glanced at him. “That sounds pretty ominous. What’s this about, Jess?”
He sighed heavily. Damn, he didn’t want to do this. Ginny had been his friend for a long time—the first girl he’d ever kissed, way back in the second grade.
After the car accident that had killed his parents and left him in the hospital for nearly a month, she’d been one of the few people who didn’t offer him empty platitudes. Or, worse, who acted as if nothing had happened, when his whole life had just been ripped apart.
She had offered simple, calming comfort and he had never forgotten it.
Since then, she’d been to hell and back and had worked hard to make something out of her life. How could he tell her about Ms. McKenzie’s suspicions?
“Come on, Jess. Out with it. You’re scaring me.”
He blew out a breath, then met her worried gaze squarely. “How do Corey and Seth get on?”
Her brow furrowed. “What kind of question is that? They get along fine.”
“All the time?”
She continued to look puzzled. “Certainly they have their differences, I suppose. Corey can be difficult sometimes and he has a hard time with authority—you should know that as well as anybody. But Seth tries hard to be a good father. Why do you ask?”
Damn, this was tough. “There’s been an allegation that Corey is being abused.”
She stared at him, the color draining from her face until her skin just about matched the white of the sofa she was sitting on. “Abused? By Seth?”
He nodded grimly.
“This is some kind of sick joke, right? Who would say such a terrible thing? It’s not true. Absolutely not true.”
“It’s not completely unfounded, Gin. I understand he’s had several injuries in the last few weeks.”
“He’s a boy. A boy who gets into more than his fair share of mischief, but still just a boy. He has accidents.”
“You have to admit, it looks pretty suspicious, that many injuries in such a short period of time.”
“No. You’re wrong.” She jumped up and began to pace around the room. “Who is saying such terrible things? Who would want to hurt us like this?”
For a moment he debated telling her it was Sarah McKenzie, then he discarded the idea. Sarah still had to teach Corey in her class for the rest of the school year and he didn’t want to stir up trouble for her where he didn’t need to. “At this point, let’s just say it’s a concerned citizen. I swear, it’s no one with a hidden agenda, just somebody who cares about your son’s welfare.”
“Well, they’re wrong. Dead wrong.”
Sometimes he really hated this job. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask you, Ginny. Have you ever seen Seth hurting your son or do you have any reason to believe he might do so when you’re not around?”
Her mouth compressed into a thin line. She was quiet for several long moments. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and hurt. “How can you even think such a thing, Jess? You, of all people, should know better. You know what it was like for us before. Do you honestly think, after what my son has been through, that I would stand by and do nothing while it happens all over again?”
He believed her. How could he do anything else, faced with such complete, passionate sincerity?
“Seth is a good man,” she went on. “He’s decent and caring and in the last two years he’s been a wonderful father to Corey. He loves him, just as much as he loves Maddie. He even wants to adopt him!”
He sat back. “I’m sorry, Ginny. I had a hard time believing it, too, but I had to follow through and investigate.”
“I understand.”
“Did Corey have an explanation for being so accident-prone lately?”
Before she could answer, the front door opened and they heard the chink of keys being placed on a table in the hall.
Ginny paled a shade lighter. “That will be Seth. This is going to kill him, to have someone accuse him of such a thing.”
“Ginny?” the mayor called from the entry. “Why is a police Bronco parked in the driveway?” A moment later, he poked his head into the living room. He frowned when he saw Jess. “Chief! Is something wrong?”
“Seth, you’d better sit down,” Ginny began.
With a puzzled frown the mayor took a seat next to her. After Jesse reluctantly explained the purpose for his visit, Seth appeared just as shocked as his wife.
“It’s absolutely not true,” he said vehemently. “You must know that. I would never lay a hand on the boy.”
“I had to investigate, Seth.”
“Of course you did.” He frowned. “It must have taken great courage for someone to step forward with those kinds of suspicions. Too many people just look the other way, not wanting to get involved. I’d like to know who instigated this.”
Again Jesse thought of Sarah McKenzie and her nervousness in his office. He found himself strangely reluctant to mention her involvement, again using the excuse that she still had to teach Corey for the rest of the school year and it might make things awkward for her.
Rather than answer Seth, he opted to change the subject instead. “Something is still going on with Corey and I think we need to find out what. That many accidents in such a short time is pretty suspicious. Do you think someone else might be hurting him?”
Ginny looked as if she might be sick. Seth must have seen it, too. He grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. “Who?” he asked. “Who would do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe someone at school. Has Corey given you any reason to think he’s being bullied? Or that he’s been fighting with any of the other boys?”
“If anyone is beating on him, it’s probably that Connor boy.” Seth’s voice dripped disgust.
“Luke’s kid?”
Ginny nodded. “He’s always hanging around with Corey. But he’s in junior high school! What does he want with a ten-year-old?”
Dusty Connor had been in just as many scrapes with the law as Corey. Where Corey’s shenanigans leaned toward the clever and mischievous, Dusty’s were usually plain mean.
“I don’t know, but I think we need to find out,” Jesse said.
“How?”
Before he could answer her, they heard the sound of a door slamming, then a voice from the kitchen of the house. “Mom, I’m home,” Corey called.
“We’re in the living room,” Ginny answered. “Come in here, please.”
They heard a loud,
