayed his plan would work. Tomorrow would be the best day for it.

Trivette stared at his computer screen. Anger rose in him as he read the words displayed there.

CHARLES DAVID MILWAY

CASE # 16534 AGE 8 SEX MALE

First visit

CPS Case worker Anna Bennington reports she arrived at the house located at 9701 ELM STREET after an anonymous phone call on the report of a possibly abused child. Upon arrival, she spoke with EDWARD MILWAY. After investigating the house, she saw no signs of an abused child or even any evidence showing a child lived there. No toys, no children's clothing. Nothing.

Second visit

As Anna Bennington approached the house unannounced she saw a small boy sitting on the porch. As she walked up to him, he ran into the house. Further investigation revealed the child was being forced to sleep on the basement floor. Parents were warned to get him a bed.

Trivette shook his head. "That's all? Just get him a bed? Good lord!" he seethed as Walker came over to his desk.

"Hey, Trivette, everything okay?"

"I found Charlie. Well, kind of…" he said, handing Walker a printed copy of the file he'd been reading.

"I felt there had to be somebody out there who knew him. I searched CPS records and found several reports from three different states. I've seen some ugly stuff, Walker, but this…Everything from being forced to sleep on a hard concrete floor in a basement to being whipped with a leather belt with push pins pushed through it." He felt the bile rise in his throat as the anger swelled. "Walker there is even a report of him being tied to a clothes line because he wet the bed at 7 years old."

Trivette stopped to take a deep breath and continued. "A case worker in Santa Fe said the parents claim the boy is living with an aunt but they cannot locate the person." He turned to see the horrified look on Walker's face. "This poor kid, Walker, has been through more in 10 years then most people will ever face in their lifetime."

Walker collected himself and said, "Thousands of children go through this every day. Behind closed doors. Now it's on our doorstep and we see it." Walker wondered how the boy ended up on the street. "Keep looking, Trivette. See if you can find out how he ended up on the street."

Trivette allowed Sydney and Gage to read the CPS files on Charlie. They had dropped the boy off at the HOPE center. Gage couldn't read much; what he saw turned his stomach. The list of injuries was mind-boggling. The pictures were worse: burns from a curling iron, lacerations on the bottom of his feet, welts on his back and buttocks, horrible bruises on his abdomen caused, the report said, by blunt force trauma.

"My God!" Sydney gasped. "This has to be one of the worst cases I have ever seen."

Trivette sat as his desk talking on the phone. "Can you bring it to me, here at Ranger Head quarters? Thanks, man ... I owe you one… Yeah, tell Denise and the kids I said hi."

As he hung up the phone, Trivette explained, "That was a buddy of mine who owns The Texaco gas station here in Dallas. Last year, the station was being robbed almost every week, so my friend set up surveillance cameras to catch the crooks. Well, anyway, he saw Charlie's photo on the news and thinks he may have the boy on video there. I'll have the video this afternoon."

Walker sat behind his desk with the remote in his hand. Gage stood beside Walker's desk. Sydney sat on the edge of the desk and Trivette stood on the other side. Walker fast-forwarded the video. They watched as cars and trucks were filled with gas.

"There!" Trivette said, pointing at the screen. Walker stopped the video and rewound it a bit. They watched with anticipation as a small blue compact car pulled up to the pumps. A man with dark hair climbed out of the driver's side and walked around to the passenger side of the car. Opening the door and reaching in, he grabbed the small figure in the backseat and jerked it roughly out of the car. The child was obviously crying. The man grabbed the boy by both shoulders and shook him violently. Gage looked down at the floor. He couldn't bear to watch it, but he had to. Taking a deep breath, he continued watching as the man shoved the boy to the ground. Returning to the driver's seat the man drove off. The boy slowly got up, staring after the car as it sped away. Walker paused the video.

"Wow!" Sydney exclaimed, visibly shaken by the abuse she'd just witnessed.

Trivette cleared his throat and answered what he knew would be Walker's next question. "I ran the plate number on that blue car. It's registered to Edward Milway, the boy's father, who has over 25 convictions for DUI, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, sexual battery on a minor... the list goes on."

Walker took charge. "Okay. This video is a year old. The statute of limitations on abandonment in the state of Texas is six months, so we can't charge Milway with abandonment. Honestly, the only legal and moral thing to do is get Charlie the help and love that he needs." Walker had an idea about how to do that, but before he could tell his friends about it, he needed legal advise from a very beautiful Assistant District Attorney.