The Christmas Clock and A Song For My Mother - Kat Martin Page 0,23
letter. She said I should open it if something happened to her. I think maybe she meant this kind of thing. I'll go get it." Doris dashed back inside the house.
The screen door slammed behind her as a bright red Mustang splashed through the mud puddles at the curb and braked to a stop behind the patrol car next door. Joe Dixon sat behind the wheel, Teddy in the passenger seat. Joe turned off the engine and both of them climbed out. Even from a distance, Syl could see Joe staring at the patrol car and frowning. She forced herself to call out to him from the porch.
“Joe, could you and Teddy come over here for a minute?”
Joe urged Teddy toward Doris's house, and they started up the wooden steps. Joe cast Syl an unreadable glance, then turned his attention to the patrolman.
“What's going on here, Officer?”
The young cop recapped the events of the day, filling Joe in, then turning to Teddy, careful to make sure the boy understood what was happening with his grandmother, that her memory was failing and what that meant to him.
“I'm sorry, son. You won't be able to stay with your grandma.” He smiled, trying to soften the blow. “At least not right now.”
Fear flashed in Teddy's eyes. “I know she forgets things sometimes but I can take care of her. If I'd been with her today, she would'n'a got lost.”
The policeman looked up at Joe. “I take it he works for you.”
“I'm his friend, Joe Dixon. Teddy does odd jobs for me over at Murdock's Auto. Nothing official, he's just earning some money for Christmas. I'm not breaking any child labor laws or anything.”
“That's not a problem.”
“Teddy usually rides his bicycle to and from the garage but it was raining pretty hard, so I drove him home.”
“It's clear you're concerned but there's not much you can do to help Teddy today. There are laws, rules to be followed. They're put in place for the benefit and safety of the child. I'm afraid Teddy will have to come with me.”
“What will happen to him?” Joe asked.
“We'll try to find a family member who'll take him. If not, Social Services will have to find a placement for him.”
“I want to stay with my gramma,” Teddy said, panic in his face.
The policeman crouched beside him. “You can't stay here, son. Your grandma just can't handle it anymore.”
Syl could see the tension in Joe's broad shoulders. “I don't suppose you would let him stay with me."
The officer shook his head. “Mrs. Culver offered, as well. If we just turned him over to someone without any sort of investigation, we could be guilty of child endangerment.”
Teddy reached up and took hold of Joe's hand. “Joe, I'm scared.”
Joe lowered himself to Teddy's level and looked into his eyes. “We'll work this out, son, I promise. I'll do whatever it takes to find a good place for you to live, a place where you'll be happy.”
“Why can't I stay with you?”
“I wish you could, Teddy. Maybe we can find a way....”
But Syl could tell by the tight constriction of his throat that Joe didn't believe it was possible. Not with his criminal record.
“Time to go, son,” the officer said, reaching a hand out to Teddy.
When Teddy didn't take it, Joe scooped him up in his arms and carried him off down the steps toward the patrol car. The second officer was waiting. He opened the rear door and Joe settled the boy in the backseat. Syl couldn't hear what Joe was saying, but she could tell that Teddy was crying.
The young blond policeman was about to leave the porch when Doris came barreling out the screen door.
“Here's the letter," Doris said, tearing open the envelope as she reached them, beginning to scan the words.
“What's it say?" Syl asked.
Doris took a breath and started to read.
Dear Doris,
If you are reading this, something must have happened. I knew it would, sooner or later. I just pray that by now my Teddy has a loving home. If he doesn't, I beg you as a friend who has become very dear to me that you will help him find one. I want you to know that my Chester left me in very solid financial shape, so there are funds enough for whatever needs to be done to take care of me and also money for Teddy's college education.
Doris stopped reading. Digging a Kleenex out of the pocket of her jeans, she wiped the tears from