Tess moistened her dry lips and cleared her throat to ask, “Would those two kids be a teenaged boy and a little girl?”
A whistle of relief sounded from the other end. “They there?” His voice was low and urgent.
“They just walked into my office.” Tess caught the sharp glance sent from boy to girl. A reassuring signal, she wondered, or a warning?
“Thank God,” he said. “I’ve got foster parents on standby here, chomping at the bit to call the police. Those two put together one heck of a runaway plan and managed to bamboozle everyone.”
“I think you’ve got some explaining to do, Mr. Malone,” she said.
“Right you are. I’m getting to that. I don’t know if you’ve got to the introduction stage yet, but their names are Nick and Molly. He’s thirteen and she’s six. I’ve had their case file since they were placed in foster care right after the accident and—”
“Why was that?” Tess interrupted.
“No next of kin and no one close to the family able to take them. We didn’t know about you until several days ago.”
Before Tess could respond, an exchange of hissed whispers interceded.
“Excuse me,” the boy said, “but is there a washroom here? And a water fountain?”
Tess frowned, clamping her palm across the receiver. “Are you thirsty?”
He nodded. “And hungry, too. We only had some apples and crackers early this morning.”
“One minute, Mr. Malone,” she snapped into the phone, then put him on hold while pressing the intercom button. “Carrie? Could you come back in here for a sec?”
“She’ll take you to get some lunch…or dinner…or whatever it is for you,” Tess explained to the children. The door flew open as she was speaking. “Carrie, would you mind taking these two down to the concourse for a bite to eat? Hit the washrooms up here first—that may be the more urgent need.” She eyed the girl, hopping from one foot to the other.
“I’d love to take them. C’mon, kids. So, I’m Carrie and you are…”
“Nick,” the boy said. “She’s Molly.” A pause, then, “We’re Wheatons, too. Her brother and sister,” he added huskily, his voice trembling slightly.
In case Carrie missed that bit of information the first time around, Tess was thinking. As soon as they left the office, she released the hold button.
“Okay, Mr. Malone, how soon can you get here to pick up these kids and what am I supposed to do with them in the meantime?”
There was a slight pause, punctuated by a heavy sigh. “I was afraid you might say that.”
Tess felt the stirrings of a migraine. She closed her eyes, massaging her temples. “I don’t know what you mean by that, Mr. Malone, but obviously if people there are looking for the children, they have to be returned as soon as possible. You’re their social worker, surely you must have a plan. So what is it?”
She thought she heard a low chuckle before he said, “Maybe we’re not as busy down here, ma’am, as you seem to be up there. Guess I was half hoping you’d offer to come back with them or, at best, keep them till someone can get to Chicago.”
“What am I supposed to do with them? I’m at work right now and my day doesn’t usually end until eight at night. I don’t know much about kids, but I suspect that’s too long a day for them. Besides, I only have a one-bedroom condo here and—”
“I get the picture, Miss Wheaton,” he interjected. There was another sigh, followed by a low mumbling that Tess suspected was swearing. “Look, someone—most likely it’ll be me—will be there as soon as possible but it may not happen until tomorrow. You think you can handle those two youngsters till then?”
Tess grit her teeth. Nothing ambiguous about the sarcasm in his voice. “I don’t think it’s fair to get short with me, Mr. Malone. It’s hardly my fault the children ran away.”
“Short? Would that be like short as in snotty? If so, then I apologize but I gotta admit, those kids took a helluva gamble to make that trip to Chicago on their own looking for a sister they just discovered they had. Kids who’ve never been outside Boulder, Colorado. I don’t have all the details yet, but I do know they got the whole thing together without any adult help and actually made it there in one piece. So if I sound a bit short as you put it, well yes, dammit all, that’s precisely what I am feeling.”
It wasn’t often that Tess found herself speechless. A hundred questions swarmed her mind about how the children learned her identity and why they came looking for her. Tess sensed that firing off a slew of defensive inquiries would fuel an already heated conversation with the presumptuous social worker. Her business experience had taught her that obvious anger only made your argument weaker.
“Still there?” he ventured after a pause.
“Unfortunately,” she said.
“Sorry if I seem a bit tetchy but I’m real worried about these kids. You haven’t had a chance to get to know them yet—”
“No,” she put in as icily as she could. “And I’m not likely to, either. Richard Wheaton—my father—walked out on my mother and me when I was eight years old, Mr. Malone, and I haven’t heard a word from him or about him since yesterday. So if I appear a tad cool to the notion of family and siblings, please forgive me. I’m not a callous person. If these children need a place to stay until tomorrow, I will provide them with one.” She hesitated, alarmed at the promise she’d just made. Too late now, she thought. But there’s always Mavis. Beyond her office door, she heard muted voices. They were back. “I’ll give you my home address and phone number. When might I expect you?”
There was a resigned exhalation from the other end. “I don’t imagine you’ve dealt much with government bureaucracies, Miss Wheaton—or maybe you have—” he quickly added “—but nothing in this office moves faster than a slug on a cabbage leaf. And when it comes to applying for air travel, I should’ve requested this trip months ago. So…”
Tess was beginning to think he didn’t move very fast either. “So?” she repeated, wanting him to get to the point. If he ever could.
“There’s a flight arriving in Chicago after noon.”
“Nothing sooner?”
“That’s the best I can do.”
Tess closed her eyes. “All right, Mr. Malone, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
“There’s one more thing,” he said. “The kids are real upset about being split up. The accident has pretty much traumatized them, as you can imagine. I’d appreciate it if you avoided making any statements to them about their future.”
“How could I do that when I’ve no idea what future plans exist for them?”
His sigh suggested he was trying to be as patient as possible. “That’s exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about. If they bring up the subject about what’s going to happen to them, be as vague or evasive as possible. Please.”
“Of course I will, but why belabor your point, Mr. Malone? Obviously I don’t have any idea what the future holds for them.”
“You’re not getting it yet, are you Miss Wheaton? The kids headed to Chicago because you’re the only family they’ve got.”
Family. She’d never felt she had one. There was Mavis, who tried her best over the years to compensate for the real family Tess lacked. Tess tried to come up with a response but words failed her.
“Miss