Sitting in the dusty chair, Ellie concluded that though Joel was bigger, she was more afraid of Tess. For the past five minutes they had sat there in silence, Ellie fidgeting uncomfortably and Tess just staring.
"Look, I didn't really kill that kid. I just roughed him up." Ellie smiled, hoping to get some reaction out of the older woman – but there was no response other than a blink. Ellie couldn't help but to feel as though she'd been better off staying in the closet.
"Ellie." The two syllables carried so much weight that Ellie almost felt like she had been slapped. Looking up into Tess's eyes, she could see something there, but she couldn't figure it out.
"Now, I'm not going to ask you what the fuck that was between you and Joel. That's your shit to deal with. Deal with it. But, if you disrespect my husband again like that, we will have an issue. Got it?" Ellie didn't know how the hell such a soft voice could carry such power, but it did. She nodded and looked away from those piercing eyes.
"Okay. Now, that boy you attacked – was he going to hurt you?"
"No."
"Alright, was he going to hurt Malachi?"
"No, ma'am."
"Was he going to hurt me or Joel?"
"No, he wasn't going to hurt anyone." Ellie slumped further into her chair, wishing she could just vanish.
"So, why the fuck did you attack him with your knife? Ellie – I know we've had to kill while on the road. And I know that you went through shit with Joel when you guys went to Salt Lake City, but Ellie – those people were going to kill you. But you just said that kid wasn't going to hurt you. Why did you try to kill him?" Instead of screaming or getting angry Tess did something even scarier, she leaned in and put a hand on Ellie's trembling knee. Ellie didn't even notice until he realized she was holding it, almost as if it was an anchor.
"He…he said something really mean to me, Tess. I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry!" The tears formed in the corner of her eyes, but neither of them did anything about it.
"Ellie, what did he say to you? You have to tell me or I can't help you." Ellie looks back up and finally recognizes the look in Tess's eyes – concern.
"He…he called me. He said I…was a, a…" Overcome with emotion Ellie couldn't finish what she was saying and started to rock and sob loudly. In a flash Tess leans kneels on the floor in front of the small girl, wraps her arms around Ellie and starts rubbing her back in soft circles while softly whispering words of encouragement into her ear. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the Constable and Tommy coming over, but she shot them a glare and mouthed for them to wait. A few minutes later Ellie finally finished the sentence.
"A dyke. He called me that, and said I was going to hell." Still sniffling Ellie collapsed into Tess's arms and kept muttering apologies to her. Looking down at her young charge Tess realized that for whatever reason, Ellie had been seriously hurt by this. But still…
"Ellie, are you telling me everything?" She could feel Ellie stiffen against her, obviously scared by the realization but she shook her head.
"No. No, I did." With that Ellie pushes away from Tess and sits back down in her chair, all business again.
"Ellie, you will have to go to the jail for a while, but if you promise you've told me everything truthfully, I'll find a way to help you. Okay?"
"Ask Kathrine about it, she'll be able to tell you more also." Ellie looks into Tess's eyes one last time, but instead of the tears or fear, Tess can see something deeper in them, an inner fire had been relight, and Tess was curious to find out what it was.
"And when you do talk to her, take Joel." With that, Ellie rises from the chair and goes to the waiting Constable. She looks back at Tess and smiles, "Thank you Tess. I… It means a lot to me that you're willing to help me. Thank you." Guided by the Constable she leaves the town hall, the main doors giving a soft boom when they finally close.
"All right Joel, time for you to fuckin' tell the truth." With her goal of saving her daughter now firmly in place, Tess quickly races home.
