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"Good morning, Officer," Cortez said.
I slumped against the wall. Now what? I'd seen more cops in the last few days than on a weekend Law & Order marathon.
"Department of Social Services," the officer said. "Come to see Miss Winterbourne. I thought I'd better escort them to the door."
What could be worse than a police visit right now? A child welfare visit.
"I believe your appointment was for this afternoon," Cortez said. "While we appreciate your interest in Savannah's well-being, I really must ask you to return then. We had an incident here last night. A very upsetting incident and, as you might imagine, my client had a difficult night and is not yet prepared for visitors."
"That 'incident' is the reason we're early," a woman's voice replied. "We're very concerned for the child."
The child? Oh, right ... my loving ward, currently barricaded in her room. Oh, God. Would they want to see Savannah? Of course they would. That's what they were here for. To evaluate my parenting skills. I would have laughed ... if I hadn't been so close to crying.
Cortez argued for several minutes, but it soon became apparent that he was wavering. I didn't blame him. If we refused to admit Social Services, they would think we had something to hide. Well, we did have something to hide. Plenty, in fact. But, God knew, if we didn't let them in now, things might be even worse when they returned.
"It's okay," I said, walking into the hall. "Come in, please."
A fiftyish woman with an auburn bob introduced herself as Peggy Dare. I didn't catch the name of the timid blond with her. It didn't matter. The woman whispered hello and never said another word. I escorted them to the living room, then offered coffee or tea, which they refused.
"May we see Savannah?" Dare asked.
"She's resting," Cortez said. "As I said, last night was very hard on all of us. Naturally, Savannah, given her youth, was particularly affected by the violence."
"She's very upset," I managed.
"I understand," Dare said. "But that, of course, is why we're here. If you would let us speak to her, perhaps we can verify the extent of the damage."
"Damage?" Cortez said. "That seems rather judgmental."
"It wasn't intended that way. We've come with an open mind, Mr. Cortez. We only want what's best for the child. May we see her, please?"
"Yes, but unless I'm mistaken, part of your mandate is to assess the physical environment. Perhaps we can begin with that."
"I'd like to begin by speaking to Savannah."
"As I've said, she's sleeping, but--"
"I am not, Lucas!" Savannah shouted from her room. "You are such a liar!"
"She's very upset," I repeated.
Cortez turned toward the hall. "Savannah? Could you please come out for a moment? There are some people here from Social Services who would like to speak to you."
"Tell them to go piss up a rope!"
Silence.
"Haven't heard that one in a while," I said, struggling to smile. "Sorry. I've been working on her language. She's very upset."
"More than upset," Cortez said. "The events of last night were extremely traumatic. Paige has been trying to soothe her all morning. Professional help may be necessary."
"I'm not the one who needs professional help!" Savannah shouted. "You don't see me running around trying to save the world. Wonder what a therapist would say about that?"
"What is she talking about?" Dare asked.
"She's confused," I said.
"I'm not the one who's confused! And I didn't just mean Lucas. I meant you, too, Paige. You're both crazy. Fucking looped."
