The Protectors: Defending His Own / Guarding Jeannie. BEVERLY BARTON

the fifth graders were playing softball during PE, a stranger approached Allen. Your brother won’t tell us what the man said to him, but Allen seems terribly upset. I thought it best to phone you immediately.”

      “Yes, yes, you did the right thing, Mr. Shipman. I’ll be right over.” Deborah’s heartbeat throbbed loudly in her ears, obliterating every other sound, even Ashe’s voice. “Please, don’t leave Allen alone. Make sure someone is with him until I pick him up.” Deborah returned the phone to its cradle.

      When Deborah didn’t respond to his questions, Ashe grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her gently. “What’s going on? Has something happened to Allen?”

      “A strange man approached Allen on the playground during PE. Mr. Shipman said the man upset Allen.” Deborah clutched the lapels of Ashe’s jacket. “What if—Oh, God, Ashe, what if Buck Stansell sent someone to hurt Allen?”

      “Did anyone besides Allen get a good look at this man? Did they see whether he was on foot or driving?”

      “I didn’t think to ask, dammit.” Releasing her hold on Ashe, Deborah walked around to the front of her desk. Yanking open the bottom drawer, she lifted out her leather bag and threw the straps over her shoulder. “I have to pick up Allen and take him home. I have to make sure he’s all right. If anyone dares harm him, I’ll—”

      “I’ll take care of anyone who threatens Allen, in the same way I’ll handle anyone who threatens you.” Ashe held out his hand. “Give me the keys to your Caddy. I’ll drive. On the way over to the school, pull yourself together. Allen doesn’t need to see how upset you are.”

      Deborah took a deep breath. “You’re right. It’s just that, in the back of my mind, I kept wondering if and when Buck Stansell would target Mother or Allen. Oh, Ashe, I can’t let anything happen to Allen.”

      “Nothing is going to happen to Allen.” He took her hand in his. “I promise.”

      Within five minutes they marched side by side into Richard Shipman’s office where Allen sat, silent and unmoving, in a corner chair. The minute he saw Deborah, he ran into her open arms.

      “Give us a few minutes alone with Allen,” Ashe said to the principal, who immediately nodded agreement and exited his office.

      “What happened, sweetheart?” Deborah asked, bending on her knees, hugging her child close, stroking his thick blond hair. “Tell us everything.”

      Allen clung to Deborah for several moments, then glanced over at Ashe. “You can’t let them do anything to hurt her.”

      “Allen, will you tell me what happened?” Ashe reached down and patted Allen on the back.

      Allen shook his head, released his tenacious hold on Deborah, but still clung to her hand as she stood. “He walked up to me on the playground. I was waiting my turn at bat. He said he knew my sister and that he wanted me to give her a message.”

      “Oh, Ashe!” Deborah clenched her teeth tightly together in an effort not to cry in front of Allen.

      Laying his hand on Deborah’s shoulder, Ashe gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Had you ever seen this man before?”

      “No,” Allen said.

      “Come on, let’s go sit down over here on the sofa.” Deborah led Allen across the room to the small, leather sofa situated against the back wall between two oak filing cabinets. “I want you to answer all of Ashe’s questions. He’s here to help us. Do you understand?”

      “What—what do you want to know?” Allen looked at Ashe.

      “Would you recognize the man if you ever saw him again? Can you tell me what he looked like?”

      “Yeah, I’d recognize him, all right. He was big and ugly and he smelled bad.”

      “Sounds like somebody Buck would sent around to frighten a child,” Ashe said.

      “He didn’t scare me.” Allen tightened his hold on Deborah’s hand. “I told him off. If you don’t believe me, just ask Tripper Smith. He heard me telling that guy he’d better leave my sister alone.”

      Ashe knelt down in front of Allen. “I know you’re brave and that you’d fight for your sister.”

      Deborah forced a smile when she looked at Allen’s pale little face. “Did the man try to hurt you?”

      “Naw, he just said to give my sister a message. He said to tell you that if you show up in court Monday, you’ll be very sorry. And I told him that nothing he said or did would keep you from testifying against that murderer. And he said if you did, you were stupid. That’s when I tried to hit him, but he just laughed and walked away.”

      “Did your teacher see the man, or any of the other kids beside this Tripper Smith?” Ashe asked.

      “My teacher didn’t see nothing, but several of the kids saw him. Tripper’s the one who went and told Coach Watkins what had happened.”

      “Okay, Allen, why don’t you and Deborah go do whatever is necessary to get you checked out of school for the day. I’ll make a couple of phone calls and then we’ll be ready to leave.” Ashe wished he had the big, bad-smelling stranger in front of him right now. He’d teach Buck Stansell’s messenger that it wasn’t nice to go around frightening little boys, especially not a child under his protection.

      “Are we going home?” Allen asked. “Do we have to tell Mother what happened? She’ll just worry.”

      “We aren’t going home,” Ashe said. “I think you and Deborah and I should go somewhere for burgers and fries and then do something fun together this afternoon. How does that sound to you, Allen?”