Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I was furious at Kelsey, incensed that she had struck Amy, frightened Mia, and caused such a scene. She had somehow tagged along with someone else coming into the school, and she had been the one to pull the fire alarm as a distraction. I was horrified thinking of what would have happened if Kelsey had gotten away with it. If Amy hadn’t seen her.
Amy appeared beside me, her cheek still red. She slipped her arm around me. “Simon, are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” I replied. “Baby, you’re the one who confronted her. Saved Mia.” I touched her bruising cheek. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. I want to go in there and give her a piece of my mind.”
“I want to throw her ass in jail and let her rot. Halton is working it from his angle.”
A police officer stepped out. I knew him and shook his hand. “Fred. I mean, Officer Baxter.”
“Simon.” He indicated the room with a jerk of his head. “What do you want done?”
“I want her in jail. My lawyer is going to have her charged.”
“She’s, ah…” He paused. “She’s in bad shape.”
“I don’t care.”
“She’s high.”
“What?”
“On what, I don’t know. But she’s on something.”
I thought of her eyes. I felt sick to my stomach, knowing how close she’d come to getting her hands on Mia. To putting her in a car and driving away with her. I must have made a noise because Amy gripped my hand. “Calm, Simon.”
“She is going to be charged with public mischief, endangering a child, assault, trespassing, plus whatever else your lawyer comes up with.”
“I want to throw the book at her.”
“I understand. I need you to come down to the station and file charges.”
“Okay. I’ll follow you in a few moments.”
They led Kelsey out the back door, her boyfriend—or whatever he was—with them. I had no idea where he fit into all this, but I was going to find out. I spoke briefly with Mrs. Bremmer and Ms. Aldridge, who was upset and horrified that someone had almost taken a child away who was under her care. Her frosty, cold nature was replaced by one of genuine distress as she praised Amy and her quick response.
“All children should have someone who loves them so much,” she said. “I apologize for my part in this.”
I shook my head and extended my hand. “I don’t blame you, Ms. Aldridge. None of you. Kelsey is the one responsible. She caused all this uproar, and I am deeply sorry.”
Both women assured me the children would be looked after, comforted, and spoken to. Luckily, with the way it happened and the people around them, most of the children saw nothing since the teachers kept them separate, and the firefighters and trucks distracted them from paying too much attention to what was happening around the corner. The women left, and I turned to Amy, pulling her into my arms.
“Thank God for you.”
“Simon, she frightened me. The look in her eyes.” She shivered. “I hate her for upsetting Mia.”
“I hate that she touched you. I’m so angry I don’t know how to handle it.”
“I’m fine,” she assured me.
“Can you leave?”
“Yes. I have an aide and a parent in today, and they can see to the kids. They can color and have a snack.” She covered her cheek. “I don’t want them to see me like this.” She lifted her eyes to mine. “I’m going to cover it up at my place, then go to Holly’s. I need to see Mia.”
“Take her home, please. Wait for me. I’ll be there as soon as possible.” I bent and kissed her. “Thank you. You saved our girl.”
“She is ours,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I love her like my own.”
I kissed her again. “I know.”
“This is the best thing,” Halton assured me over the phone. “She’ll be escorted to the plane, and I’ll meet it here with her lawyer, and then she’ll be taken right to the facility. That way, she is out of the province and away from Mia and you. She has agreed to plead guilty to avoid a trial. She’ll sign the restraining order and go to rehab. She’s also agreed to sign a document that she will never contact you again.”
“Evan and his family either,” I added with a sigh. “I really want her in jail.”
“I know. But her freedom is being taken away, you get the court orders, and she now has a record, which limits her travel. When she gets out of rehab, she’ll be under house arrest for a while and wear a tracking device on her ankle. Once all that is over, if she so much as appears across the road from you, all bets are off.”
“Who is the guy with her?”
“An idiot in lust or love. But be grateful for him. He talked some sense into her. She told him a different story to get him to bring her there.”