Cracks

Chapter 23 The Scott girl

He should have known something was up when his co-workers kept stealing glances at him that morning, but he had brushed it off as just 'being the new guy'.

The office had been hopelessly short-staffed and he had recently received his degree. They had hired him on the spot and he had been handed all sorts of cases before he had even set foot in the building. When he had arrived at his desk and saw the large stack of files, he had initially wanted to turn back around and run. Still, after taking a deep breath, he had seated himself and taken the first file. If he wanted to succeed at this, he had to read through his cases so he'd know what he was in for.

And he did learn what he was in for.

Halfway though, he received a phone call from the police station with the request to pick up a girl they had in custody. Underaged with no guardian, and apparently well-known in the system.

He sighed and put on his coat. He hadn't expected a trip to the police station on his first day, but the case of this girl had been transferred to him. He would pick her up, bring her here and then try to find a suitable emergency placement until he could arrange something more permanent.

When he arrived at the police station, one of the front officers pointed him towards a bench where another police officer was guarding a young girl. She was impatiently kicking her legs back and forth, while seemingly looking for a an escape.

The officer noticed him and held out his hand. "Are you from CPS?"

He nodded. "Trevor Welsh." He shook the man's hand. "Can you fill me in?"

The officer sighed and looked at the girl annoyed. "Alyssa Scott, notorious runaway, arrested several times. Shoplifting, vandalism, carrying illegal substances. According to our records, she ran away from seventeen foster homes, including a group home. Usually she runs off to her brother, but he is currently under arrest, so we called you."

Trevor blinked in order to process it all. From what he had just heard from this police man, he had expected to face a seventeen year old with an attitude. But this girl could barely be over twelve.

She stared at him with a bored expression. "Can I go now?" she asked.

Trevor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What am I dealing with?" he asked, "is she under arrest?"

"Not today," the police officer answered, "we picked up her brother. There were drugs in his car. She was also in the car, so we had to bring her in. We can't charge her with anything and she's a minor, so she's your problem now." He pointed towards the counter. "Just sign off there."

The girl crossed her arms. "What am I? A package?"

The officer turned to her and looked at her sternly. "You'd be wise to drop the attitude, missy. Let this be the last time we see you here."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and stood up. She looked at Trevor indifferently. "Where's Lynda? She's always the one to drag me around."

Trevor sighed again. Now he knew why his co-workers had looked at him so amused when he left to pick up this kid. They had handed him the case no one wanted.

"Your case was transferred to me," he told the girl.

She smirked. "You're new, ain't ya? Figures."

Trevor raised his eyes to the ceiling and took a deep breath. "Let's just go. I'll find you a place for the night."

"I have a place." The girl had a stubborn expression on her face as she stomped after him. "I keep tellin' 'em, but they ain't lis'ning."