Lacy's End (13 page)

She puzzled over this, but finally relented and followed him to an all-night diner. They dined in style. The waitress brought one dish after another to the table. The children ate with voracious appetites. She barely picked at her food.

“What’s wrong?” Allen asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t feel right.”

“Why.”

“My mother didn’t raise me to accept charity.”

“Everyone needs a little help, occasionally. Eat up.”

He left the table, returning moments later with an overweight, balding man. “This is Henry,” he said. He gestured toward the woman. “Henry, this is… I’m sorry, you never told me your name.”

“Elaine,” she said, demurely.

“Beautiful name,” he said. “Here’s the deal. Henry needs a waitress. You need a job. The way I see it, it’s a match made in heaven.”

Elaine sat with a gaping mouth. One of the children reached over and closed it, causing a ripple of laughter from the other children. Elaine scolded them with her eyes, and they straightened up.

“I’m confused,” she managed to say.

Allen looked at Henry. “Well, Henry. What did I tell you?”

Henry looked her over, nodding his head. “I’m willing to give it a try.”

“Wait just a minute,” Allen said. “The uniform’s furnished?”

Henry nodded. “I’ve got a room in the back, it’s not much, but you’re welcome to stay in it until you get on your feet.” He rubbed his jaw in concentration. “I think six months ought to do it.” He looked at the oldest boy. “How old is the boy?”

Elaine took on her mother lioness stance again. “He’s ten.”

“Old enough to sweep floors after school,” he said.

“He doesn’t go to sch…” Elaine started to protest. She trailed off, catching herself before revealing too much.

“I said, after school,” Henry protested.

Elaine smiled. She had always wanted her kids to go to school, but she counted on the older ones to help with the younger ones. “I need them to watch the babies.”

“Social services provide daycare for the homeless in this area, the ones that want to work, anyway. They’ll help get your older ones in school.”

Elaine was on the verge of bolting, her eyes wide with panic. She grabbed her children to her in a protective grasp. “They’ll take them away.”

“No they won’t,” Henry said. “They only want to help. I’ll vouch for you.”

He left for a moment, disappearing through a door, emerging moments later with a single key on a long string. “The room is around back. As I said, it’s not much, but it’s warm, dry, and has a bathroom. You and the kids can eat in the diner free for the first month. After that, I’ll give you half off the menu price, or you can visit the market. No cooking in the room, though. Do we have a deal?”

She looked hesitant, looking from one child to the other. For a moment, it seemed as if she would decline. Then suddenly, she beamed and, jumping from her seat, she ran to his side, grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down in a firm handshake. “Thank you, Sir.”

He looked down at her gruffly, but Allen could see the faintest of smiles turning up his lips. “Don’t disappoint me.”

They left the diner. Allen escorted them to the room, looked inside, and frowned. “Pretty dismal,” he said.

Elaine smiled softly. “It’s a palace compared to an alley doorway.”

He nodded, took out his wallet, and extracted a bunch of twenties. “Here’s a hundred dollars. There’s a thrift store one block over. This should be enough to get you and the kids something decent to wear.”

She pushed the money back at him. “I can’t. Really, this is too much,” she said, but her eyes danced with longing.

He picked up her hand, shoved the money into it, and said, “Take it. Just be honest with it and buy clothes.”

She nodded, choking back tears. “I don’t know what to say.”

He laughed. “Say thank you.”

“Thank you,” she said.

He left them, walking away with a grin on his face. Never before in his life had he done something that made him feel so good.

That was just the beginning for him. The next day he signed up to take shifts at the free clinic. He volunteered three days per month at the homeless shelter, doing whatever was necessary. He even discovered he had a knack for a hammer and nails.

He brought many more single mothers and needy business owners together. That was how he had met Angela Martin. He found the needy, and she helped the needy. Between the two of them, over the past five years, they had successfully retired thirty single mothers off the welfare rolls, and into working society.

His phone rang. He flipped it open, looked at the caller ID. “Angela,” he said. “Finally.”

She sighed in exasperation. “I do have a life outside my office,” she said. “Unlike others, who may remain nameless.”

He ignored the jab, getting right to the point. “Lacy Waldrip’s in the hospital.”

“Why?”

“Her father kicked her so hard that he damaged her kidney.” The line brought only silence. “Angela, are you there?”

“I’m here.”

“I said Lacy Waldrip is in the hospital.”

“I heard you. I just don’t know how to respond.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

“Is she willing to talk?”

It was his turn to be silent.

“That’s what I thought.” She sighed. “Look, Allen. I can help Lacy, but not if neither she nor her mother is willing to testify.”

“It isn’t fair,” he protested.

“Neither is murder,” she said. “But it happens.”

“We have to help them.”

“Get them to talk, and I’m in.”

“Will you try again, Angela?”

The line went silent for a moment. He was hopeful. Finally, she sighed. “I’ll come by in the morning, but I make no promises.”

“Thanks, Angela. She’s in room 250.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.”

He switched off the light, time to go home. As he passed Lacy’s room, he stopped to peek through the window. She was lying on her side, near the edge of the bed. She held her arm in an unusual pose as if she were holding something. He thought about walking in to check on her, but he didn’t want to wake her.

He made his way home, weary from the day’s excitement. Four messages blinked at him, but he didn’t take the time to listen to them. He crawled into bed and collapsed, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.

He dreamt of Lacy and Brenda. In the dream, he was playing cards with Lacy. Brenda watched, gleefully clapping when Lacy laid down a full house and pulled the pot of Hershey’s kisses toward her. Allen pretended to pout at his defeat. Lacy offered a consolation prize of five Hershey’s kisses.

When Allen woke, he was smiling. He had been going about this all wrong. He had been bullying the two women into trusting him, when what he should be doing is winning their trust.

On his way to the hospital, he stopped at the Walmart and bought a deck of cards and a bag of Hershey’s kisses. He walked into Lacy’s hospital room and plopped the bag down on her bedside table. “Do you know how to play poker, Lacy?”

She looked at him, puzzled. She shook her head.

“Then I’m going to teach you.”

He reached into the bag, pulled out the deck of cards and the bag of kisses. He looked around, trying to find something that might hold their treasure. He spotted an unused emesis basin. He reached over and picked it up. He looked at it. “You didn’t use this, did you?” She wrinkled her nose, grinning. She shook her head. “Good.” He dumped the candy into the basin and set it on the table between them. He began to instruct her on how to play the game.

Half an hour later, Angela Martin strolled in. She took in the scene before her. “Well, what’s going on here?” she teased. Allen threw his body over the card game. “Quick, Lacy, hide the evidence. Social service is here. We can’t let her catch me corrupting minors.”

Lacy laughed until her side started to hurt. “Stop, I can’t stand it,” she cried.

Allen pushed himself off the table. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Lacy nodded. “It just hurts to laugh.”

Angela looked at Lacy. “Is everything okay here?”

Lacy’s smile faded. “Everything’s fine.”

Allen took a book out of his pocket and handed it to Lacy. He hooked Angela’s arm in his arm, leading her toward the door. “I’ll be right back. By the time I return, I expect you to know which hand beats which hand.”

When they were outside the door, Allen said. “He’s done a number this time.”

“What exactly happened?”

“He kicked her so hard that he caused an arterial occlusion in her kidneys.”

“A what?”

He shook his head. “Obstructed the flow of blood to the kidney.”

“Is it repairable?”

“We’re hoping the Coumadin will work. That should thin her blood enough to allow it to flow. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to repair it surgically. I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”

“What can I do?”

A flash of anger deepened his color. “Keep him away from her.”

She sighed. “I’m doing my best.” She pointed toward the door. “If you can convince her to testify it would be a whole lot easier.”

“I don’t understand her reluctance,” Allen said.

“It’s her mother. Her mother won’t leave, and Lacy won’t leave her behind.”

“So the best thing is to convince them to leave together?” Allen asked.

A nurse walked by pushing a cart. The wheels drowned out their voices, so they waited for her to pass. She smiled. “Evening, Dr. Petoro.”

He nodded his head, smiled. “Evening, Tiffany.”

Once she had passed, she tossed her head, making her brunette curls bounce. She turned and smiled again. He watched a grin break out on her face. She was clearly flirting.

Angela reached up, dragged his chin toward her, forcing him to make eye contact. “We’re focusing on Lacy here.”

His grin fell. He cleared his throat. “Right. Lacy.”

“If we can convince them to leave together, I can get a restraining order against him,” she said.

“He’s the sheriff,” Allen said.

“Yes, but he’s not God. He’s subject to the same laws as the rest of us.”

He chuckled. “That’s open to interpretation.”

She ignored him. “If we work together, we can take control over the situation. Are you in?”

He nodded. “I’m willing to give it a try.”

She smiled gleefully. “I’ll work on Brenda. You take Lacy. She’s already here, anyway.”

He shook his head. “I want Brenda.”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“Put your dirty mind to rest,” he said. “My motives are pure. It’s just that I think I have a better way of getting to Brenda than trying to convince her to leave her husband. She’s really the key to success. Besides, I can keep Lacy for another three days without raising too much suspicion. After that, I’ll have to fight with the insurance company and the hospital administration. So, you have three days to win Lacy over.”

He turned and walked away, whistling a tune as he progressed toward the nurses’ station. He turned and saluted her, right before he disappeared around the corner.

Brenda was surprised to see her daughter sitting up and chatting with Angela the next morning. When she opened the door, both women turned to look at her. Lacy flashed a smile. “I have a visitor,” she said.

Brenda stared at Angela. No trace of warmth touched her eyes. “So I see,” she said. She gave Angela a stern glare. Then she turned to Lacy. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I feel great. Do you think they’ll let me come home?”

“I don’t see why not,” Brenda said. “You look perfectly fine. Let me see if I can find Dr. Petoro.”

As if on cue, he walked in the door. “Well, look at you,” he said to Lacy, smiling. “Don’t you look markedly improved!”

“I feel great, Dr. Petoro. Can I go home?”

He shook his head. “Not yet, Lacy, I’m afraid your blood pressure is still a bit elevated. We want to make sure the occlusion is completely gone. Are you okay with that?”

She frowned. “But I feel great,” she argued. “And I have school and work to go to.”

“Let’s see how it goes tomorrow. Okay?”

She sighed. “I guess you know best.”

“That’s right,” Angela said, “Dr. Petoro knows best.”

Allen smiled and looked at Brenda. “You look rested. You had a good night, then?” The hidden meaning wasn’t lost on anyone in the room.

Brenda looked down at the floor. “Everything is fine,” she said.

“Well,” Allen said. “I guess I’d better get moving on my rounds. I’ll check on you later, Lacy.”

Lacy nodded her head. “I suppose you know where to find me.” She attempted a laugh, but it was feeble and made her side ache. She winced in pain.

“See, what did I tell you?” Allen said. “A couple more days of rest are what you need.”

Brenda leaned over her daughter. “Do you mind if I leave you for a while? I want to spend some time in the waiting room. The emergency room is already filling up. Those poor nurses could sure use an extra pair of hands.”

“It’s fine, Mom.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll just get started on all these magazines Ms. Martin brought me.” She picked up the stack, demonstrating.

Brenda smiled. “Thanks, sweetie.”

After they had left, Angela and Lacy sat in uncomfortable silence. Finally, Angela said, “Do you mind if we talk for a minute?”

Lacy shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it would be okay.” Then she added, “I suppose I don’t really have a choice.”

Angela took a deep breath. “Lacy, you’re too old for me to play tricky mind games with, so I’m just going to come right out and say it. I’m worried about your home situation.” Lacy opened her mouth to protest, but Angela put her hand out, silencing her. “I’m not stupid, Lacy. I know what’s going on. The problem is, I’m not getting any cooperation from either you or your mother. Now, I can have you pulled from the home. I have the right to do that.”

Lacy’s eyes opened wide. “You can?”

Angela nodded. “I can. However, without your or your mother’s affirmation about what is going on in the house, it wouldn’t last long. There would be a court hearing. The judge would listen to both sides of the story…”

Lacy cut her off. “He knows all the judges.”

Angela shook her head. “Not all the judges, Lacy.”

Lacy counted off on her fingers. “Judge Atletraub was at the house last week for dinner. Judge Whittier golfs with my dad all the time. Judge Stevenson’s son is one of my dad’s deputies.” She hesitated. “Do I need to continue? Judge…” Suddenly, her face became flushed as she started breathing heavily, gasping for air. The alarm on her monitor went off, and a nurse was at her side within seconds.

She looked at Angela. “What happened?”

“We were just talking, and she started getting upset. Then all these beeps started.”

“It’s her blood pressure.” She began to rub Lacy’s back. Slowly, the gasping began to subside. “Shh…” the nurse whispered in her ear. “Do this for her,” she said. Angela walked over, replacing the nurse’s hands with her own.

The nurse picked up the phone, pressed a few buttons, and seconds later, she heard Dr. Petoro’s name called over the loudspeaker. Almost immediately, he burst through the door.

“What happened?” He looked accusingly at Angela.

She shrugged. “What? How should I know? We were talking just fine. Then she started hyperventilating, and her face got all red. The next thing I know, that nurse over there,” she gestured toward the nurse, “came running in the door and now here you are.” She was still rubbing Lacy’s back and could feel her trembling through her gown, which was beginning to become damp with perspiration.

“She’s having a panic attack,” Dr. Petoro said. He looked at the nurse, ordered a dose of Ativan, and led Angela away from the bed. “What were you talking about?” he asked, whispering.

“Just what we said earlier.” He frowned at her. She sighed. “I was talking to her about a restraining order against her father. She started spouting off about all the judges he knew, and here we are.” She swept her hands across the room for emphasis.

“No more. Her blood pressure has climbed dangerously high. You have to get her out of that house.”

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Uh…what do you think I’m trying to do?”

She stalked out of the room, not giving any of them a backward glance. She passed the waiting area and saw Brenda reading a book to a toddler. The mother sat listlessly beside, half-listening to the story. Angela walked over, seething with anger.

Brenda looked up when she approached, started to smile, but stopped when she saw the expression on Angela’s face. Alarmed, she asked, “What’s wrong? Is it Lacy?”

Angela narrowed her eyes at Brenda. “I’m filing a petition to remove Lacy from your home—with or without your cooperation.”

Brenda’s mouth fell open as Angela turned and stalked off. She walked out the glass doors, nearly colliding with them in her haste to exit. Then she stalked off past her car and walked the two blocks to the courthouse.

There was a line to get through the security checkpoint, but she didn’t care. She bullied her way to the front, despite protests from the numerous people she jarred along the way. She sped right through the metal detector, purse and all.

“Hey!” the guard shouted when she failed to stop, even though the detector clicked like a Geiger counter. “Come back here.”

Angela backtracked, threw her purse at the guard, stepped back through the detector again, no beeps this time, and continued on her way.

“Ms. Martin,” the guard called after her. “You forgot your purse.”

She didn’t stop. She continued at her rapid speed, oblivious to the stares she drew.

In the clerks’ office, she ignored all the legal assistants standing in the attorney’s line and bustled her way to the front.

“There’s a line, Ms. Martin,” the clerk said.

“I don’t care,” she said. “This is a matter of life or death.”

The clerk looked past Angela at the legal assistant who was at the head of the line. He looked at Angela in her agitated state, shook his head, and waved her off. The clerk sighed, not pleased with the disruption to the routine. “What can I do for you, Ms. Martin?”

“I want to see Judge Piper, immediately.”

“Why?”

“I need an emergency order to remove a child from her home.”

The clerk narrowed her eyes, shook her head, and stared right into Angela’s face— their noses mere inches apart. “You don’t need the order to remove a child if the child is in danger,” she said in exasperation.

“It’s Sheriff Waldrip’s kid.”

The clerk chuckled. “You’ve got to be kidding. Nobody has ever been brave enough to challenge the sheriff.” She looked past her again at the legal assistant. “You hear that, Brian? Ms. Martin’s going to take the sheriff’s kid away from him.” She cackled.

Brian shrugged his shoulders. “Somebody needs to.”

Angela looked at him. “Want to help me?”

He scoffed. “Are you nuts? I have one more year clerking, and then I'm promoted to a junior attorney. I’m not messing that up. Good luck, though.”

She rolled her eyes, turned back to the clerk and said, “So, do I get to see him?”

She shook her head, typed something into her computer, waited for an answer. “He says he’ll see you.” She pushed a button, and a buzzing noise signaled the opening of a door. Angela stepped through. From the corner of her eye, she could see Brian laughing as the doors closed behind her.

She knew the way to the judges’ chambers. She had been there at least a dozen times. She walked straight to Judge Piper’s door and rapped lightly. “Come in,” he called. She opened the door, took a deep breath and walked in.

The judge was sitting behind his desk. Numerous folders lay spread out before him. His inbox overflowed with file folders, which looked to be on the verge of toppling over. He wore his robe, undoubtedly getting ready to hear a case. His arms spread on the desk, chicken-wing style. His shoulders slumped. He looked as if he had been reading one of the files.

He was the youngest judge in the county and had a gorgeous head of curly brunette locks. He looked at Angela standing there staring at him, and he was smirking.

“So, you want to take on Sheriff Waldrip?” He started laughing.

She fumed. “Why does everyone keep saying that? He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with what he’s doing to his family. I’d honestly like to know how he got elected sheriff.”

“He’s well-liked.”

“He’s a wife and child abuser.”

The judge shrugged. “Many people in this town think a man has a right to keep his family in line.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Judge Piper, are you defending the man?”

He sighed and shook his head. “Why did you come to me? Of all the other judges, you walked right up and asked for me. Why?”

She stared at him, challenging him. “Because I thought you were different.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You always seem so fair. I thought you would listen.”

He looked down at the paper on his desk. After a few seconds, he scribbled his name across the bottom. “We’re transplants, you and I. Things are different for us. Where are you from?”

“Phoenix, but what does that have to do with anything?”

He smiled. “I’m from Washington. I got tired of all the rain, so I swapped it for the heat.” He laughed.

“What does that have to do with Sheriff Waldrip beating his family?”

He spread his hands, palms up, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m just saying we’re different. What’s intolerable to us is accepted by others.” He handed her the paper. “I heard about the kidney thing. Hell, the entire town has heard about it, even we sinners who don’t go to church on Sundays.” He looked her directly in the eye. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’m either committing suicide or saving a life.”

He handed her another paper.

“What’s this?”

“Restraining order. You don’t need my permission to remove Lacy from her home. That’s your job. But taking her from the home isn’t the problem.” He pointed at the paper. “Keeping him away from her is the real challenge.” He handed her another paper.

Her eyes knit together in puzzlement. “What’s this one for.”

A smile spread across his face. “The court’s appointing you Lacy Waldrip’s temporary guardian.”

Her mouth fell open. “I didn’t ask for this. You can’t do this.”

“I’m a judge; I can do whatever I want.” He set down his pen and looked at Angela. He sighed. “Come on, Angela, we both know I can’t make you do this, but where else do you propose to keep her? I guarantee you, not a single foster family is going to accept her, not considering who her father is.”

“What am I supposed to do with her?”

He bent back over his paperwork. “Protect her.”

When he didn’t look back up, she knew he had dismissed her. She turned and walked toward the door.

“Ms. Martin.” She turned, looked at the judge, waiting for him to go on. “Why the hell hasn’t anyone called the attorney general?”

Angela shook her head. “I’ll look into it.”

He nodded. “About damn time. I don’t know how that man has gotten away with this for so long.”

Angela shrugged and closed the door firmly behind her. She leaned against it. Her pounding heart threatened to exit through her throat. She swallowed the lump, wiped her sweaty palms on her slacks and, grabbing her purse from the security guard as she rushed by, ran from the courthouse.

She rushed back to the hospital, found Allen quickly, and thrust the paperwork at him. “What the hell am I supposed to do about this?”

He took the paperwork from her, read it, and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed. “You’re Lacy’s appointed guardian?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t given a choice.”

“Whatever possessed you to do this?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you seriously asking me that question? You were the one who screamed for me to do something.”

“This wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“Yeah, well, it’s done now. I expect you to help me enforce it.”