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Dion stilled. Eric waited him out. He hated what the boy was going through. But he had to do his job, and right now, he had precious little to go on.

“Dion?”

“I saw her,” the teen finally mumbled.

“When? When did you see her?”

“Couple hours before I called.”

“Youcalled?” They’d been waiting on a warrant to track down the anonymous caller just in case it had been someone involved in Ashley’s death. Looked like that wouldn’t be necessary.

He nodded but didn’t look up. “Didn’t know what else to do.”

“You pretended to be a neighbor?”

Another nod.

“Why didn’t you just say who you were?” And why wait?

“I didn’t know what to do,” he said again. “Knew she was long gone already, so it wouldn’t have done any good to call for an ambulance. And I didn’t want CPS coming after me and Lucky. But he wasn’t in the house then, and you found him before I did.”

“What would you have done if you’d found him?”

He shrugged.

“You two are too young to be on your own, Dion. Lucky needs a roof over his head and regular meals. Stability. You deserve those things too.”

The teen had started to bristle, but at Eric’s last statement, he softened. But then he shook his head.

“You know foster homes aren’t like that. We get a roof, sure.And food most of the time. But they ain’t stable. You get yanked from place to place. And some of the parents are downright mean.”

Eric wished he could refute Dion’s words, but they weren’t totally untrue. Although the system was meant for good, there were often a lot of broken pieces. “I’m sorry you’ve had bad experiences. But I can promise you there are good homes out there, and we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Nice try, but you don’t control the system.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I’m powerless. I will take action if I find out there’s neglect or abuse going on in a foster home. And I know the local director. She won’t put up with it either if she finds out her kids are being mistreated.”

“So you say.” He spoke the words under his breath, but Eric caught them.

“I mean it. You still have my number?”

“Yeah.”

“Memorized?”

He hesitated, then nodded.

“I want to hear from you. And not just if things are bad—although I certainly want you to call me if you need help. But you can call if you just want to talk too. I’ll pick up if I can, and if for some reason I can’t, then leave me a message, and I will call back. Promise.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue.

And it really was late now. Eric should probably ask him for more details about how he’d found his mom, if he’d touched her body or moved anything, but at this point, it wouldn’t hurt to wait until tomorrow. The kid could use a good night’s sleep. He’d been through a lot the past couple of days—and Eric wasn’t naïve enough to think he’d had it good before that.

He slapped his thighs and stood. “I think it’s time we get some sleep. I don’t have a spare bed, but you can have mine for tonight. I’ll take the couch.”

Dion’s head shot up, his eyes round. “I don’t want to take your bed. It’s your house.”

Eric waved him off. “You’re my guest for tonight. The couch won’t kill me. Sometimes I fall asleep there anyway.”