Page 90 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
Colin looked at Jaq to see if she caught the underlying message, and she had. Sounded to her like those miserly foster parents kept a very controlled environment, not exactly what one might consider overly kid-friendly. Just then the food arrived, and she watched Maisie beam.
Impatiently, the little imp waited for Charlie to cut it up for her, and before he’d even finished with the pancakes, she’d picked up a large slice of bacon and stuffed it in her mouth until both cheeks bulged. Which made chewing difficult. Rather than correcting her table manners, Jaq pretended not to see, letting both kids enjoy their food to the fullest. As far as she was concerned, they deserved it.
When Charlie’s poutine arrived, they watched him devour his favorite treat and let it pass when he ignored his fork and started eating with his fingers. Colin grinned and whispered to Jaqueline, “Fries taste better eaten that way.”
Jaq lowered her head and whispered, “Not when they’re covered in gravy and melted cheese.”
His eyes lit with glee, Colin nodded. “You got me there. But today is special.” He reiterated his statement loud enough for the kids to hear. “Today is special so you’re allowed to eat like little puppies because we know how hungry you are but only this one time. Manners will be followed after this, right?”
Both kids looked up, their eyes gleeful. With faces sticky from syrup or gravy… and cheeks bulging, they cheerfully nodded in agreement. Charlie even put it into words. “Starving kids get a pass, right Colin?”
“Right.”
By the time they’d finished their food and drank their orange juice, both kids were worn out and ready to go home. When Colin lifted Charlie out from behind the booth and picked up his jacket to help him put it on, everyone came to a dead stop. There on the floor lay a bag that had obviously flipped out of his pocket.
The see-through plastic clearly revealed a number of brightly colored purple pills. Before he could check his tone, Colin demanded, “Where did you get these, Charlie?”
Sensing the tension, poor, tired little Maisie burst into tears. “What did you do, Charwie?”
The scared boy picked up on the conflict immediately. “I promise, Colin. That ain’t mine or Maisie’s.”
Colin eased his tone, being careful not to frighten Charlie worse. “I’m positive that’s true, son. But you need to tell me where they came from?”
Charlie looked toward Maisie who was cuddled in Jaqueline’s arms and had her face against Jaq’s chest. “Did you see anyone touch my jacket, Mais?”
“Nuh-uh. I never seen it.”
“Me neither. No, wait. When we were leaving, Josh was getting in trouble. His dad was yelling at him about something, and he came and hid behind me. It made me nervous cause he kept pushing me in front of him. Maybe he put this in my pocket then.”
Colin held the bag out in front of the kids. “Do you know what these are?”
Jaqueline recognized them immediately and whispered the name of the drug. “Morphine tablets.”
Maisie broke in and added, “They look like Maman’s special candies. They make grownups better. But she towd us never to touch them cause they make kids vewy sick.”
“That’s true. Maman’s pills were for her only. But there are special medicines they make for children, pills that are safe, yes? I don’t want to frighten you about this.”
“Yep. We know.”
“Okay. Look, I’m going to take you home to stay with Jaq so you can get a rest, while I take these to Ms. Lather and explain what happened. Is that okay Jaq?”
She nodded emphatically. Then Charlie’s weary voice cut in, “Are we gonna be in trouble, Colin?”
“I don’t see why. You didn’t even know they were there.” Colin lifted a frightened-looking Charlie back into his arms. “Hey, pal.You let me worry about this, okay? You help Maisie take a nap, and then we’ll decorate our Christmas tree.”
“A rea-w tree?”
Jaqueline kissed Maisie’s cheek, loving the adoring way the child spoke but most of all the awe that rang in her voice. “It’s a surprise for you and Charlie.”
Smiling, Colin glanced toward Jaq in case she had anything to add about his suggestion. She nodded her agreement, but he couldn’t help seeing the worry in her eyes… worry he knew she’d find in his.
From what the kids told them; this Josh was still a kid. What in the world was he doing hiding a bag of pain killers?
Chapter Seventeen
Colin had a hard time holding back the disgust at the way Josh’s father treated his sniveling son. When he’d arrived back at the Children’s Services office, it was to find a very loud, demanding father who had a strangle-hold on his kid’s arm.
Trying to wrench himself away, Josh wriggled but the determined father wouldn’t let go. Instead, he yanked the boy to attention. “Ms. Lather. Josh seems to think one of your orphans took a bag of pills from my place earlier… says he saw Charlie with them. I need them back. They’re pain pills that the doctor prescribed for my backaches.”
