Robbie wanted to pack up the kids, move them to North Bend where he still occupied the little house they’d all lived in before Sue Marie left a couple of years ago. He wanted to become their primary guardian and have them change schools. He thought he could manage.

Sue Marie had a lot of arguments against it, but probably the biggest one was alimony and child support. They didn’t even have a divorce decree and there was no legal separation agreement, but Robbie was paying all the bills. How he managed on his sketchy income was beyond Seth.

“Now, there are safety issues, Sassy,” Seth said, forgetting to use her preferred name. He went on as rapidly as he could, before she could correct him. “Rachel needs serious supervision and counseling and since Robbie makes his own hours, being self-employed, that’s a little easier for him to do.”

In fact, there were too many issues to count. There were eight people in a small four-bedroom house, for one thing. And that was just one thing.

Sassy finally agreed. The kids were going to go to Robbie’s, at least for the time being, and Robbie would drive them to Thunder Point for school and pick them up afterward. It occurred to Seth that Sue Marie, who had a car, could offer to help with some of the transportation, but he held his tongue. They would revisit changing schools over the Christmas holidays.

Rachel had only one comment. “I want my phone.”

“We’re going to talk about that tonight. When we get home,” Robbie told her.

That’s when Seth ran for his life. He texted Iris that he was finished at Sassy’s but had a couple of things to do before he could get home. Home now meant her house. She texted back that she was throwing together dinner and would see him when he was done.

Seth drove to Brett’s house. It was after six. He had done a little check on the family. Sid Davis was an office manager who worked with lawyers in North Bend. Mrs. Davis didn’t work outside the home. They had moved to Thunder Point two years before, possibly for the football opportunities for Brett. There were four children, Brett being the oldest.

Sid Davis answered the front door. He held the glasses he had just pulled off in one hand and wore a pleasant and welcoming smile. “Hello. How can I help you, Deputy?”

“If you have a minute, I’d just like to talk to you.”

“About?”

“Well, about a situation with your son and another student. I believe it’s his girlfriend....”

“Ah,” he said, shaking his head somewhat sadly and opening the door wider. “Of course. A surprising and confusing turn of events. Come in, come in. I’ll get Brett.”

“Only if you want to. I really wanted to have a word with you, but—”

But Sid walked away.

Seth looked around. It was a very nicely decorated house for Thunder Point. Like so many others, it wasn’t large, but it was homey and roomy. There wasn’t a sound in the house, not even the distant sound of a television. The house was very tidy; there were no toys or gadgets scattered around. The enticing aroma of dinner filled the air. Seth could see that Sid Davis had been sitting in a chair in the living room, his laptop on the coffee table.

Where are the kids? he wondered.

Sid returned with his son. They were equal in height though Brett was a little broader in the shoulders. They didn’t resemble each other too strongly—Sid had a long, pointy nose—but they both seemed to have generous smiles and a nice crop of hair. Brett had a nasty bruise on one cheek—a little puffy and red, giving way to purple.

“Deputy,” Brett said politely.

“Hi, Brett.”

“We know why you’re here, Deputy,” Sid said, still smiling that welcoming smile. “We were visited yesterday afternoon by a couple of child welfare workers from the county. We have all the details. Shocking. I had to come home from work early to meet with them. They insisted it be my wife, myself and Brett. Apparently they have rules about that and the penalty for not following the rules, even if your job is important, is a court order to immediately remove your children.”

“Seriously?” Seth asked. Seth doubted that was true. He would expect DHS to try to schedule a meeting that accommodated all involved. “Wow, that’s very rigid. I had no idea. Hopefully, they also provide an excuse from the court or something so your boss doesn’t get his knickers in a knot.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Sid said.

“I’m sorry? You have me at a loss. What do you do?”

“I’m in charge of a legal aid office for the county. Public defenders.”

“Ah. I didn’t realize you were a lawyer,” Seth said. Sid didn’t clarify. Interesting, Seth thought.

“Now what was it you wanted?”

“Oh, I just wanted to find out where we all stand on this investigation the county is doing for their case. Suspected dating abuse, right? Something like that?”

“Tell the deputy what you told the women who were here, Brett.”

Brett’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She made it up, I guess. We were dating, but I never once did anything to hurt her. I don’t know why she said that.”

Seth reached his hand toward Brett’s face and the kid backed away instinctively. “What happened here, son?” Seth asked. “You walk into a wall?”

“I wrestle,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I think it was a foot.”

“You don’t wear helmets? I thought the team wore helmets. I love wrestling. Look forward to taking in a few matches this winter.”

“Look, seriously, I don’t have any idea what’s up with Rachel. I don’t know why she’d make me look bad like that. It makes no sense. I’m real good to her. I’m—”

“Well, sometimes you’re pretty demanding,” Seth said, cutting him off. “I had a look at just a few of your texts to her from... Gee, was it yesterday?” Seth asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Her dad confiscated her phone and showed me. You were telling her to get to the parking lot by three-fifteen and when she said she couldn’t, you threatened her, told her she was pushing you, warned her you might get mad. It was very demanding, very angry and insistent. That didn’t seem like her making you look bad. That seems like—”

“She had notes for me! I needed them! It was from a class I missed and she said she’d get ’em to me by three-fifteen! It’s all out of context, it’s—”

“She had to get those notes to the parking lot?” Seth asked. “I’m sorry, I’m a little confused. Why couldn’t you meet at her locker to get those notes? I mean, there were a lot of texts back and forth about you insisting she get to the parking lot and I just wonder why that was so important.”

“Exactly what’s the question, Deputy?” Sid asked.

“There’s no question, Mr. Davis,” Seth said. “It sounded threatening to me and I’m very concerned about the possible violent nature of the relationship between Brett and Rachel. I want them safe, after all. So I thought I’d come by, put in my two cents and see where we stand.” He looked at Brett. “I take it you and Rachel have decided to cool things? As Rachel’s parents requested?”

“Rachel’s parents have no need to request anything of us,” Sid said. “Brett, of his own accord, broke it off with her immediately. Obviously she’s a little off balance. We don’t need this kind of aggravation. Brett certainly doesn’t. He’s a gentleman, athlete, straight-A student and life is too short to put up with this kind of defamation.”