Читать книгу Guardian Of Justice - Carol Steward - Страница 10

As Kira walked toward the home, she took a deep breath, saying a quick prayer for God to give her wisdom to help this family. She paused before going inside, wondered which foster home, if any, had space available for two kids tonight. “Lord, would you prepare a home for these children while I go through the paperwork? I know the system is full, but I need a miracle, again.”

“So, that necklace is more than just a decoration, huh?” Dallas said as he rejoined her again.

“Definitely. I couldn’t get through a day without God. Some days we have a lot of talks. What about you?” Kira glanced quickly at the attractive officer, trying not to stare into his touch but tender gaze. He’s nice looking, she thought.

“We have an on-again off-again relationship, it seems,” he said quietly as they reached the door. “In this line of work, you can’t survive without God to cover your back, but the attendance records in any church are pretty dismal.”

“That’s the nature of the job, unfortunately.” Kira didn’t have time to think about his comments now. She had work to do. While the drug task force evaluated the contamination threat of the home, Kira and Dallas convinced the mother that she had no options left. Finally, Shirley gave the information Kira needed about parents and possible extended family members who might be able to take care of the children while she was “away.” Kira explained that a family group conference would be scheduled to meet with a review committee from Social Services to discuss care of the children. In the meantime, Kira would investigate the suitability of each family member.

The mother was angry, Cody quiet and Betsy just plain afraid. A female officer came and sat with the kids in the other room while Kira talked with the mother.

“Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration will be here soon,” Dallas said, prompting her to finish up. “They’d like the kids out of here before they arrive. We need to have a doctor make sure the kids haven’t been exposed to any harmful chemicals or drugs.”

The mother began swearing again as they were taken away.

“What about the drugs,” Kira asked quietly. “Are they making them in the home, too?”

“No, it’s not a kitchen, so we don’t have those risks to deal with. But just in case, they’ve had the children change clothes. And since it’s become such a big problem in the area, we have those new regulations to follow. We need to have the children checked out at the hospital. As for Mickey and Shirley, their problems are much bigger than you can imagine. Best we just get the kids into a home, where they can move on.”

Her jaw dropped.

“Come on, how soon will you be ready?” Dallas motioned toward the kids’ bedrooms. “Let’s get their things and go, so that the DEA can do their work.”

Kira looked around each child’s room. There wasn’t much that they would be allowed to take, yet somehow they’d filled a few bags. “Anything else you need?”

“I want my bear!” Betsy demanded.

Dallas knelt down next to the girl. “I have a brand-new stuffed animal I’d like to give you, Betsy. I know it’s not the same but—”

“I want my bear.”

Kira offered Betsy a hug, while Cody hit them all over the head with the cold, hard facts. “They had to take it, Betsy. Mickey stuffed it with drugs, remember? The police have to take it now.” His voice was filled with bitterness.

“Mama…” Betsy whimpered.

It never failed to amaze Kira that children clung to the familiar even when it wasn’t worth holding on to. Getting the kids’ essentials together drained her, for it brought back too many memories of her own childhood misery.

“We need to leave now,” she said softly. “I’m going to find a nice home for you to stay at until I’ve had a chance to talk with your aunt.”

“No, I want Mommy,” Betsy whined, running down the hallway.

Dallas caught her and lifted her into his arms. “Come on, Betsy, let’s find that new toy I have for you.” He carried her to the patrol car while Cody lagged defiantly behind.

What little rapport Kira had managed to build with the girl diminished just as quickly once Betsy figured out she was being taken away from her mother. She wanted nothing to do with Kira now.

Cody caught up with Officer Brooks immediately when Betsy screamed for her mother.

“I’ll take care of her, she’s my sister.” Cody puffed his scrawny chest out and reached for Betsy. Officer Brooks relinquished the little girl without a word.

That surprised her, but why, Kira wasn’t sure. She studied him a moment before turning to watch the boy’s response to his sister’s fear.

“It’s going to be okay, Bets,” Cody said in a soothing voice. “I promise, I’ll take care of you.” He paused only long enough for Dallas to open the back door of Officer Williams’s patrol car. Williams had taken Dallas’s cruiser to the impound lot for the investigator to run prints and record the damage. They didn’t want the kids to see the destruction Mickey had done. They’d already been through enough.

As Cody waited for his sister to climb into the car, he turned to Officer Brooks. “Thanks, man,” he said quietly.

Kira couldn’t believe what she thought she heard. She shot a quick glance at Dallas just in time to see him deliberately wipe a smile from his face. “Just doing my job.”

Kira carried the children’s belongings, feeling slightly left out. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had thanked her for removing them from a dangerous home setting. She waited for Dallas to close the door before she said anything. “What was that about?”

“It’s our job. You can’t let feelings get in the way.”

She stood there, stunned, while Dallas took the grocery bags holding the kids’ few belongings, and put them into the trunk. She knew he was right, but it didn’t stop the pain. She was the one who’d been terrorized, she’d found Betsy, then she’d convinced Dallas that they needed to be removed from the home. Yet he received the thanks, the hugs and the glory.

How dare he claim they couldn’t let themselves get emotionally involved? “How, exactly, do you turn off the emotions, Officer Brooks?”

“I thought we agreed that you’d call me Dallas. I’m doing my job. There’s no room for emotions.”

She didn’t believe him for a minute. “Job well done, then. If you wouldn’t mind taking us to the police station so I can get my car, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll be happy to, after we have the kids checked out at the hospital. Hopefully, that won’t take too long, since the house wasn’t where the meth was cooked.”

Kira called the Social Services number and discussed the case with the staff member on duty. A few minutes later, as Dallas and Kira waited for clearance from the hospital, she said, “The intake caseworker is having trouble finding a home where we can keep the children together. As usual, we’re overloaded with children, and understaffed with foster homes.”

While she was talking, Dallas dug through a box in the trunk filled with stuffed toys. Finally he pulled out a golden bunny. “Think she’ll like this?”

“It might distract her for now.” Kira knew it was unlikely that a new stuffed animal would console Betsy for the loss of Fuzzy Bear, but it was worth a try. What Betsy wanted was security, and right now, that felt a long way off to a little girl.

Dallas tossed the golden-yellow bunny into the air and caught it with his other hand. “It’s going to be a long road for these kids, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so,” Kira agreed.

“Here.” He handed the toy to Kira. “You give it to her.”

She caught it, startled by the unexpected gesture. The softness of the fur surprised her as well. When she looked up to thank Dallas, he was already in the car.

After a slight hesitation, she opened the back door and climbed inside. “Dal…” She caught herself. “Officer Brooks found this for you, Betsy. We know it won’t be the same as Fuzzy.” She paused to brush the soft fur one more time. “But if you close your eyes and snuggle her, it feels soft and fuzzy like your bear.” Kira handed the toy to Betsy. “Look, the bunny’s fur is the same color as your hair.”

Betsy closed her eyes and brushed the bunny against her cheek. A tiny smile replaced the pout. “Thank you.” She hugged the animal and held it up for her brother’s approval, and it even brought a brief smile to his face.

Two hours later, both kids had a clean bill of health and Kira was on her way to the short-term foster care home. It would be a couple of days before Social Services could evaluate the aunt’s qualifications as a kinship provider. Unfortunately, the only place in the county that had room for both children on short notice was thirty minutes away. Since the intake caseworker who was on call lived in the opposite direction from the foster home, Kira had agreed to drop the kids off on her way home. “Are you two hungry? I can stop and get you a hamburger.”

“That would be good, thanks,” Cody said quietly.

Kira turned into the only fast-food restaurant in town with a drive-up window. If the kids had a full stomach, they would be more content, the drive would go quicker, plus they would have something to keep them busy. They had enough to think about right now without hunger being one of them.

The children gave her their order and Kira pulled forward to wait for the food.

“I want Mommy,” Betsy whimpered.

Kira glanced into the rearview mirror at the little girl, who kept a tight grip on her brother with one skinny little arm.

“Mom’s sick, Betsy. She needs to go to the doctor and get help,” the teen said.

The words of wisdom startled Kira, even while she knew the anger he expressed earlier wasn’t gone. It couldn’t be. According to their files, Cody had to know what was coming. They’d been through this before. Betsy probably didn’t remember going through it the last time. She had been just a year and a half old.

Kira had read their file while the intake caseworker had finished up the paperwork. How could their mother have come so far and then let herself slip up again?