FAILURE TO PROTECT by Pamela Samuels Young
FAILURE TO PROTECT
By Pamela Samuels Young
Legal thriller
414 pp.
$6.99 (Kindle)
When the classroom is no longer a safe space for her child, the outraged mother of a bullied nine-year-old is determined to seek justice for her daughter. An ambitious school principal, however, is far more concerned about protecting her career than getting to the truth. She flat out denies any knowledge of the bullying and prefers to sweep everything under the rug. But just how low will she go?
When the mother’s two hard-charging female attorneys enter the picture, they face more than an uphill battle. As the case enters the courtroom, the women fight hard to expose the truth. But will a massive coverup hinder their quest for justice?
Excerpt:
By Pamela Samuels Young
Legal thriller
414 pp.
$6.99 (Kindle)
When the classroom is no longer a safe space for her child, the outraged mother of a bullied nine-year-old is determined to seek justice for her daughter. An ambitious school principal, however, is far more concerned about protecting her career than getting to the truth. She flat out denies any knowledge of the bullying and prefers to sweep everything under the rug. But just how low will she go?
When the mother’s two hard-charging female attorneys enter the picture, they face more than an uphill battle. As the case enters the courtroom, the women fight hard to expose the truth. But will a massive coverup hinder their quest for justice?
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
"Please, Uncle Dre, let me stay home with
you today. Can you homeschool me?
Please!"
Dre stroked his goatee and laughed.
"Unfortunately, I'm not smart enough to homeschool you or anybody
else."
"I'm serious," Bailey pleaded, her
face twisted in terror. "Please don't make me go!"
As his Jeep inched along behind the long line
of cars dropping off kids in front of Parker Elementary School, Dre peered over his shoulder at the cute little girl
sitting in his back seat. Bailey's stress level was way too high. She'd had a
few run-ins with a bully at her old school, but he assumed the transfer to
Parker had fixed everything.
"What's going on? Why don't you want to
go to school?"
Bailey hugged her book bag to her chest as if
it were a life raft. "I just don't."
"C'mon, talk to me. Is somebody bothering
you here too?"
After a long beat, Bailey slowly bobbed her
head.
Dre had purposely used the word bothering,
not bullying. He was tired of hearing all the hoopla about bullies. Kids
getting picked on was nothing new. It happened in his day and would keep
happening until the end of time.
Truth be told, today's kids were too damn
soft. People turned backflips to protect them from the realities of life. Like
everybody getting a freakin' trophy just for participating. That was the
stupidest crap he'd ever heard. Sometimes life is hard. Kids need to know that
sooner rather than later.
"Please don't tell my mom," Bailey
begged, her brown eyes glassy with tears. "She'll fuss at me for not
standing up for myself."
Dre reached back and gave Bailey's foot a
playful squeeze. "No, she won't. But you do have to start standing up for
yourself. If somebody's being mean to you, you have my permission to be mean
right back."
He wasn't condoning violence, but if another
kid started some mess, the only way to show 'em you weren't no punk was to clap
back twice as hard. Most bullies were wimps. Once you got in their face, they
backed off. That's what he'd taught his son to do and, to his knowledge, Little
Dre had never had a problem. He would teach Bailey to do the same.
"You don't get it," Bailey huffed,
her shoulders drooping. "That won't help."
They were almost at the drop-off point, when
Dre steered his Jeep out of the line of cars and made a hasty U-turn in the
middle of the street.
Bailey's upper body sprang forward.
"We're going home?"
"Nope." Dre pulled to a stop along
the curb. "I'm walking you inside. I want you to show me who's messing
with you."
Bailey
slumped back against the seat, her lips protruding into a pout.
"That'll just make it worse."
Turning off the engine, Dre hopped out and
jogged around to open the back door. "Let's go."
He took Bailey's hand as they stepped into the
crosswalk. The closer they got to the school doors, the slower Bailey walked.
By the time they reached the entrance, Dre felt like he was tugging a
sixty-pound bag of potatoes.
"Please, Uncle Dre," Bailey
whispered, glancing all around. "Please don't make me go!" Her tiny
hand clutched two of his fingers.
Dre led Bailey off to the side, squatted until
they were at eye level, and caressed her shoulders.
"I don't know what's going on, but
there's no reason for you to be this stressed out about going to school. If
somebody's messing with you, I need to know about it. What's the kid's
name?"
Bailey hung her head as a tear slid down her
right cheek. For a second, Dre thought she was about to come clean.
"It doesn't matter," she mumbled,
hoisting her book bag higher on her shoulder.
"Yes, it—"
Bailey jerked away from him and dashed inside
the school.
He was about to go after her when a woman
stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"May I help you, sir?"
The woman's chin jutted forward like an
accusing finger pointing him out in a lineup. "And you are?"
"I'm Bailey's"—he paused—"uh,
I'm Bailey's godfather." He'd started to introduce himself as her uncle to
make himself sound more legit but changed his mind.
"Your name?" Her tone conveyed all
the warmth of an icicle.
"Andre Thomas."
Dre pegged the woman to be in her early
forties. Her thick, black hair fell a couple of inches below her ears in a
blunt cut that matched her funky disposition. Her sleeveless, form-fitting, red
dress hugged every inch of her curvy frame. Actually, she was kinda hot. Kerry
Washington’s classy style with Cookie Lyon's bad attitude.
"Bailey's mother didn't tell us someone
else would be bringing her to school today."
She looked him up and down like he was some pedophile
on the prowl for a new victim.
Dre couldn't seem to pull his eyes away.
Despite an innate seductiveness, the woman still managed to carry herself with
the spit-shine polish of a CEO. If professionalism had a smell, she would reek.
"Erika had an early meeting in Irvine and asked me to drop her off."
Dre ran a hand over his shaved head. Rarely
did anybody—especially a female—make him feel this degree of uneasiness.
"I'm sorry. I didn't get your name."
"I'm the principal. Darcella
Freeman."
He should've guessed. A sister with a
little power.
"I'll be dropping Bailey off and picking her up from
time to time," Dre said, anxious for the chick to move out of his way so
he could go after Bailey. "Erika got a big promotion. Her job's a lot more
demanding now."
"Is that
right?"
"Yep, that's
right." What's up with this chick?
"Please ask
Bailey’s mother to email the office authorizing you to pick her up from
school."
Dre nodded.
"Will do."
He still wanted to
go inside, but the woman stayed put like a queen guarding the gates of her
castle.
Without saying
goodbye, Dre pivoted and headed back across the street. As he opened the door
to his Jeep, he made a mental note to have a talk with Erika. She'd been
thrilled about getting Bailey into Parker Elementary because of its stellar
reputation. But the place might not be any better for Bailey than her old
school.
Dre also couldn't
shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. And not just with Bailey.
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