Young & Old, page 7
Kit was already in the small room, but no one else was there as Grace entered. Puzzled, Grace cocked her head at Kit and rubbed her lips together. “Shouldn’t you be in class or something?”
Kit shrugged. “They let us out early today.”
“That’s hella early to be let out. You better not be lying because you know I have no issue going down to the office and asking if you were present for your last class of the day and all your classes for that matter.”
Rolling her eyes, Kit let out a huge sigh only a teenager with too much attitude and hormones was capable of. “Fine, I skipped my last class.”
“Kit. We talked about this.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
Grace didn’t want to have this battle again. They didn’t have a choice for Kit to go home. They would have much preferred she stay at their house where she was actually supported, respected, and safe, but the state had sent her home. Reunification always the goal even if it wasn’t always the best.
Sliding into the seat next to Kit, Grace stared out the door of the small room, hoping no one would stop by in the next few minutes so she and Kit could have a real serious conversation. “What’s with the attitude? Cut it, seriously. I don’t want to hear it.”
Kit growled, legit growled. Grace shot her a dirty look.
“Nope. I can walk out of this room right now, Kit. You want me to listen, I’ll stay, but I’m not doing it if you’re going to act like this.”
Kit’s nose scrunched before she stared down at the desk in front of her.
“Just because you have been given a shitty hand doesn’t mean you can give up the hand you’ve been dealt. In the game of life, folding is not an option.”
“What’s that even mean?”
Grace closed her eyes briefly before opening them again to stare at Kit’s crystalline eyes, that deep blue with specs of black that reminded her so much of Amya. They both had the same stubbornness to boot. “It means you’ve been dealt a crappy hand. You don’t have a perfect life. Your parents are not great parents. They don’t treat you right, but that doesn’t give you permission to act like an ass, to not go to class, to not learn, to not finish high school. If you don’t do those things, it’s on you. Not them.”
Kit shrugged. “I don’t care.”
“Trust me, you will in about five years when you can’t find a job because you don’t have a diploma. That shit makes a difference.”
“So you’ve said.”
“And I mean it! I’ve been there. It’s no joke. Get your diploma, then you can figure life out on your own, but until you’re eighteen, you’re stuck at your parent’s house.”
“Can’t I just live with you?”
Grace’s heart broke. She wanted to tell Kit yes, wanted to open not only her doors to her house but her arms, but she couldn’t. Her hands were tied, and since Kit hadn’t been kicked out of her house again and was living on the streets, Grace wasn’t going to push it. She had to support the decisions made for a kid with the intentions of her best interest in mind even if Grace didn’t think they actually worked for her best interest.
“Not right now, kid. You know that.” Her voice was soft when she spoke, and she knew the disappointment and frustration rang through her tone as loudly as it did Kit’s. Well, maybe not as loudly, but enough Kit would hear it.
“Spring break?”
“Yeah. Let’s do Spring break.” Grace watched as Annabelle slipped into the room—Kit’s best friend and sometimes girlfriend—Grace couldn’t figure that one out, but it did remind her. “But no sleepovers.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” Grace muttered. “You know the rules. If you want to crash out our house, you have to follow them.”
Kit pouted, but she nodded. “Fine.”
“Good.” Grace patted Kit’s shoulder and hunched over the table. They spent the rest of the afternoon going through the interviews, talking about more tips for when interviewing, and Grace teasing them when the moment was right.
As she released them for the evening, Grace turned her head up to find Peggy standing in the doorway with a smile on her lips. As soon as the last of the kids was out of the room, Grace cocked her head at Peggy with a raised brow, silently asking her what was up. Two visits in two weeks was out of the ordinary.
“Kit skipped.”
“I know.” Grace sighed. “She confessed it all under the hot interrogation methods by this fine cop.”
Peggy chuckled. “She’s been skipping all week.”
“I’m not surprised.” Grace straightened her shoulders. “She doesn’t see the point. She’s not interested in college, and any job she wants she doesn’t need a diploma for, and if her parents don’t care, why should she?”
“She’s slipping back into old habits.”
“I know. I talked to her about it, but I’m not sure what else I can do. She’s not in my custody anymore.” Grace couldn’t figure out why they were going in circles.
“She respects you.”
The warmth that seeped into Grace’s chest surprised her. Staring straight into Peggy’s eyes, Grace shook her head. “Have you heard the way she talks to me? She does not respect me.”
“She does otherwise she wouldn’t talk to you that way. Remember, there are two types of people guaranteed to be assholes in this life: toddlers and teenagers.”
“I haven’t been around many toddlers.”
“Trust me, they’re not that much different than teenagers except teens are quicker with words.”
“I guess that makes sense. Amya’s got a bunch of nieces and nephews, so some of them are toddlers, but I don’t really see them ever.” Grace packed up her bag, her stomach tensing at the thought.
“You don’t go to family holidays?”
Grace shrugged. “I’m not really family.”
“Haven’t you two been together awhile?”
“Three years.”
“That’s a long time.”
“For some.” Grace wanted to escape. The conversation had taken an odd turn, one she was very uncomfortable with. Sure Peggy knew about her and Amya—she’d never tried to keep that secret, but she didn’t want to dissect her relationship with Peggy either. “Hey, while I have you here, do you remember a case about a kid who was found on the side of the road, beaten, and in a coma?”
“No.”
Grace nodded. “It was about four years ago. He was a minor. They figured he’d be about seventeen when they found him, but no one knew his name. They called him Joseph.”
“I mean, I vaguely remember it.”
“So you didn’t have any kids go missing from school randomly during that time?”
Peggy shook her head. “I think I would remember if one of my kids went missing like that.”
Pursing her lips, Grace nodded. “Right, but he might not have been reported missing. He may have just stopped showing up to school.”
“I don’t remember any. Sorry.” Peggy crossed her arms, eyeing Grace carefully.
“It’s fine. I figured it was a long shot to begin with, but I do have to get some work done on that case, so unless you needed something.”
“Just to talk about Kit.”
“Like I said, I think I’ve done what I can for now. She asked to stay for spring break, so I’ll make sure she gets her homework done while she’s with us, but I can’t guarantee anything when she’s home.”
“I know. I just…I worry for her. It’s funny. I never would have worried for Annabelle, yet she’s the one who ended up in trouble.”
“Hmm…she was the one in trouble. I have a feeling Kit is going to find herself in a whole lot more trouble than Annabelle was in. And, to be fair, Annabelle wasn’t really in trouble.”
“No.” Peggy stepped out of the classroom, walking with Grace down the hall. “She wasn’t. I meant trouble in the sense you were involved.”
“I was, but that’s the blessing of Missing Persons. We’re not typically there because of trouble, only because someone has gotten lost in some way.”
Peggy stopped and grinned at Grace. “I wish you’d be our Resource Officer, really. You have a way with understanding the world I think these kids could really benefit from.”
Laughing, Grace pulled off the visitor’s badge and handed it over. “I’ll stick to my day job, thanks.”
Without looking back, she left the high school and hopped into her cruiser. The sun was setting and a chill had taken over the air. Grace wished she’d remembered to bring her jacket with her, but in all the fuss with Alonzo’s investigation, she had forgotten to grab it when she’d ditched the office. Hoping the heat caught up fast, she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.
###
When Grace pulled into her driveway, she narrowed her eyes at the cruiser already parked out front. Gritting her teeth, she realized it was Paige’s and knew she was done for. As soon as she stepped out of her car, Paige shot out of hers and came straight over to talk.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Grace shrugged. “The school, where I am every Friday. What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk.”
Paige was tense. The energy simmering just under the surface of her body palpable. Grace glanced at her front door, knowing Peter was likely inside. She had wanted to try and coax him out for dinner and yell at him to change his sheets, but if Paige was coming over, she knew her night was going to be focused on her rather than on the wayward kid in her house who needed some motivation for life.
“About what?”
“This whole IAB investigation. It’s freaking me out.”
Sighing, Grace nodded her head toward her front door. “Let’s go, then. No booze, though.”
“Fine. I just need to vent.”
Raising her eyebrows rapidly, Grace turned toward her house and unlocked the front door. Before she was even two steps inside, she knew the dogs hadn’t been out at all that day. Roslin and Izzy jumped on her before racing to the back door and jumping again. Grace walked straight for the door and let them out to burn some energy and take care of themselves.
When she turned around, Paige stood right next to her, too close for comfort. Grace wished for Peter to come out of his room and into the room with her and Paige, a buffer of sorts, but she knew her wish wouldn’t come true.
“I haven’t been in the office much. Any idea what the investigation is for or who they’re looking into?” Grace asked as she walked to her fridge to fill a glass with ice water for herself and one for Paige.
“No fucking clue, but I’m pretty sure they’re after me.”
“What? Why? What’d you do that would bring them in?”
“I don’t know.” Paige let out a large breath and plopped down onto Grace’s couch before standing up again. “I don’t know.”
Pacing back and forth, Paige put her hands on her hips, then across her chest, then back down to her hips. Her energy ran everything. Grace stepped closer, handing her the glass of water as she slowly sipped from her own. She knew the investigation didn’t involve her, but she had no idea if it involved Paige. She hadn’t asked Alonzo, not that she thought he would actually answer if she did. In all the time they had worked together, she hadn’t seen Paige do anything that would warrant an investigation, but she wasn’t with Paige all the time either and they certainly didn’t work every case together.
“You have to just let them do their thing, and we’ll find out eventually what’s going on.” Paige glared. Grace swallowed hard, not sure what she’d said that was wrong. Paige clearly didn’t like something she had said with the look she was receiving. “What?”
“They’re after me.”
“Paige, calm the fuck down. And sit down. Seriously.” Grace rolled her eyes and plopped down into the chair next to her couch so Paige would have no option of sitting next to her, which she knew would happen if she did go for the couch. She had worked hard in the last three months to maintain as much distance from Paige, physically, as possible after some very awkward moments and a very jealous Amya. Having Paige in their house wasn’t going to bode well for Amya’s jealousy when she found out.
Grunting, Paige collapsed into the couch, grabbed one of the side pillows and shoved it on her lap like it would protect her from everything. “I know what they’re after.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to drag you into my drama, kid.”
“Paige, you showed up at my house in an all-out panic. You better tell me what the hell is going on otherwise I’m kicking you out. I’ve got other things to do with my time.” Taking a sip of her water, Grace watched Paige carefully over the rim of the glass. Paige went from offended, to upset, to resigned in the matter of a split second. Grace admired how quickly Paige could work through all of that.
“Fine. I fucked up.”
“On what?” Grace moved her head side to side, hearing the dogs at the back door and music down the hall from Peter’s room.
Paige sighed. “You remember that case, ages ago, the one I took over when I transferred in?”
“Yeah. I remember that case.” How could Grace forget? Her favorite resident at the Campbell Home gone missing for weeks before they found him. She’d done her best to help with the case but had met resistance in her own unit until Paige arrived. It had been what solidified their friendship, which perhaps hadn’t been the wisest choice Grace had made. Still Harold held a special place in her heart, and she thought of him every Christmas and every Saint Patrick’s Day on his birthday.
Letting out a heavy breath again, Paige fell into the couch, the small pillow pressed to her chest as she held it tight, not looking at Grace or really anywhere specific. “Well, I didn’t follow all the protocols I should have.”
“Really?” Grace wracked her brain. At one point, she had memorized that case. “Does it matter, though? That case was a year ago. Would IAB be investigating a case so old?”
“The brother threatened to sue.”
“You think he’s suing us?”
“Not us. Me.” Paige’s eyes were shut tight.
“What? If he was going to sue anyone, it’d be me. I was the one who dealt with him mostly.”
Paige shrugged. “I may have had a few choice words for him, too.”
“Did you really?” Grace raised an eyebrow, curious what Paige had said to him because the lecture she had wanted to give had carried with it an extensive amount of cursing and screaming.
“I did.” Groaning, Paige sunk impossibly farther into the couch. “God, this could ruin me.”
“You’re close enough to retiring, aren’t you?”
Paige snorted. “Sure…in three years I can retire with fifty percent of my pension. That’s totally enough to live off. Get a grip, Halling. I don’t make that much to retire after twenty years.”
“Well, if you have to—”
“Nope. If they’re taking me down, they’re taking me down.”
“That’s fucking stupid.”
“What?” Paige looked bewildered.
“That’s stupid. Really. Don’t let them take you down if you don’t deserve it. You’re better than that. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you step aside and just take what was doled out or given up so easily.”
Paige’s green eyes connected with Grace’s, and there was meaning in them far deeper than an IAB investigation. Grace swallowed and tried to push past it.
“You don’t give up, Paige. I have never known you to do that. Ever. So why now?”
“I hate IAB.”
“Who doesn’t?” Grace chuckled and took a sip of her water. That was the precise reason why she turned Alonzo down every time he asked her to transfer. She did not, under any circumstances, want to be the scourge of the earth. She liked that the uniformed officers still liked her well enough to give her tips and help her out easily enough when she was in the middle of an investigation. She liked that she had friends in different units who called on her with questions, and even different agencies.
“Truth.” Paige grunted. “I wish you had booze.”
“Don’t we all,” Grace muttered into her glass as Peter’s door opened and shut. She twisted in her chair to watch him walk down the hallway in boxers and nothing else. His hair had grown out so long that it brushed his shoulders, and it was massively askew. She wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t showered all week, and if he got much closer, they would no doubt be able to smell him.
He reached the entry into the living room, his footfalls stumbling when his gaze caught sight of Paige before he turned and made for the kitchen without a word. Grace pursed her lips. She had never thought she’d have a twenty-one-year-old kid living with her who acted more like an upset teenager. Shaking her head, she turned to Paige and shrugged.
“You should just chill about it. There’s nothing you can do, anyway.” Grace set her glass onto the end table and made sure to keep her eye on Peter. She was curious how long he’d stay in their presence before retreating to his room again.
Paige groaned. “I can’t just leave it alone.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, but they’re supposed to interview me first thing Monday morning.”
“Huh. I haven’t been asked for an interview yet.”
“Oh, you’ll be next on their list, I’m sure.”
Grace shrugged. She really had nothing to worry about. Alonzo had said as much in their all-to brief meeting before everyone else arrived. He’d been sly in how he’d told her, but she’d read right through the lines. Though, with how worried Paige was, there was probably something else she wasn’t sharing that was bugging her and making her think her job was on the line.
One little lawsuit from a guy who was an ass to begin with wasn’t enough for her to really be worried about her job, especially when that case was a year out. Yes, the ass had threatened it, but if he was truly going through with it all, they would have likely heard from him before then. Paige’s story didn’t add up, and Grace wondered for the first time if Paige was lying to her.
