Still

03.

Chapter Three

The time limit was up. Maia had been more than patient when it came to Tyler Bailey's case. She tried her best not to hound Mrs. Bailey, because she had other cases to worry about. She'd done a check in on Tyler at his foster home and he was doing alright in his current placement. Granted, there were a few disruptions, but it was normal and expected within the first few days.

"So you're really going?" Naimi inquired. She'd never had a parent refuse a home visit. In all of her years of working, she was thankful to have understanding and cooperative parents. She laid down the law early on and advised that if they ever had an inkling of hope, it was in their best interest to follow her lead.

Maia stood up from her chestnut desk and grabbed ahold of her brown wristlet. She'd just received the notification that Officer Carr was waiting on her in the parking lot. "Yes," she answered while grabbing ahold of her sunglasses and placing them on her face. The last thing that she'd be doing would be going back and forth with a parent. She'd been there, done that.

Maia made her way past Naimi and out of the door to the parking lot. Zakari's police car was parked right out front. She opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. Once he wrapped up whatever he was working on before she entered the car, he greeted her, "How are you today?"

With a smile, Maia responded, "Ready to get this over with."

"I can tell by your demeanor," he mentioned before starting them on their journey. He'd received the call this morning that Maia was adamant about having him escort her to the home for the home visit. At this point, Rebecca was playing with the law. "I've never seen you act like this."

Maia huffed. "She tried to file a complaint and say that I was unprofessional in the way that I handled her. I don't like liars. How's the case with her husband?"

"His bond was set high and they're working on the different orders. The judge does believe he's a threat to the son, but -"

"He wants Tyler to say that," Maia finished with a bitter laugh. Sometimes judges were so hard to work with. To expect a child to testify against their parent with their parent in the same room was one of the most difficult things you could ever ask of a child. "Do these judges not think about what they're asking?"

"They don't see the things you do."

"How do they not?" She asked. "We sit in court rooms with them daily presenting them with the shit that we see. It's like they think we're liars, like we don't do this for a living."

"I agree," he replied softly, allowing the conversation to linger. The two of them continued small talk about random things before he arrived to the Bailey residence. Maia removed her sunglasses from her eyes and sat them on top of her head. She made sure that her small black notepad and color matched flair pen were handy. Today, she was going to what she was required to and she'd be on her way.

Zakari hopped out of the police car. Maia looked over to him as they walked toward the home. Working with Zakari was pretty standard for her. While the two of them never spoke outside of work, he'd tried numerous times. Maia was one of those people that didn't like blurring the lines. Today, however, she couldn't help but notice that he'd gotten a retwist.

"Mrs. Bailey?" Zakari called out after knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell.

An angry Rebecca stormed to the front door, snatching the wooden door open to the show her dissatisfaction with Maia being back. "What is she doing here?"

Maia handed him the necessary paperwork. "She's the social worker assigned to the case and she's here to conduct your home visit. I'm Officer Carr and I'll be assisting Ms. Brix during this visit to ensure that everything goes smoothly."