Page 103 of Second Time Around
Diego evidently guessed what she was thinking. “I kept my promise to you, Ms.Kyra. Felicia came to me after school. I didn’t make her say nothing ... anything.”
Felicia took such a deep breath that her shoulders rose and fell. “I went to Mrs.Galvan’s apartment to get some arroz con pollo she made for me and Mama. I was carrying it back when Axel got out of the elevator with his big mean old German shepherd, Chopper. Chopper’s mean ’cause Axel makes him that way. I’m scared of both of them.”
Kyra put a comforting hand on Felicia’s small knee. “I don’t blame you.”
“Axel lets Chopper off his leash when he’s in the building, even though he’s not supposed to.” Tears started down Felicia’s cheeks again. “I guess Chopper smelled the food because all of a sudden he ran at me and clamped his teeth on my arm and started shaking it. I droppedthe dish and it broke all over the floor. So Chopper let go and started eating. He probably got glass in his mouth.”
Diego made a strange noise in the back of his throat, and Kyra knew he was feeling bad for the dog.
“My arm hurt so bad and was all bleeding so I started yelling for Mama. She came out and she and Mrs.Galvan took me to the hospital. I don’t remember a whole lot about being there ’cause they gave me some kind of medicine to make it hurt less and then I got anesthesia.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you say Shaq bit you?” Kyra asked.
Felicia stared down at her hand again. “Mama told me to say it. She say our insurance don’t cover all the stuff that my hand needs and Axel ain’t got insurance. But the Carver Center does, so if I say Shaq bit me, their insurance will pay.” She threw Kyra a quick glance before she started to sob again. “But he didn’t do it. He was barking and scratching at the door. He wanted to come protect me when he heard me yelling. He’s a good dog.”
Kyra sat back on her heels, wondering how to untangle this mess. She understood Davina’s dilemma. As a mother, she wanted her child to get the best possible medical care. But this was going to require great delicacy to resolve.
“Thank you for telling Diego and me the truth,” Kyra said. “You’re very brave.”
“Mama won’t get in trouble, will she?” Felicia asked.
“No one will get in trouble,” Kyra soothed, although she couldn’t figure out how to avoid it. But Schuyler Chase might have a way. “I have to share this with Ms.Emily.”
Felicia started shaking her head.
“She won’t tell anyone else at the center, I promise,” Kyra assured her. “Diego, will you see Felicia home safely?”
The boy nodded and Kyra stood up and offered her hand to help Felicia. The little girl jumped up and flung her arms around Kyra’swaist. “I didn’t want to lie to anyone but Mama said I had to. She was scared and sad.”
“Your mama was just taking care of you,” Kyra said, gently encircling the girl’s thin shoulders. “She did it because she loves you so much.”
“I love my mama,” Felicia said, releasing Kyra and wiping her own cheeks with the back of her uninjured hand, “but I love Shaq, too.”
Kyra accompanied them back to the sidewalk and watched the big, hulking boy take the little girl’s unbandaged hand in his as they walked away. Tears brimmed in her eyes at the protectiveness of his gesture. God, all she did was cry these days.
Kyra sat beside Emily at the director’s desk teleconferencing with Schuyler. Will’s sister had listened to the beginning of the phone call and decided they needed to be able to see each other as well. Behind the lawyer was an imposing credenza of some dark wood, filled with weighty-looking tomes, their gilt titles made shiny by the subtle up lighting. Kyra wondered what Schuyler thought of the background behind them, which consisted of some fake-oak filing cabinets and artwork by the center’s kids.
Schuyler took notes as they talked. “So Felicia said the dog who actually bit her was a German shepherd. We should be able to take impressions of Shaq’s teeth and show the bite marks on her arm don’t match his.”
Kyra interrupted the flow of legal strategy. “How are you going to keep from revealing that Felicia told us all this? She’s terrified of getting her mother in trouble.”
Schuyler put down her pen. “I had an associate canvas the apartment building for witnesses. Word of that will have gotten around. We didn’t actually find anyone who would admit to seeing the incident,although a few said they might have heard it.” Her lips curved in a sly smile. “However, Allen doesn’t know that. All I have to say is that a witness came forward. Since I don’t expect this to go to court, I’ll never have to identify or produce the witness.”
“Allen won’t ask you who it was? Or how credible they are?” Emily asked.
Schuyler’s smile turned sharper. “He can ask. I don’t have to answer.”
Kyra liked this woman more all the time.
“Honestly,” Schuyler continued, losing the smile, “I think Titus is looking for a way out of this suit. I don’t expect him to even ask for the bite-mark match. He’ll know I wouldn’t request it if I didn’t have proof.”
“But the center’s insurance won’t cover Felicia’s plastic surgery,” Emily said. “How will you get him to drop the case?”
“We’re taking care of that,” Schuyler said with a wave of her hand. “It’s part of the pro bono work.”
“You mean the law firm will pay her medical expenses?” Kyra asked, knowing she sounded skeptical.
“Something like that,” Schuyler said. “You don’t need to worry about it. What I require from you and the entire staff is radio silence on the whole situation. Don’t involve any more people. Make sure nothing is said in front of the other kids. I’m going to force Allen—and Ms.Gibson—to sign a gag order as part of the settlement. That way the center doesn’t get its reputation dragged through the dirt. You can keep the K-9 Angelz program up and running. And Shaq can return.”
