Page 20 of Just a Little in Love

Daddy Gabriel stood up and smiled. “How about you get your pajamas on and finish up in here? I’ll go see who wants me at this hour.” The phone stopped and Daddy Gabriel chuckled. “Can’t have been that important.”

He brushed his knuckles down the side of Rowan’s face and stood. Then his cell phone started ringing again, and Daddy Gabriel left the bathroom.

Rowan quickly finished drying himself, fixed his pad, but just as he was going to pull on his pajamas, Daddy Gabriel came back into the bathroom. The expression on his face instantly made Rowan still.

“Sorry Rowan, you’re going to have to get dressed. That was Charlie, and your dad’s trying to get a hold of you as well. I’m not sure what’s going on except your dad called Charlie expecting you to be with him. The cops are looking for you as your mom’s next of kin. I’m sorry, but she seems to have been arrested.”

Chapter ten

Gabriel leaned forward, head in his hands, not even caring that his ass had gone numb from the hard plastic chairs.

Rowan’s dad had arrived at the police station at the same time as them, and Rowan had gone to talk to a detective with his father. His father just assumed Gabriel was a friend, and he knew that the only reason Gabriel hadn’t been quizzed about the obvious age difference was because the man was in shock.

An hour ago, he’d looked up Philip Wilson after he’d heard him tell the desk sergeant his name. It had been fairly easy to find his divorce with Janice Wilson.

He was frantic about Rowan. Since Rowan had spoken to his dad on the phone, it was almost like he’d gone into shock and hadn’t said a word in the car.

“Here.”

Gabriel looked up and took the coffee from Patrick. “Have you heard anything?” Patrick had disappeared outside to make some phone calls and he hadn’t come back in for some time.

“Let’s take a walk,” Patrick said. Gabriel didn’t want to go outside in case Rowan came back and needed him, but clearly Patrick didn’t want to talk inside.

They pushed the doors open and took a few steps from the building, away from the smoker who was leaning up against the wall at the other side, and toward Gabriel’s car. “What’s going on?”

Patrick sighed. “Look, this information didn’t come from the medical community, obviously, but from the cops I know. I can’t name names and I need you to promise me you won’t mention this unless Rowan tells you himself. I know you understand privacy, Gabriel.”

Gabriel nodded. Of course he did.

“Apparently, Rowan’s mom and dad have been divorced since he was around fourteen.”

“Yeah, I know that. He—” Did Patrick know? It was confidential, but Patrick was sharing similar information. “Rowan told me about being sick when he was a teenager,” he hedged without giving details.

Patrick heaved a sigh. “Specifics? He told you why he wears the pads?”

“The radiation treatment,” Gabriel confirmed quietly.

“Good, so we’re on the same page. Now to what I was just told. The problem is that Rowan was also in and out of doctors’ offices for other reasons as well. He had an undiagnosed digestive disorder that they were initially concerned was a reaction to the treatment, but he seems to have suffered episodes with it before that.”

Gabriel nodded, but he didn’t have a clue where Patrick was going with this. Patrick put his hand up when Gabe opened his mouth to ask a question. “Any more physical details are between you and Rowan.”

“Okay,” Gabriel subsided.

“That’s just a little background. Call it concerning repetitive behavior, if you like.” Gabriel frowned, but Patrick carried on. “Rowan’s mom has a new boyfriend she’s staying with on a weekend. The boyfriend has a nine-year-old little girl that he has shared custody with and is often there on weekends as well, as the mom works shifts, including nights. The little girl has been having a few recent stomach issues, sickness, tiredness. Rowan’s mom has been urging the boyfriend to try for full custody because she is under the impression that the girl’s mom is feeding her junk food, not enforcing regular bedtimes, etcetera. Except the girl’s mom is a nurse, and there’s never been any problem before. After the last visit, apparently, the little girl had a fight with her mom, accused her of not looking after her properly because she put her career first before her—”

“A nine-year-old said that?” Gabriel interrupted.

“Yeah, the mom knew by the language that she was repeating what had been said to her and as both Mom and Dad have co-parented successfully since the kid was born, she guessed it was Rowan’s mom. Anyway, it came to a head Wednesday as Mom couldn’t wake her up properly for school. When she was questioned after the little girl was admitted to the hospital, it turns out she brought home the vitamins Rowan’s mom had been giving her. The cops got them tested and they’re sedatives. A common adult dose but dangerous in a child. Apparently Rowan’s mom used to give her half. She also gave her other pills, one of which was a laxative. The dad didn’t know Rowan’s mom was giving her anything because apparently it was a secret just between them. Just between the girls.”

“Fuck,” Gabriel gasped in horror. His knees wobbled, and he reached out for the hood of his car. “You think that’s what was wrong with Rowan?”

“I don’t know. Rowan’s mom has been charged with criminal negligence, but she’s insisting the little girl stole the pills from her purse. Her word against the child’s, so you can imagine why they needed to talk to Rowan.”

Gabriel felt sick.

“I’m not a psychiatrist, but this is going to take an awful lot of unpacking. They cannot prove the same was done to Rowan, and we could be way off base, but as she’s been arrested, not merely questioned, it doesn’t look good.”

“Okay. Let’s go back in.” Gabriel wanted to be there when Rowan came out. Around forty minutes later, Rowan and his dad came out of the back offices and walked into the waiting area. Both Gabriel and Patrick stood up. Patrick went to shake hands with a stunned Philip Wilson and introduced himself, explaining his partner Charlie was one of Rowan’s friends and had gotten the call from the detectives.

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