A Case of the Heart (3 page)

This was never easy, but she tried to keep it as positive as possible for them. She couldn’t imagine how scary it must be for a kid to be placed. But after being in an unsafe environment, maybe it wasn’t so bad. At least that’s what she told herself whenever circumstances weren’t just or fair for the kids she became involved with.

Liz had a good childhood. Her parents were kind, religious people. She couldn’t ever remember her dad raising his voice, let alone hurting her physically. Maybe that’s what drove her to this line of work. She wanted that sense of peace for other children that needed it.

Alex gave her that warm smile again as she got out of the car. “You’re good with kids. Some people don’t take the time.”

Sincerity rang in his words. In this line of work, a person had to defend themselves. People always second-guessed your decisions as to whether the kids should be removed and the treatment plans. Everything’s a gray area, but she would err on the side of the kids rather than take any risks they might be left in danger.

She let out a ragged breath, looking to the ground. A flash of Tom Harris as he briefly lost consciousness popped into her mind. She felt Alex’s stare and told herself to pull it together.

Alex took a couple steps away from her car, guiding her to him and spoke slowly. “Are you all right?” He touched his fingers to her face, looking for any sign of injury.

She felt a rush of heat reddening her cheeks as he slid his fingers across her chin.

Concern softened his gaze as he tried to read her face. She wanted to take her eyes away, not notice how he looked into hers. But she couldn’t. She waited for him to move his hand away, his eyes to falter.

“I’m fine.” She turned toward her car to check on the boys and to keep Alex from seeing her fear. She was more afraid of her emotion toward him than of the altercation upstairs.

The movement of her head sent the clip sliding from her hair and down her back. He caught and handed it to her, taking her hand.

“You’re shaking. Liz, you can’t fool me. I know when you’re scared. I was scared.”

“No you weren’t.” She chuckled, releasing some of the tension as she tried to imagine him scared.

“Yeah, I was. I was scared for you. Scared I hadn’t kept you safe.”

She tried to ignore that his concern was more for her than doing his job. “You did the right thing to stay back and question Pirelli.”

Liz remembered Tom’s blank stare as he came toward her. “Harris caught me off guard. I didn’t think he had it in him.” She allowed the warmth from his hand to calm her nerves.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone up there. It was my mistake.”

Uncomfortable with all the gallant talk, she suppressed the emotions that his words brought and stepped back, taking her hand from his. “The daytime social workers don’t have cops to go on calls with them. So I’m not going to complain.”

His tender look slowly dissipated. “Yeah, you don’t even need me on these calls,” he came back with one of his typical sarcastic lines. His dimpled smile returned.

Liz was relieved to be back in the banter she was familiar with. “Maybe a couple, but most of the time you just flash your badge, waiting for us to get through so you can go eat donuts.”

Alex tilted his chin down and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t make donut jokes, and ‘only a couple of times?’ You get into more trouble than any other ten social workers combined, maybe your whole department.”

Her cynicism deflated as she faced the fact that he was right. “This was an unusually eventful call. Something I’ve been having a lot of lately. Maybe I need to put in for another district.” She wanted to see his reaction, wondering if that really might be a good idea.

He was nodding profusely as his grin broadened. Then he seemed to think better of it. “No, then I’d get bored.”

She gave him a soft slug. Alex squinted and winced, holding his arm for effect. He placed one boot over the other and crossed his arms over his chest, letting out a breath “So, what’s next?”

“I’m ready to take the boys.”

“Would you like a police escort?” He lifted his eyes to hers, waiting for her response.

She poked her head through the window to check on the boys. They were playing games on her cell phone, thoroughly entertained. “Sure, why not?”

Chapter Four

The minute she drove up to the quaint, little ranch home, the porch light went on. The door opened and Nancy Bowie stood waiting for them. Alex pulled up behind them and ended a conversation on his cell phone. As awkward as their last conversation was, Liz figured she’d stick to business while they were here.

Nancy hugged herself against the wind as she stuffed a hanky up the sleeve of her wool sweater. She was five-foot-nothing and all smiles.

“Hello, hello!” She greeted them and took a step back to look at the boys through her large framed glasses. “Who are these fine looking young men?”

Scotty’s wide, dark eyes expressed his bewilderment. He stood over his younger brother with a protective arm over Jimmy’s chest.

“I’m Scotty.”

“And this is Jimmy,” Liz answered for the younger boy as she placed her hands on his shoulders for Nancy’s recognition.

With a quick hop in his step, Nancy’s husband, John, took no time making his way in from the kitchen. His salt and pepper hair was side-combed without a single strand out of place, and he wore a white T-shirt and black pants that were too short, showing his starched white socks.

He gave Liz a wink as he took Jimmy’s hand. “How are you boys?”

Jimmy’s arm moved like rubber as John gave him a firm handshake.

Alex walked with them and introduced himself. He handed the bag Liz had brought for the boys to John, and led them into the family room. The small TV blared out the day’s news, the glow hitting the orange and yellow plaid couch.

Nancy and Liz went into the kitchen to do the paperwork. The comforting smell of fresh baked bread filled the room. Sitting on a pale yellow vinyl chair, Liz laid the papers on a white table that glittered with bits of silver.

“They’re such nice boys,” Nancy commented, reaching for a pen.

Liz handed her a placement form and grinned. “You say that about all the kids I bring you.”

She chuckled. “Yes, I suppose I do.” Nancy gave Liz the once over. “You need to try some of my bread.” She got up and brought over a pan of bread with a side of butter and poured a large glass of cold milk.

“So tell me about this police officer. They don’t usually accompany you unless something’s wrong.” After observing Liz with the butter, she handed her a napkin.

Liz felt like she was five again, slathering on a huge amount of butter and stuffing the bread in her mouth while it was still warm. She rolled her shoulders to ease the tension. She was a little resentful that she had to answer about Alex and pulled herself away from the delicious bread.

“He didn’t have another call so he just came with me. He’s still in jurisdiction if something comes up.”

“Ahem.” Alex stood against the door jam with a half-grin.

“Alex, come sit down. Would you like some bread?” Nancy asked, already cutting him a slice.

“I’d love some.” He took the plate she offered him and sat next to Liz.

She looked over at him, and he pointed to the corner of her mouth. She reached up with her finger and wiped a glob of butter off her lip.

His grin caused a reaction in her she quickly suppressed.

Liz started thinking of questions about him that she wanted answers to but would never ask. Personal things that she never let herself think about before. Like, what did he watch on TV late at night, what was his favorite kind of ice cream and what did he sleep in?

Fighting a blush, she checked the time. “It’s late, and I have a lot of paperwork to do.”

Alex gave her a sideways stare. “There’s always paperwork, but not always homemade bread.”

Alex and Nancy chuckled. They talked and ate while Nancy signed the papers and filled their plates a second time.

Liz quickly gathered the paperwork and then said her goodbyes. Scotty gave her a wave as he fanned out his cards. Jimmy jumped off his chair and gave her a quick hug before getting back to the card game. The boys were at the card table in the family room with John, learning how to play UNO, the Bowie family favorite.

Alex walked her to her car and opened the driver’s side door. “They’re good people.”

“I never worry about the kids here. It’s getting them to leave that’s the problem.” She stepped into her car and rolled down the window.

“That’s good to hear. My experience with foster homes hasn’t always been that positive,” he said resting his forearms on the window sill.

“There are those, but for the most part, the people I’ve worked with have the children’s best interests in mind. Once you find them, you don’t let go.”

“Yeah, that’s true with anyone in life.”

Liz looked at him in acknowledgement but didn’t respond. She refused to read further into his comment.

He took a step back from the car. “It’s late, so I’ll let you go.”

She started the car as Alex walked away. “Alex, thanks,” she called through the open window.

Alex stopped and turned around. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stepped forward. “For what?”

She smiled and looked down. “Just, thanks.” She rolled up her window and drove away.

Chapter Five

Walking down the hall into her office, Liz inhaled the musty smell from the forever-leaking roof. The pale blue walls showed shadows of past colors of white and beige. Brown carpet covered the twenty-some-year-old floors leading to her office.

She sat down in her swivel chair, looking at her old silver-and-mushroom-colored metal desk. On top of the mound of paperwork, pens and other paraphernalia, lay a
Denver Post
newspaper. The front-page story popped out at her; “Abuse and Neglect Stats Shocking.”

Liz moved some files out of the way and laid the paper down, running through the statistics on the local social service calls. A total of 37,665 screened-out calls, which meant they were new incidents. The next category number was 21,698—all of which were emergency calls—for a total of almost 60,000 calls this year.

“Great way to start the day, isn’t it, Liz?” Her supervisor stuck his head inside the office and pointed to the paper. His brown hair appeared to be newly trimmed, again. He had on his regular attire, khaki pants, a tucked in button-down shirt, and slip-on shoes that matched his belt. He sat down on a blue-padded armless chair located next to her desk and crossed his long, slender legs.

Michael was married to his job. He didn’t think matrimony was a priority. At least that appeared to be the reason he had never gotten serious with anyone.

He was a good guy to work for. Actually, Liz didn’t always feel as if he were her supervisor. They got along well, and they shared the same convictions about how to do their jobs.

He watched her pull placement paperwork out of her briefcase. “Looks like you went out on a call last night.”

“I had to place two boys. Dad got a little upset with the eleven-year-old.”

Michael turned his head toward the ceiling in thought. “I bet you placed them at the Bowies’.”

“Bingo,” she sang, lifting a finger.

“You keep that house full,” he stated, with an admiring stare.

“Where would you want to be if you were a kid?” She pointed at him.

“No doubt about that. Does Dad have any priors?”

“Not with us, but he has a few with PD. The most concerning is a domestic violence. I’m going to give it to Norma. Most of her cases have moved to long-term caseworkers. I just need to finish up some paperwork with Demas.” She leaned back in her chair, waiting to hear the creak in the springs. The familiar sound set her in work mode like a time card being punched.

“So that means you have about the same caseload as Norma does on a regular basis.”

Norma’s lack of pulling her weight drove him crazy, but he didn’t do much about it except complain to Liz.

“Yeah, but I’m sure I’ll get another case before I even hand this one off to Norma.” She looked at the papers on her desk and started sorting through them. She could feel his stare but decided to wait rather than ask what he was thinking.

“You and Demas always get hooked up on these calls.”

She shrugged and fidgeted in her chair and then changed the subject. “What do you think about me going for the supervisor promotion?”

He was silent for a moment. “I think you’ve got a shot. I’d have to work more though, so, no.”

Liz liked her current position as short-term caseworker. She went out on the initial calls, went to court if needed, then passed them along to the appropriate long-term caseworkers. She enjoyed the variety and independence of her job, but danger was almost a given on every call lately. And if she were honest about it, she was starting to lose her nerve.

Michael had always been good to her, but that’s because she worked nonstop. She had wondered if he would support her with a promotion.

“Please don’t hold me back if I’m ready for it,” she stated, cautioning him with her eyes.