They were lined up as if for head count, but instead of the guards yelling into their walkie-talkies, they had Father Gary warning that they were now in what he termed a “Code Red situation.” The regular schedule was suspended so that they could make Peaceful Cove resemble, in even a passing way, the image presented in the brochure, before Cassie’s father turned up. If he turned up.
For the next thirty-six hours, Peaceful Cove was cleaned from top to bottom. Students were sent up on the roofs with buckets of tar to plug the holes, or handed cans of insecticide until the whole building reeked of some Mexican brand of Raid. Clothes were washed in what was normally the staff’s washing machine. Even the food improved—there was meat at every meal, and it was more or less identifiable.
Even though everyone’s life had improved for the moment, the other girls treated Cassie like a pariah. No one whispered to her or even met her eye in an unobserved moment. The only one who still treated her the same was Hayley. They had both been busted back down to Level One.
The second day after she had called her father, Cassie and a half dozen Respect Family members were working in the laundry. It was hot and so humid, it felt like she was working in a steam room. She couldn’t even make a face at Hayley, who had been summoned by Hector after lunch, although Hayley hadn’t been doing anything wrong that Cassie could see.
What would she do if her dad didn’t come? Or if he came but didn’t believe her? It didn’t pay to get on the wrong side of Father Gary, and now Cassie was so far on the wrong side, she couldn’t even see daylight. Her dad had to come, and she had to persuade him to take her home.
Lost in thought, Cassie leaned down to get another basket of grimy sheets. Next to it was a pair of men’s shoes. Her heart leapt. Father Gary. His footsteps had been muffled by the thumping of the dryers. He was looking down at her, his eyes narrowed.
“Come with me. We need to have a talk.”
Cassie followed him past kids sweeping the yard, scrubbing grime from the windows, and whitewashing the concrete walls. Father Gary took Cassie into the small room where she had had her first introduction to Peaceful Cove.
Father Gary looked calm, and that scared Cassie more than if he had been angry. Now he leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard, his eyes hooded. “You like Hayley, don’t you?” It wasn’t really a question, but she nodded anyway. “I’ve just had word that your biological father has driven across the border. He’ll be here in half an hour. That’s why Hayley’s gone. She’s with Hector now, off the grounds.” He took a walkie-talkie from his belt and pressed the button on the side. “Hector. Come in, Hector.”
There was an answering crackle of static. “¿Sí?”
“Have Hayley say hola to Cassie.”
“Hi, Cassie.” If she hadn’t seen Hayley being marched away by Hector, Cassie wouldn’t have known her voice. It was all wrong, too high-pitched, and strangled-sounding. Had he hurt her?
“Gracias. That’s all, Hector, over and out.” Father Gary switched off the walkie-talkie and regarded her calmly. “We run a good program here, Cassie, a good program. We change lives every day. Kids who have graduated from Peaceful Cove have gone to college, gone on to good jobs, gone on to be good mothers and fathers. They leave here having learned self-discipline and self-respect.” He leaned forward. “I will not have you jeopardize this program. I will not have you put yourself above the good of one hundred and eighty other students. Do you understand me?”
Cassie nodded. She realized that Father Gary believed his own words, and for some reason that frightened her even more. His eyes drilled into her until she opened her mouth and said, “Yes, I understand.”
“Good. Now if, while your father is here, you say or do anything that puts this program at risk, then I turn on the walkie-talkie. I don’t even need to say anything. Hector will just hear the crackle and know that he can do anything he wants to your friend. Anything. You don’t want that, do you?”
Cassie took a deep shuddering breath, but she couldn’t delay the inevitable. Finally, she said, “No. No, sir.”
Father Gary smiled. “Good. I don’t mean to make this difficult for you, Cassie. You’re like a high-spirited horse that won’t be broken to the saddle. But there comes a time when we all must accept our burdens.”
twenty-seven
June 8
When Cassie first saw her father, she thought she was going to faint. She swayed on her feet, and Father Gary put his arm around her to steady her, his grip like iron.
Her dad ran across the beaten earth of the courtyard toward her and she stumbled toward him. Then his arms were tight around her shoulders, holding her so close that she couldn’t take a breath. She wanted to whisper in his ear, warn him somehow that they were being watched, that she would have to lie. But how could she, without risking that her father wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t question her aloud? Father Gary was only ten feet away.
Finally, they pulled apart. Her father looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. Cassie couldn’t believe he was really here, in a dress shirt, loosened tie, and pressed pants, looking as alien as if Santa Claus had suddenly appeared in the flesh.
“They tried to tell me I couldn’t visit you until you reached the upper levels, but I said, screw that, my daughter sounds desperate.” He looked her up and down, his hands still on her shoulders. “But Cassie, you’re so—so tan. And thin. You look great!”
Great!?! Did her dad think Peaceful Cove was some kind of fat camp where Cassie had been trimmed down and tanned to perfection?
“It’s just a farmer tan,” she said, pulling up her sleeve so that he could see her white upper arm. “It’s not like we’re lying on the beach or anything.”
Father Gary frowned at her, but she didn’t think she had said anything that could get her in trouble. Or, more important, get Hayley in trouble.
“I guess you couldn’t even get to the beach, could you?” her dad asked, looking past her at the hundred-foot drop to the endless line of waves.
“Oh, the children on the upper levels go on outings,” Father Gary interjected smoothly. “The beach, horseback riding, shopping at the local farmer’s market. But they have to earn their privileges.”
With difficulty, Cassie kept her face neutral. Father Gary put out his hand, and Cassie’s dad shook it automatically. “Gary Fisk, Peaceful Cove’s director. And you must be Cassie’s dad, Mr. . . .”
“It’s Steve. Steve Streng. When Cassie phoned me, she said kids were being beaten here.”
Father Gary’s laugh sounded unforced. “Has your ex-wife shared our handbook with you? We warn parents about this behavior right up front. Making up stories—lying, if you will—is one of the typical stages teens go through before they settle down to the hard work of change. There’s always a time period where they will do or say anything rather than admit they need to change.” He waved his arm expansively. “You are free to move around the grounds and talk to any of the kids you want. I won’t deny we run a tight ship. This is a tough program where inappropriate attitudes and choices are confronted and redirected. It’s not comfortable here. It’s not meant to be comfortable. Peaceful Cove has been specially designed to motivate young people to do the hard work they need to so that they can leave here and go home to be with their families.”
“Still, I want to talk to my daughter. Now. Alone.”
Cassie’s heart leapt. Her dad wasn’t buying any of this.
“Certainly,” Father Gary said smoothly. “When you’re done talking, I’ll give you the fifty-cent tour.” He led them inside and into a small room that held two chairs. The OP room, only for once it was empty. And it was clean. All the stains had been scrubbed from the tile. Over her dad’s shoulder, Father Gary gave Cassie a look. It was clear his choice of rooms was deliberate. Every minute would remind her of Hayley. Father Gary left the room, but he didn’t close the door completely. Cassie listened for the sound of his footsteps, uncertain just how far away he had gone.
“How are you, honey? Really. I want you to tell me the truth.”
“Oh, Daddy,” Cassie managed to choke out, before the words and the emotions all got stuck in her throat.
He hugged her to him and she let herself relax into his shoulder. For a second, she felt safe. But only for a second.
“You said they beat you.” He ran his hands up and down her arms, stepped back to look at her legs. “I don’t see any marks.”
She still had scratches on her breasts and bruises on her back from Rebecca’s attack. But then she thought of Hayley. She choked out the necessary lie. “Maybe what I should have said is that they’re really strict.”
“Strict! Jesus, Cassie, what do you expect after the crap you pulled? After you called me, I talked to your mom. And she explained everything. You’re only in tenth grade! I mean, drugs? How could you? I know it’s been hard the last couple of years, moving and all, maybe me and Ruby having kids, but . . .” His voice trailed off. His brown eyes reminded her of a dog’s, faithful and disappointed.
She opened her mouth, and closed it again. She was in dangerous territory now. And then it came to her.
“Dad, since I’ve been here, I’ve been thinking about when I was little. Remember when we watched those Disney videos together?” Pinocchio, she willed him to say. And then he might start thinking about what was true and what was lies. “That video we watched over and over?”
His gaze softened. “You mean Dumbo? Is that what the problem was? Were you just feeling too much the odd girl out at your new school?”
She tried again. “I wasn’t thinking of that movie, Dad, but the other one. The one with the”—she lowered her voice—“the cricket? Remember that one?”
He shook his head, and it was clear he wasn’t getting it. His eyes shone with unshed tears.
Cassie reached out and squeezed his hand. “Daddy, I’m really sorry, okay?”
He looked at her for a long time, really looked in a way he hadn’t for years, maybe not forever. “You’re sorry.”
“Yes.”
“Can you promise me that you would never use drugs again?”
This was easy. “Yes.”
He looked at her, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I said the same thing when your grandpa caught me smoking pot. I lied about it. But I was in college. And it was only pot. But now—now your life could be on the line, Cassie.”
“But, Dad,” she started, and then stopped. She didn’t know what else to do.
“Come on,” he said, taking her arm. “Let’s go take the tour. I want to see for myself what this place is like.”
They found Father Gary in his office. Was it her imagination, or did he look smug, as if he had heard everything they had said? He pushed back his chair and stood up. “Ready for that tour now?”
Following Father Gary, they walked into the two classrooms where American teachers were actually teaching. Barely hearing Father Gary’s smooth patter, Cassie swung from panic to fear and back again as she weighed spending two more years here against Hayley being beaten, raped, or worse.
“She sleeps on a board?” Cassie’s dad asked incredulously when he looked into the Respect Family’s room. If only he could see her bed the way it regularly was. Today, all the towels had been camouflaged by new white pillowcases, and the beds had been left folded down from the wall.
“That’s all part of the program. The accommodations are deliberately simple and basic, not nearly as nice as your home. We make them want to go back home because they’ve learned to appreciate it.”
“I don’t know,” Cassie’s father said slowly. “It doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would, but it still seems pretty austere. Maybe I should just take you back home, Cassie. I mean, you couldn’t live with us, we just don’t have the room, but maybe if you went to counseling. I mean, if you promised to behave . . .”
Startling them both, Father Gary barked out, “Do you want her to die?”
“Of course not!” Her dad took a step back, looking offended and skeptical.
“All the counseling in the world will never change someone’s heart if they aren’t ready to change. This is a shock point to force Cassie out of her comfort zone, to make her see what her choices have done to her and to you. Do you know what happens to kids who get removed from the program prematurely, before they’ve even started to progress?” He emphasized each of his next words. “They get worse. They use more drugs, drink more alcohol, have more unprotected sex. The only difference is that now they’ve caught on that their parents are watching, so they make sure they cover their tracks. Do you really want to be responsible for that?”
Father Gary stared at her dad hard before continuing. “I have watched literally hundreds of kids come and go from Peaceful Cove. Some left when they were ready to, others before it was time. And I’ve heard the stories of what happened to those who left too soon. Some of them ended up dropping out of school and working at McDonald’s, some on the street, some selling their bodies. And some of them ended up dead. Do you want to risk that?”
“I—I just don’t know. I love my daughter and want to do what’s right. And I don’t know if this place is the right place for her.” Her dad’s shoulders sagged. Now he sounded uncertain. He looked at Cassie. “Maybe I should talk to your mother about putting you in a Stateside school. Someplace where we could visit you. It’s not good to cut you off from everyone.”
As Cassie’s dad was speaking, Father Gary picked up the walkie-talkie from his desk, began to run his fingers up and down the side, not quite touching the transmit button. He didn’t even look at Cassie. He didn’t have to. The message was loud and clear.
Cassie summoned the words to her lips, even managed something of a smile. “After listening to you, Dad, I realize that maybe it’s not so bad here. I’m learning a lot.” She looked over at Father Gary. “A whole lot.” He nodded once, but her father didn’t notice.
“Are you sure? You sounded so upset on the phone.”
“I was lonely when I called.” She suddenly had an idea. “Since then I’ve made friends here. There’s this one girl, Hayley—”
“Can I meet her?”
“Sorry,” Father Gary said smoothly, before Cassie could say anything else. “She’s on one of those outings I talked about.” He looked at Cassie. His finger was poised over the button.
Cassie realized there was nothing else she could do, not unless she was willing to sacrifice Hayley. “I’ve had the last two days to think, Dad. I think it would be best if I stayed here.”
He looked at her closely. Part of her wanted to cry when she saw the expression in his eyes. Doubt mingled with relief. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Cassie gave him another hug, swift and hard. How many years would it be before she touched him again?
twenty-eight
June 11
In the days after Cassie’s dad left, Cassie and Hayley began to plot their escape in earnest. Two hours after Cassie’s dad drove away, Hayley had come back from Hector shaking, but had sworn that he hadn’t touched her. Still, Hayley seem to have a newfound resolve to leave. Now the only question was how.
On a day when the Respect Family was assigned to yank weeds from the yard, Cassie let her eyes roam over the walls, looking for any rough spots she might use to climb to the top. But the cinder-block wall was new and in good shape. When she stood up to dump her weeds in the trash, she walked as close to the wire mesh fence as she could without attracting the attention of the guards. If you found a way to climb over the fence and past the concertina wire, maybe you could edge along next to it, clinging like a monkey, until you were past the facility. But there was less than a foot of space on the other side of the wire fence before the cliff—often much less. Any slip would be a certain death.
As she walked back, her empty bucket banging against her knee, Cassie’s eyes fell on the ditch that ran along the edge of the far wall, just past the laundry lines. The water flowed fast and cool, even in the summer
heat. Where it entered the wall and again where it poured into the ocean, the open ditch became a closed metal pipe about three feet across. The water nearly filled the pipe, leaving less than a foot of clearance from the top.
Picking the farthest patch of weeds, Cassie knelt down next to the ditch, eyeing the open mouth of the pipe while her hand slowly reached out for a weed. How long did the pipe stretch underground before it became an open ditch again? She couldn’t tell. The pipe was nothing but a black hole. From the times she had played soccer outside the walls, Cassie tried to picture where exactly the pipe ended and the ditch began. She thought about twenty feet of it were buried. Maybe thirty.
Too far to hold your breath, not when you were fighting upstream in a narrow metal tube filled with water. And she was a poor swimmer. When she was five and taking private swimming lessons, Cassie had almost drowned when her teacher went inside to answer the phone. Ever since she had had to fight back panic before she could put her face in the water. Learning to snorkel in Hawaii two years ago had been a triumph, but the water had been warm and buoyant, and thanks to the snorkel she had been able to breathe all she wanted without having to raise her face.
Snorkeling! Maybe that was the answer. She remembered the mesh bag with fins and a mask that her mom had packed. Martha had left the bag in her suitcase. If Cassie could get down to the office and get into the closet again, then the bag should still be inside. And there were so many suitcases, there was bound to be another set for Hayley.
Over the next few days, they began to assemble the pieces they needed for the plan. At night they took turns staying awake until they were sure of the guard’s schedule. He rounded once at 11:30, then did not come back again until just before dawn. Using her compass ring and the instructions Hayley had gotten for her, Cassie practiced with her watch until she was sure she knew how to tell where north was. And she and Hayley both kept their eyes open for discarded gum—a “privilege” only open to Level Fours and above. They hid their collection of pieces, pried from the bathroom wall, by wrapping them in Cassie’s spare uniform.