winter.â
This was news to Tiffany. âHow long have you known him?â
âLong enough.â Ellie gave an exaggerated wink and walked to the door. âIâll tell you all about it later.â With a wave she was out the door, pausing long enough to say a few words to Christina who was feverishly plucking blades of grass and dropping them into the pie tin.
The phone rang. Tiffany grabbed the receiver on the second ring and, still watching her daughter through the screen, said, âHello?â
âMom?â Stephenâs voice cracked.
âOh, hi, kid.â She rested her hip against the counter. âAll done with Grandmaâs lawn?â
âUhâ¦a long time ago.â
There was an edginess in his voice, and she realized something was wrong. Very wrong. She froze. âSo where are you?â she asked.
He hesitated.
âStephen?â
âIâm at the police station, Mom, andâ¦and someone wants to talk to you.â
CHAPTER FOUR
âY ouâre where? â Tiffany sagged against the kitchen wall for support. Dear God, this couldnât be happening.
âI said Iâm down at theââ
âI know what you said, but how did you get there? Are you all right? What happened?â A jillion thoughts raced through her mind, none of them good, when she considered her thirteen-year-old son and his recent knack for getting into trouble.
âYeah. Iâm okay.â
âYouâre sure?â She wasnât convinced.
âYeah. The officer wants to talk to you.â
âWait, Stephen, should I come get youââ
âMrs. Santini?â an older male voice inquired. âIâm Sergeant Pearson.â
Tiffanyâs throat was dry, her heart a beating drum. âWhatâs going on? Is my son okay?â
âAside from a shiner and a sore jaw, I think heâll be fine.â The sergeantâs voice was kind but did little to soothe her jangled nerves.
âWhat happened?â
âHe and another kid, Miles Dean, got into a scuffle down at the Mini Martâ
âA scuffle?â she repeated, anxious sweat causing the back of her blouse to cling to her skin. The older boyâs father, Ray Dean, had been in and out of jail, and it looked as though Miles was following in his old manâs footsteps. What in the world was Stephen doing with him this time?
âThe boys got into a quarrel. One thing led to another, and a couple of punches were thrown. The clerk gave us a call, and we picked âem up. All in all, your boyâs fine.â
Relief caused her shoulders to droop, but she rubbed at the headache pounding in her forehead. âAnd Miles?â
The officer hesitated, and Tiffany felt a niggle of dread. âMiles always manages to get himself out of trouble.â
Nervously she twisted the telephone cord in her fingers. âAre there any charges filed against Stephen?â she asked. Despite a breeze gently lifting the curtains as it slipped in through the open window over the sink, the temperature in the kitchen seemed to have elevated to over a hundred degrees.
Tiffany stretched the cord and looked outside to see that her daughter was still busily making mud pies in the dirt.
âNone against your son.â
âAnd Miles?â
âThat remains to be seen.â
âCan I come and get him now?â
âActually, an officer will bring him home. They should be there in about ten minutes.â
âI donât have to sign anything?â
âNoâbut just a minute.â Pearsonâs voice was muffled as he spoke to someone else. âYeah, sheâs waiting for him. Now listen, Steve, no more horsing around, right?â
âI wonât,â her son mumbled as if from a great distance.
âI mean it. The next time it could be real trouble. And Iâm gonna have to report this to your juvenile counselor.â
There was another muffled response
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