The Homecoming (Thunder Point #6)(67)

“I don’t know what they’ll decide. If they think I’m on to something, they’ll investigate. They’ll interview, require medical evaluations, who knows? But I’m a mandatory reporter. If I fail to report this, not only could I lose my credentials, but the school could be in trouble. But please understand this, Phil. Reporting gives us an opportunity to keep the girl safe and that’s the priority. I want her safe. I think she’s in trouble.”

“Then you have no choice,” Phil told her. “This is what we do. It’s called intervention.”

“Why didn’t I address this problem? It’s not uncommon! We put together special programs for driving safely, for identifying diseases, the dangers of drugs, educating them about safe sex, for identifying and reporting bullying, for taking tests fairly, for the love of God! There are even survival courses—what to do if you’re caught drifting out to sea or lost in the woods! Why didn’t we address unsafe dating? What’s the number-one concern of every young girl and boy in this school, huh, Phil? It’s who they can date and whether they can get that date!”

“We do a good job, Iris. If we can’t think of everything under the sun, I’ll take the blame.”

“Crap, it’s not about blame. It’s about being awake. I’m sorry, Phil—I should have been more aware.”

He smiled at her gently. “I’m proud of what you do, Iris. Now go make your call and let me know what the follow-up will be. Let’s just be grateful we’ve come this far without a need for this before. At least while you and I have had the watch.”

“That we know of,” she said. “I’ll let you know.”

“Oh, Iris, who was the teacher?”

She hesitated. “He said I could use his name, but I’d prefer to shoulder responsibility for this for now. If we need him to back up the complaint...”

“Ah, Troy,” Phil said. “You know, I almost didn’t hire him? His résumé was spotty—a vet who did an Iraq tour, taught a couple of years in a private school where they’re not all that fussy about credentials, and a desire to live up here where the air is clean and the rafting and skiing plentiful. A kid.” He laughed and shook his head. “I didn’t think he was all that serious about teaching. He’s one of the best teachers I’ve got. In spite of all his talk about his off-campus adventures, he’s one of the most dedicated teachers here.”

That made Iris smile. “I know. He’s priceless. I want him to get his counseling credentials and work in my office.”

Phil chuckled. “Good luck with that. I think he’ll be on the slopes, not going back to school in his free time. What’s his game? Snowboarding or skiing?”

“I don’t really know,” she said.

“Well, it was a lucky day I was so short-staffed he got the job before I even had a chance to take a closer look at him. So go—make your call. I’ll be anxious to hear what comes next.”

* * *

Iris was somewhat disappointed but not entirely surprised by the response. She spoke to a case worker who specialized in dating abuse. First, the woman gave Iris the statistics, which were awful. Then she outlined the procedure—the investigation and interviews of those involved, including the families of the teenagers. She listed several academic articles on the subject, many of which Iris remembered reading in her own case studies in postgrad counseling. And finally, she gave her the bad news.

“It’s a busy time and I’m only one person,” Connie Franklin said. “I’ll certainly follow up at my earliest available time, bearing in mind we’re coming into the holidays. Holidays for some families are harder than for others and I’m in demand. But I will follow up and I’ll keep your name out of it while I can.”

“They’re going to know at once,” Iris said. “As I said, I interviewed the girl and her best friend. They’ll know it was me.”

“The risk of our jobs, I’m afraid,” Connie said.

“Listen, make your life simple—call Dr. Scott Grant. The girl had a concussion that was supposed to have been caused by slipping on an icy step. I don’t remember any ice-over in Thunder Point. That doesn’t mean her front step wasn’t icy, but it bears looking at. Dr. Grant admitted her to the hospital. I assume emergency workers and hospital employees are also mandatory reporters and should have investigated the possibility of abuse.”

“I’ll do that. In the meantime, if anything more comes up, do call me. When things like this escalate from reporting to emergency, this agency can move mountains.”

“I don’t know if I want that or not,” Iris said.

“I understand completely.”

“How do you do it? Take complaints like this daily and pursue them?”

“The same way you do, Iris. One minute at a time.”

* * *

Iris was nestled into Seth’s arms late at night when she told him about the day.

“I’ve never had this before,” she said. “I’ve never had a lover who cared about my boring high school life.”

“I’m a little glad about that,” he said.

“Something has really bothered me all day. Girls aren’t the only ones who get abused. Boys get emotionally abused by girls all the time, and usually they don’t know it. Sometimes women are physically abusive.”