Page 93 of Sins of Innocence

"I might think such a man is a bastard, but that doesn't mean I think he's illegitimate. It means he's gotten on my bad side." Kieran raps his knuckles on the desk in front of Mr. Wrye.

The teacher jerks in his seat, his eyes widening in alarm.

Kieran nods and moves back to the front of the room. "Now, let's discuss consequences."

"Wait a minute, I don't even know if my daughter was involved in the bullying," Mrs. Duffy protests loudly.

"Don't you?" Kieran asks.

"Elizabeth shoved Neeve during PE and called her a dirty bastard," Lily pipes up, ire lacing her little girl voice. "Lots of other kids saw it."

And not one of them had spoken up. Except Lily.

Mr. Wrye clears his throat. "Elizabeth admitted to me that she called Neeve names."

"And you did not follow protocol regarding physical force being used by one child on another?" Mrs. Powell asks with censure.

"I handled it," Mr. Wrye replies defensively. "Not everything has to be escalated to administrative discipline."

"If you handled it, we wouldn't be here right now, would we?" I demand.

"My daddy told me Neeve was a bastard 'cuz she didn't have no daddy of her own," Elizabeth suddenly bursts out, her cheeks red. "I didn't know it didn't mean that."

Does she think not knowing the actual meaning of the term will get her off the hook for bullying?

"Hush," Mrs. Duffy says. "I don't believe you did anything wrong."

The words are the right ones to soothe her daughter, but they are given in a harsh tone that brooks no disobedience.

So, all this was part of Kenneth Shaughnessy's plan to use me as some kind of patsy and Mrs. Duffy doesn’t want her daughter revealing that she was egged on by her own father.

"On that we disagree." Mrs. Powell takes Kieran's place at the front of the room and outlines the school's proposed disciplinary actions as well as recourse for the parents if they want to appeal her decision.

When she is done, she says, "Are there any questions?"

I expect an eruption of loud voices from the other parents, but none of them raises their hand or speaks. Not even Elizabeth Duffy's mom.

I say, "I appreciate the school administration standing firmly behind St. Patrick's anti-bullying policies. However, I think the children involved should take personal responsibility and apologize to Neeve."

"I already had the children involved apologize," Mr. Wrye says indignantly.

"First, their apology couldn't have been informed or sincere if they did not know they were misusing the word in question," I tell him cooly. "Second, according to Neeve, you had three children apologize and yet there are eleven here who all called her by that term at least once."

And not one of them is going to get away with it, if I have anything to say about it.

Mr. Wrye scowls, but remains silent as Mrs. Powell nods approvingly. "As you know, taking personal responsibility is important to the ethos here at St. Patrick's, Mrs. Gallagher."

When a mobster forces the issue, it is.

Chapter nineteen

Consequences

WRAITH

The guard who opens the front door of the mansion tells me to go straight up to Brogan Shaughnessy's office.

When I get there, I find the four fathers of the boys involved in the attack on Sadie sitting in chairs arranged to face the Shaughnessy Mob Boss's desk. Duffy, O'Grady, Casey and of course, Kenneth Shaughnessy.