Taming Jesse James

“He’s a boy. A boy who gets into more than his fair share of mischief, but still just a boy. He has accidents.”

“You have to admit, it looks pretty suspicious, that many injuries in such a short period of time.”

“No. You’re wrong.” She jumped up and began to pace around the room. “Who is saying such terrible things? Who would want to hurt us like this?”

For a moment he debated telling her it was Sarah McKenzie, then he discarded the idea. Sarah still had to teach Corey in her class for the rest of the school year and he didn’t want to stir up trouble for her where he didn’t need to. “At this point, let’s just say it’s a concerned citizen. I swear, it’s no one with a hidden agenda, just somebody who cares about your son’s welfare.”

“Well, they’re wrong. Dead wrong.”

Sometimes he really hated this job. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask you, Ginny. Have you ever seen Seth hurting your son or do you have any reason to believe he might do so when you’re not around?”

Her mouth compressed into a thin line. She was quiet for several long moments. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and hurt. “How can you even think such a thing, Jess? You, of all people, should know better. You know what it was like for us before. Do you honestly think, after what my son has been through, that I would stand by and do nothing while it happens all over again?”

He believed her. How could he do anything else, faced with such complete, passionate sincerity?

“Seth is a good man,” she went on. “He’s decent and caring and in the last two years he’s been a wonderful father to Corey. He loves him, just as much as he loves Maddie. He even wants to adopt him!”

He sat back. “I’m sorry, Ginny. I had a hard time believing it, too, but I had to follow through and investigate.”

“I understand.”

“Did Corey have an explanation for being so accident-prone lately?”

Before she could answer, the front door opened and they heard the chink of keys being placed on a table in the hall.

Ginny paled a shade lighter. “That will be Seth. This is going to kill him, to have someone accuse him of such a thing.”

“Ginny?” the mayor called from the entry. “Why is a police Bronco parked in the driveway?” A moment later, he poked his head into the living room. He frowned when he saw Jess. “Chief! Is something wrong?”

“Seth, you’d better sit down,” Ginny began.

With a puzzled frown the mayor took a seat next to her. After Jesse reluctantly explained the purpose for his visit, Seth appeared just as shocked as his wife.

“It’s absolutely not true,” he said vehemently. “You must know that. I would never lay a hand on the boy.”

“I had to investigate, Seth.”

“Of course you did.” He frowned. “It must have taken great courage for someone to step forward with those kinds of suspicions. Too many people just look the other way, not wanting to get involved. I’d like to know who instigated this.”

Again Jesse thought of Sarah McKenzie and her nervousness in his office. He found himself strangely reluctant to mention her involvement, again using the excuse that she still had to teach Corey for the rest of the school year and it might make things awkward for her.

Rather than answer Seth, he opted to change the subject instead. “Something is still going on with Corey and I think we need to find out what. That many accidents in such a short time is pretty suspicious. Do you think someone else might be hurting him?”

Ginny looked as if she might be sick. Seth must have seen it, too. He grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. “Who?” he asked. “Who would do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe someone at school. Has Corey given you any reason to think he’s being bullied? Or that he’s been fighting with any of the other boys?”

“If anyone is beating on him, it’s probably that Connor boy.” Seth’s voice dripped disgust.

“Luke’s kid?”

Ginny nodded. “He’s always hanging around with Corey. But he’s in junior high school! What does he want with a ten-year-old?”

Dusty Connor had been in just as many scrapes with the law as Corey. Where Corey’s shenanigans leaned toward the clever and mischievous, Dusty’s were usually plain mean.

“I don’t know, but I think we need to find out,” Jesse said.

“How?”

Before he could answer her, they heard the sound of a door slamming, then a voice from the kitchen of the house. “Mom, I’m home,” Corey called.

“We’re in the living room,” Ginny answered. “Come in here, please.”

They heard a loud, exasperated sigh and then Corey wandered into the room. With a basketball under his arm and dressed in baggy shorts, a T-shirt and high-top sneakers, he looked like most of the other ten-year-olds in town except for a black eye and all that attitude radiating from him like heat waves off a sidewalk.

“What’s for din—” he started to ask, then his gaze landed on Jess. For one brief instant, pure panic flickered across his expression, but he quickly hid it behind belligerence. “I didn’t do nothin’.”

Interesting. Now, why would the kid suddenly break a sweat just at the sight of a cop when he’d always been a cocky little wise guy, even when Jesse or one of the five officers in his department caught him red-handed up to something?

What was he messed up in now that had him so jumpy? Whatever it was, Jesse had a bad feeling about it. He obviously needed to keep a better eye on the kid.

He raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure you’re in trouble?”

“I’m not?” Corey’s voice cracked on the second word.

“Should you be?”

“No. I told you, I ain’t done nothin’.”

“Haven’t done anything,” Ginny corrected quietly.

“Whatever.”

“Good,” Jesse said, thinking fast. “Because I need your help.”

All three of them stared at him. To Ginny and Seth, he sent a reassuring smile. He’d been a cop a long time and the one thing he’d learned was to trust his instincts. He could start interrogating the boy about his injuries—the black eyes, the cut, whatever bruises the schoolteacher had seen that afternoon.

But judging by his experiences with Corey, he was sure the kid wouldn’t tell them a thing. He would turn closemouthed and uncooperative and give Jesse the same bull he’d been giving everybody else about his injuries.

On the other hand, if he could spend a little time with Corey—convince the kid to trust him—maybe Jesse could get to the bottom of this.

“I’m in need of a partner for a couple days. You interested?”

The boy looked baffled. “A partner?”

“Yeah. I’m coming to school next month to talk about crime prevention.” That much was true, at least. The annual visit had been scheduled for weeks. The rest he was making up as he went along.

“I was thinking I could use somebody who knows his way around to help me out,” Jesse went on. “Give the other kids some pointers about how to stay safe and out of trouble.”