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This time, Willow shrugged. As with any other inspection from a governmental agency, what he found would depend on how hard he was searching.
Candace passed them in the hall, guiding three-year-old Hannah by the hand. “You never said what happened at the hospital. Did they already do the test?”
Willow shook her head. “I can’t even think about that right now.”
“Didn’t you say something about a Colton?” Tori prompted anyway.
Madeline rounded the corner with two-month-old Isabella in her arms. “Yeah, what’s the scoop?”
She couldn’t blame her staff for being curious, after the way she’d bolted out of the center earlier. Anyway, they were friends and employees, a business model that had worked well for them until now. But everything was different today. She shook her head a second time. She wasn’t ready to talk about it.
Candace released the little girl’s hand and held out her arms to Luna.
“Here, angel. I bet you’re ready for some lunch and your nap.”
Like always, Luna moved easily into the day-care worker’s arms. They all loved her like she was their own.
Willow was still searching for the words to give them a brief accounting of what had taken place at the hospital when the door to the garage opened again. The inspector stepped inside, the tablet he’d been typing on earlier tucked under his arm.
“Everything looks like it’s in order here.” He stepped toward the door.
“I don’t understand, Mr. Bilkey,” Willow called to his retreating back. After the panic he’d caused at her place of business, she couldn’t let him leave without answering some of her questions.
“Why did this inspection happen in the first place?” she asked when he paused.
“As I told your staff when I arrived, there was a complaint against your center, filed with the state.”
Who’d ever had a problem with Tender Years that hadn’t been solved through a simple conversation? She searched her memories. None of her employees had left under uncomfortable circumstances. No children had been unenrolled because of a disagreement in the past few years, either. Sure, like at many day-care centers, she’d occasionally had trouble with parents who regularly picked up their children late. Had someone been upset enough about the extra charges—a clearly stated penalty in their contract—to try to hurt her business by contacting the state?
“But the complaint appears to be unfounded, so there shouldn’t be any further follow-up at this time.”
Was the guy serious? It seemed to be “unfounded,” so the state agency didn’t plan to ask more questions about it? Or about the person who’d submitted it?
“Is it possible to find out filing details?”
He was already shaking his head before the question was out of her mouth. “Sorry. But we don’t release that information.”
“You mean someone can suggest that a business has safety or quality issues, but the owner has no way to address the accuser?”
The inspector didn’t appear to be listening as he slid his finger over his tablet and tapped through several screens. He pushed his glasses higher on his nose. “That’s strange.”
“What is?”
He lifted his gaze as if only then realizing he’d spoken aloud. Again, he shook his head.
“Come on. Give us something here. You know the report was bogus.”
Finally, he shrugged. “It’s just that the report appears to have been filed anonymously. It’s not supposed to be possible
to file a report without a claimant. I don’t even know how it was processed.”
Willow blinked several times, that anonymous character scoring points against her for the third time: first the threatening letter, then the call to the hospital about the possible baby switch and now the complaint with the state. All three things had to be connected, didn’t they?
He licked his lips and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“Don’t worry about it,” she found herself saying. “You were just doing your job.”
Clearly, someone else hadn’t been doing hers or his, but she didn’t say that. His embarrassment assuaged, he finally allowed her to usher him to the door.
