“I have my own business. I make my own hours. I work all the time anyway. If I need to leave a little later in the morning or run home in the afternoon to make sure everyone is all right, I can do that. We don’t have any custody agreement, me and Sue Marie. I just have to get her to go along with it.”

“Do you think she would?”

He shook his head, looking dismayed. “I don’t know. She should. I mean, she’s got a job working evenings at the casino—she can’t keep an eye on the kids. And she likes to go out when she’s not working. Kids can be a drag. But I like having the kids. I haven’t had Rachel too much this year because she’s busy with school and sports and a boyfriend. I didn’t know...I didn’t know....”

He shook his head again. “Can you help me with this?” he asked Iris. “Can you come with me to talk to Sue Marie?”

“I’m afraid that probably wouldn’t work,” Iris said. “It’s one of those things, Robbie. Sue Marie and I haven’t really been rivals, never out in the open at least. But the unspoken fact is we’ve often been interested in the same man.” She shrugged. “She’s been a little flirtatious with Seth....”

“I never responded,” Seth said, weighing in for the first time and holding up his hands, palms toward both Iris and Robbie. “Well, I did turn down her offer of getting together sometime to catch up. There’s nothing to catch up on. From the time we broke up in high school, she hasn’t been on my radar. At all.”

“But you could help,” Iris said. “You could help Robbie talk to his wife about where the kids live. I don’t think Sue Marie likes me much and I know Rachel is angry with me, but she respects Seth.”

“Aw, Iris,” Seth said in a low moan.

“Well, it’s a thought,” she said. “You’ve been trained in domestic violence. You answer domestic disturbance calls. You know a lot about this stuff. And hey, there was that night in the bar—I saw you in action.”

“She might listen to you,” Robbie said. “Not for the right reasons, but she might listen.”

“Iris,” Seth said in a warning tone.

“Well, you can always just say no, Seth,” she replied.

“I don’t care what I have to do,” Robbie said. “I just have to get my kids in a safe place where I can watch them. Iris, I can’t watch them when they’re at school.”

“I know. As long as Rachel is at the high school, we have to be diligent. I wasn’t the only one concerned about her. I’ll remind her gym teacher to watch closely and I’ll be very observant. I have their class schedules. I can post myself nearby when the bell rings. I’ll do my best.”

“Seth, you’ll come talk to Sue Marie, right?” Robbie asked.

“I shouldn’t...”

“Just be a witness while I talk,” Robbie suggested.

Seth mulled it over for a moment. “Okay. I’ll meet you at Sue Marie’s at five-thirty. She’s gonna be there, right? And Rachel?”

“Sue Marie goes to work a little later. I told her I was coming over again. She knows I want to take the boys back with me but Rachel has refused. I told Rachel I’d be at school today to pick her up and bring her home. Maybe she’ll listen.”

“Well, good luck,” Iris said.

“Thanks,” he said, heading for the office door, hat in hand. He turned back and looked at her. “You know, I think maybe we have one of those abusive relationships. No hitting,” Robbie said. “But there was yelling and cheating and breaking up and getting back together and more fighting and yelling and cheating.”

“Oh, Robbie,” Iris said.

“Not me,” he said. “All I ever wanted to do was make Sue Marie happy, but I never could, at least not for long. We had more fresh starts than any two people I ever knew. I’m not the best catch in the world, but I was willing to do about anything. In fact, if she wanted to try again right now, it’d be damn hard to say no.”

* * *

Iris went back to school. There was still a little time before the final bell. She found Spencer Lawson in his office in the boy’s locker room and had to make it fast before classes let out and his teams converged on that space and started stripping to get into their sporting gear.

“Got a minute?” she asked him.

“You bet.” He looked at his watch. “You either get ten minutes or we should step into the hall.”

“Let’s see where we are in nine minutes,” she said. “You know how the students tighten up when they’re being sneaky? Closing ranks against us?”

“Only too well,” he said with a smile.

“We have a very delicate, potentially volatile situation. I had to call DHS to report suspected abuse between our most popular couple—Brett and Rachel. Social workers are investigating the situation. I don’t know what their findings will be, but I can say without a shred of doubt that the relationship is abusive.”

He frowned. “Seriously? Who’s abusing who?”

“Brett seems to be the one with the slippery punch. The girl has been wearing a lot of bruises that I questioned. She had some very creative excuses. She finally admitted to her father that Brett’s very rough with her, that he hurts her sometimes, but of course he doesn’t mean to.”

Spencer shook his head. “I’ve seen this before,” he said.

“It’s a first for me. When have you seen this?”

“We tread a very fine line in this department. We want our men to be killers on the field and pu**ycats everywhere else. We have some good role models for that and I watch for those pro ball players who can hit real hard and treat everyone off the field with great care and respect. I use them for examples every chance I get. But just like in the outside world, we have those who only know one way, to control everything, no matter what. I’ve dealt with my share of bullies and bad boyfriends. I keep an eye on that, a very serious eye. Brett’s one kid I never would have guessed for a brute. He’s polite, keeps good grades, works hard.” He shook his head. “Shows you just never know. Want me to talk to him?”

“He’s been talked to. He was interviewed with his family, though I don’t know the outcome and I may not be told. For now, can you just watch? I have their schedules if you need them. I’m going to become quite a hall monitor for the next few days. I’m afraid that’s all I can do. Back me up?”

“Absolutely. And if I see an opportunity to say something, I will.” He shook his head. “Brett’s got most of the faculty eating out of his hands. He’s one of those soft-spoken, well-mannered kids. His mom and dad seem to be strict but quiet and polite. Can’t remember what his dad does, but he does it in a shirt and tie. See, you can never tell, can you?”

“Please, let me know if anything comes up. My priority right now is to do what I can to keep Rachel safe, whether she cooperates or not.”

“What? Whether she cooperates?”

“She loves him,” Iris said. “And of course he didn’t mean to hurt her.”

Nineteen

Iris owes me, Seth thought as he left Sue Marie’s house. They’d experienced some success or at least a difficult compromise, but it was awkward. She’d flirted with him, placing a hand on his forearm and turning her big blue eyes up at him to make comments or ask questions. Rachel was silent but oozed hostility.