“Maisey, hey.Can you hear me?”He pressed his hand against his other ear and found a spot sheltered by crates and scenery.
“Dred, I hate to call you like this, but I have some bad news.”
“What’s happened?Is Ellen okay?”he asked.
“Yes, yes, child.Ellen is fine, but I’m sorry, Amanda Veitch died earlier today.The police who were called to the scene notified social services.And it was a good thing I went along to all those meetings with you about her, because Petal’s social worker, Kate, called me to give me a head’s up.”
Dred’s knees gave out and he dropped to the floor.“Is Petal ...is she okay?
“Dred, Petal is absolutely fine.But you need to get home as soon as possible.”
“Do you know what happened to Amanda?Was it an overdose?”
“It is too early to tell, Dred.There will likely be an investigation, an autopsy at a minimum.You’ll have to be patient.But hurry, Petal will be put into temporary foster care until you get home.”
“Can’t you take her?I’ll come and get her from you as soon as I get home.”
“It’s not as simple as that, Dred, but get home quickly and we’ll figure it out together.I’ll have all the details for you when you land.”
“Six hours, seven tops.I’ll figure it out.”
“Fly safe, Dred.You’re all she has now.”
Dred picked himself up off the floor and rushed to the band who was celebrating with Sam.“I need to get back to Toronto.Now!”
“Let’s go,” Nikan said.
“Guys, wait up.”Sam ran up alongside them with their wall of security.“What’s going on?You should stay.Go to the after-party.”
“Petal has been placed in foster care.Amanda died today.”
“Let’s hustle.Sam, can you get a jet?We’ll need to go back to the house to get your passport,” Elliott said.
He heard Sam talking to someone, hopefully getting him on the next available plane, while the security team hustled them through the rear entrance of the Staples Centre.
“What the fuck,” Lennon said, once they were all in the limo and on their way to the Hollywood Hills.“What happened?”he asked, frantically.“Is Petal okay?”
Dread swallowed hard and nodded, trying to bank the overwhelming feelings from his childhood of being left alone.He reached for his phone and dialed Petal’s social worker.
He promised his baby girl that he would always be there for her, yet at forty-one days old she was going to spend her first night in emergency foster care.
And it sickened him to the very core that the pattern of his life was already repeating for her.
* * *
“It’s quiet today,” Trent said stripping the protective plastic wrapped around his tattoo equipment.He’d just finished up a neck tattoo for a regular client.
It was only three in the afternoon, but the studio was unusually empty.Eric was processing the credit card of a young woman visiting from Phoenix who’d wanted a spiritual saying tattooed on the inside of her forearm, and he’d done a kick-ass job with the calligraphy.
“Yeah,” Pixie acknowledged, heading to Eric’s station to clean it for him.“Although it’s a bit like the calm before the storm of the weekend.”
“Do you want to practice some more, Pix?We could work on lettering.You were starting to get the hang of it.”
The front door swung open and Cujo ambled in for his shift.“Hey, guys.Are we closed or what?”He looked around the studio at all the empty stations.
Eric’s client said good-bye and left.
“Was about to give Pix another lesson on lettering, unless you want to do it so I can head out early.Gotta get the painting I’m doing for Harper’s anniversary present finished then head to the airport for filming tomorrow.”
