Page 10 of Vicious Cycle
Of course, Atticus followed at my side. As Willow stroked his fur, I asked, “Do you have a dog at home?” When she shook her head forlornly, I replied, “That’s okay. Atticus can be your dog while you’re at school.”
Although she’d spoken to me before, she merely smiled and nodded her head. When we got to the front office, I headed to the third door on the right, which was our registrar, Patricia Mulkey.
At my knock, she glanced up from a mound of paperwork before waving me inside. I gave her an apologetic look. “I know today’s been crazy, but I have one last parent request for you.”
She snorted. “Somehow I doubt that.” Jerking her chin, she said, “Send them in.”
Nodding, I motioned for Elizabeth to join me in the office while Willow stayed in the hallway with Atticus “What can I do for you?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to change my granddaughter’s kindergarten teacher.”
Patricia frowned. “We don’t just swap teachers without a reason.” She pinned me a look. “Ms. Evans knows that.”
I held up my hands. “While I am aware of the protocol, I can assure you there’s some extenuating circumstances. And I do have an opening in my class.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t want to get Ms. Evans in trouble, especially since she was kind enough to offer.” She then told Patricia what she’d told me about Willow. “I can provide necessary paperwork from my granddaughter’s therapist if you need that.”
Patricia smiled. “That won’t be necessary. Like Ms. Evans, I’m a softie.”
“Thank you very much,” Elizabeth said.
Turning to her computer, Patricia asked, “What’s the child’s name?”
“Willow Malloy.”
Patricia’s hands froze over the keyboard. Glancing over her shoulder, she asked, “I’m sorry. Did you say Malloy?”
Nodding, Elizabeth replied, “Yes, I registered her a few weeks ago.”
“I must’ve been on vacation then because I don’t remember that.”
“Yes, it was someone else.”
After typing in Willow’s name, Patricia said, “If you’ll just wait outside, I’ll finish up with Ms. Evans.”
“Of course.”
After Elizabeth left the office, Patricia rose out of the chair to come over to me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she questioned in a hushed voice.
Since I figured she thought I was being pressured by Elizabeth, I replied, “Absolutely. I mean, what’s one more kid?”
She shook her head. “It’s not about your numbers.”
Furrowing my brows, I replied, “I don’t think I understand.”
Tsking, Patricia replied, “I forget you didn’t grow up here.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Glancing over her shoulder, Patricia lowered her voice. “Has your uncle Paul ever mentioned the Hells Raiders to you?”
At the mention of the name, my mind immediately went to the warnings Paul had given me about staying away from a certain part of town. As a state trooper, he was always warning me about dangerous places both in town and in other counties.
“Yes, he did.”
Patricia shot me a knowing look. “I thought he had.”
