I Wanna Know What Love Is

Chapter 5

After spending most of the morning finishing the packing of the kids' beds and stuff from the house, then the rest of the morning on the phone about the orphanage issue, Bucky was finally ready to run by and talk to Mrs. Krenshaw in person. He could have left it to the authorities, but he wouldn't want to deprive himself of that pleasure. Beth had taken the children to see their grandparents since she knew them. She warned him that the grandparents most likely not remember who they were. Their mental state had declined so dramatically made even worse by their daughter's death. Bucky warned Amy, but she still wanted to go, so he let them.

The task he had to accomplish before he left the house proved to be the hardest thing he had to do since he arrived in Tennessee. Beth had gotten some tranquilizers for the cat and dog and recommended he give it to them at least an hour before he left. The dog was fine. He ate the peanut buttered pill like it was the best thing he'd tasted and wanted another. The cat... why he had agreed to the cat, he didn't know... took him twenty minutes to give the pill. Most of the time, he was chasing after the cat. At one point, he even lunged for it and missed, falling flat on his face. Bucky doesn't miss and he sure as hell doesn't fall facedown. They're just not things he does. Sam would have a field day with that.

Every time he got the cat, he did what Beth said: opened the cat's mouth, pop the pill in and rub its throat until he swallowed. Great in theory! The first few times, the cat struggled away before he could rub its throat and the pill ended up on the carpet. Then a few times he was sure the cat had swallowed only to let go of him and the cat let the pill fall out of his mouth. And every time, the cat hauled ass after spitting up the pill. Bucky was pretty sure carpet fuzz covered the pill, but that's not his problem if the cat wants to spit it out. He had at least ten scratches on his right arm and hand. He laughed in victory when the cat scratched the vibranium arm. "Serves you right, you fucking demon spawn. You fur bag from hell." Finally, he achieved the impossible, drugging the cat, and Bucky felt like he needed a nap or a drink. Sadly, alcohol no longer affected him much.

Putting the dog and Satan's spawn in their carriers, he grabbed his keys and left. When he arrived at the Children's Services, a middle-aged man and a younger woman met him. The man came forward saying, "Good morning, Mr. Barnes. I'm Mr. Taylor. I report to the Deputy Commissioner in Tennessee's Department of Child's Services. He received your report from the Commission, who assigned Ms. Lawson and myself to resolve this situation. We handled your complaint seriously, especially since we received a couple of calls from Washington. You have friends in high places." The man smiled, and it was clear he admired that fact, rather than being annoyed by it.

"What will happen from now on?" Bucky asked, just hoping they took it as seriously as he said.

"In cases like these, they send someone here like Ms. Lawson to fill in for Mrs. Krenshaw while the matter is being investigated. We come in right away without notifying the person under investigation, so there is no question of records being altered, deleted, etc. We have had a few complaints about Mrs. Krenshaw, but nothing as serious as this, of course, or she wouldn't still be in her position."

"After what she did to separate a disabled child and put her in the care of someone not equipped to communicate with her, wasn't that a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act? I imagine if so, it would be in your office's best interest to handle this quickly to avoid a lawsuit. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to deal with a lawsuit either. But I want Mrs. Krenshaw to face consequences and never have interactions with at-risk children ever again." Bucky's not so subtle threat got attention, he could see. He hoped he didn't have to sue. "After all, we can't undo the damage and emotional trauma she put these kids through. What about the foster parents?"

Ms. Lawson spoke, for the first time. "Unfortunately, that will be more difficult. The foster parent didn't cause the injuries. It was another child. Granted the foster parent should have been more attentive to the kids, but it's impossible to watch children every minute of every day. I think all parents, foster or by birth, have had similar things happen in their care. But the Jones are very well-respected foster parents with an unblemished record. He's a doctor, she speaks Spanish and can also use sign language. Not to mention some of her foster children have grown up in her care since they were infants and one of them is physically disabled and another one mentally disabled. An investigation will be done but we won't remove the current foster kids until we have a better awareness of the situation there and see there is a serious problem. What Mrs. Jones did by not telling you about the incident before you found the bruises, made it look far worse than it was, I think. But we're not taking any chances and it will be investigated."