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WHILE IVETTE and Mathias were getting settled into the Lake house, Alexandre hadn't given up on removing the reasons for them to occupy the house. Aside from his personal reason to get the children away from Ivette and Mathias's protection, he needed the Lake House. When he had first seen it, he had thought it would make an ideal place to train the group of dissatisfied colonists who called themselves The Blades. It was close enough to Earthbury to use as a meeting place but isolated enough to allow the meetings of armed men engaged in combat drills to go unnoticed. At the time, securing it seemed simple; it belonged to Anastasia's eldest daughter, who was off planet for an unspecified time. Ivette and Mathias's determination to take up residence there had definitely put a crimp in his plans.
"She won't admit it, but she has to be overwhelmed," he told Terrence Maples, the head of Arcadia's Child Welfare agency, a thin man with greying hair cut in a quasi-military style. Maples was sincerely grateful to the man he considered his patron. He knew Alexandre Marconi as a committed Children’s advocate. He knew he had been appointed to his present post on Marconi’s recommendation. In fact, Marconi had helped him place several children in excellent foster homes.
"Seven toddlers did you say? That is a lot of responsibility, but if she hasn't asked to be relieved of their care—"
"Based on an anonymous tip, you can open an investigation, can't you?"
"Yes, I suppose I can do so. Are you willing to go on record as the tipster?"
"I'm in a relationship with her mother. Anastasia would be furious with me if she learned I had made the complaint."
"Alright. I'll write a report showing an anonymous tip. Once it's filed, I can make a trip out to investigate the situation."
The next day, Ivette got a communication from the Child Welfare Office telling her to expect an agent that afternoon.
She read the message over with a frown. Mathias had already gone into the city to meet his father. Jonathon intended to give his son a tour of the office and warehouses before Mathias went to work with him. She would have to handle the situation without his help.
She had several interviews set up this morning. A follow up with Samula Winter, the empath trainer Nanny Germaine had recommended for Leo and Daphne, and another with Alice Layton, an art teacher to work with Gabe and Fran. She had also sent off a message to her old martial arts trainer requesting she send someone to teach self-defense to the children. An assistant nanny (NOT the one recommended by Alexandre) was also scheduled for the afternoon.
"How powerful do you think your children are?" Winter, an older woman with kind eyes, asked during the interview.
"Leo is probably off the charts and Daphne will run a close second," Ivette said. "My husband and I are anxious for them to learn how to block unpleasant feelings they receive from those around them."
"Just to block?"
"Well, I think they both might develop the ability to broadcast as well, Daphne also seems to have some healing talent," Ivette admitted. "I don't want to advertise either their ability to broadcast or Daphne's ability to heal, though. I don't want anyone thinking they can use my children as weapons."
"I understand. I'd like to do a more formal assessment than I was able to do yesterday."
Although Leo and Daphne were a bit suspicious, they soon became comfortable with Samula who took pains to get them to relax.
"When can you start?" Ivette asked her.
"I have some personal business to attend to, but I can begin coming out twice a week, starting next Monday."
"Wonderful. I'll see you then."
Ivette was less satisfied with Alice Layton's interview. Ivette liked the tiny, dark-skinned artist immediately, but she couldn't start the children's lessons until the end of the month.
"I have to finish a commission I'm working on," Alice explained. "In the meantime, just encourage the children to draw and color on their own. Here is a list of supplies suitable to their ages."
When Maples arrived, Ivette had him shown into the great room.
"Where are the children?" he inquired.
"Upstairs with their nanny," she replied. "I don't want them upset by whatever it is you want."
"Are you finding yourself overwhelmed?"
"No," she said flatly, watching him.
He hesitated. "We received information you are finding so many children a burden."
"No, I'm not," she said. "If that ever happens, I can afford to hire help."
"I see. The information given us was you might be looking to be relieved of caring for so many children?"
"Who gave you this information?" she asked softly.
Aware his staff would want a description of the inside of the house, he had been looking around so he could tell them about it later. At her tone, he looked sharply at her and took a mental step backward. The Hayes women were legendary for their fiery natures. Ivette's eyes blazed and her mouth was set in a feral smile.
"Ah—it was an anonymous tip, I believe."
"Really? I bet I can guess who the tipster was. How much did that pedophile pay you to try and make my children vulnerable? Or maybe he offered to share them with you?"
"Ped—Pedophile?" he gasped. "Mrs. Hayes, I assure you—"
Ivette stood up. "You go back and tell the SOB if he instigates another visit from you, he's a dead man walking, and I don't care what his relationship with my mother is, you hear me?"
"There's no need to take such a tone," Maples sputtered. "Your stepfather was simply concerned you might be overwhelmed caring for so many children. As soon as I verify the children are fine, I will close the case. May I see them now?"
Ivette reseated herself and tapped her wrist com. "Nanny you can bring the children down now." She added, "And he is not my stepfather! He might have cajoled his way into my mother's bed, but it won't last."
Ivette's brood, accompanied by Rika, raced downstairs. Rafe, Don, Gabe, and Fran paid no attention to the visitor, being too busy arguing over which vid to watch. Daphne and Leo came to lean on either side of Ivette's chair, eying the visitor with suspicion. At least neither of them was shouting 'bad man!' Ivette thought wryly. Jillian stopped in front of Ivette, and Rika put herself between Maples and her young mistress, lifting her lip at him.
Maples eyed the vole warily. "You allow a vole around your children?" he asked.
"Yes," Ivette replied. "Rika is bonded to Jillian. She is less likely to hurt them than you are."
"I see." He rose and Rika growled.
"She doesn't like you Mr. Maples," Ivette remarked with malice. "You've seen the children are fine and happy. I'll ring for you to be shown out."
His dignity demanded he leave without hurrying, but as soon as he was closed into his sled, it sped away from the house at an indecorous pace. As soon as he was out of sight of the Lake House, Maples put his sled on autopilot, and sat back to think. Ivette Hayes-Bedingfeld believed Marconi was a pedophile. Her voice had held the ring of truth, and she was the type who wouldn’t let matters sit. She would push an investigation into Marconi’s activities if only to keep her children safe. He was sure there wasn’t any truth to her accusation, but he needed to get out in front on this. he would set up his own private investigation. Not wanting to spark a lot of rumors, He tapped his private com line to contact the investigator he used for discrete matters.
"Who was he?" Annie asked.
"Someone from Child Welfare," Ivette replied. "I think Alexandre complained to them about how I take care of the children."
"I can't imagine what your mother sees in him," Annie remarked.
Ivette laughed. "Well, it isn't true love, that's for sure. He must have information her boss wants."
The rest of the day on the Homefront didn't get better. When Annie took the children out to the play area, Rika refused to let them enter it, barking and running back and forth to block access.
"Fran, go back and get your mother," Annie said. "The rest of you wait here."
Jerry Ring had left a portable scanner with Mathias. Ivette scanned the yard area, frowning when it alarmed as she ran it over the swing set.
"What is it?" Annie asked. "Is it another bomb?"
"No, it seems to be detecting poison this time," Ivette said. "Take the children to the gym and let them do some tumbling. I need to call Jerry and ask him to send someone out to remove whatever was sprayed on the swings."
"Perhaps a good game of dodgeball," Annie suggested. I think Shifu Abhishree took a sled into town."
Ivette nodded, glancing toward the houseboat which had arrived just after lunch. It was currently moored to the dock next to the boathouse. The Shifu had taken one of the sleds into town to renew old acquaintances. The lessons weren't due to begin for a few days.
Shifu Abhishree had been Ivette's martial arts teacher as she was growing up. When she arrived, she announced she had come to teach the children self-defense.
"Thank you for coming yourself," Ivette told her.
While Ivette was dealing with multiple domestic crisis's, Mathias was getting an intense indoctrination on his father's business. Jonathon Bedingfeld-Brown was one of Arcadia's leaders in the manufacture of personal armor. Once Jonathon had given his son a tour of the offices, Mathias found himself at loose ends. Two of his oldest friends, Tina Lovecraft and Garth Simpson were employed in the Sales department of Bedingfeld Industries. He stopped by after the tour and invited them to come by the house to meet Ivette and the children after work.
He spent the remainder of the afternoon getting acquainted with the work his father wanted him to do.
Returning home, Mathias noticed a large dark-colored sled seemed to be following him. Remembering Lavelle telling him and Ivette about two of their employees being run off the road, he slowed down to aim the transponder recognition device Jerry Ring had laughingly called The Meat Hook at the big sled. When it was trained at a vehicle, it found the identifying code for it. Jerry had told Mathias if he had the code, he could find out who owned the sled. Unfortunately, the Meat Hook had barely made contact when the sled driver apparently recognized an attempt to identify it. The vehicle did an abrupt turn and sped off before he was able to get any information from it.
He was frowning when he pulled into the drive, followed by Tina and Garth.
"What was that about?" Garth asked.
"Yes, who was in big sled who tried to tail us?" Tina seconded.
"I'm not sure," Mathias admitted. "We had a little trouble earlier with someone terrorizing our workers. I was hoping to get a tag on the sled, but it got away too quickly."
They had had barely gotten inside the front door before Mathias was pounced on by his children, all talking at once and eager to tell him about their day. The visitor from Child Welfare hadn't made much of an impression on them, but not being able to use the play area had. They hadn’t yet mastered the concept of taking turns to speak so seven childish voices spoke in chorus.
Don: “Somebody hurted the swings.”
Daphne: “Rika smelled the bad stuff.”
Rafe: “We had to play inside.”
Jillian: “Rika wouldn’t let us in the yard.”
Leo: “Momma is mad at who hurt the swings.”
Gabe: “She’s going to skin them.”.
Francesca: “With a dull knife.”
Mathias squatted so he was on their level and hugged them all to him, receiving hugs and kisses in return. He even got swiped by Rika’s tongue.
Garth and Tina stood looking at their friend, astonished at how easily he had slipped into the role of father.
“It suits him,” Tina murmured.
"I does, doesn't it?" Garth answered.
Mathias rose as Ivette stalked into the room.
“Thank God you’re back,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck.
They indulged in a passionate kiss before he set her back on her feet. “I hear you had more trouble today.”
“Yes. We had a visitor from Child Welfare services. I think Alexandre made an anonymous complaint about us. I sent the agent away with a flea in his ear. Then some ass—someone sprayed the playground equipment with Gorda Viper poison. Luckily Rika’s trained to detect poisons. She smelled it and wouldn’t let the kids near it.”
“Gorda poison!” Garth gasped. “That’s deadly stuff! and they put it on the playground where kids could get it?”
Ivette frowned at him. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry, these are the friends I told you about, Tina Lovecraft and Garth Simpson.”
"Pleased to meet you. You will stay for dinner, won't you?"
"We'd be delighted," Tina assured her.
Dinner conversation was naturally concentrated on a discussion of the poisoning incident by the adults.
"What are you going to do about it?" Garth asked.
Mathias shrugged. "First we need to find out how whoever did this got by our security," he said. He turned to Ivette. "Did any of the staff have visitors today?"
"I haven't had time to look," she admitted.
After dinner, she shooed the children upstairs saying, "Okay, everyone upstairs for a bath. You can watch the new vid afterwards."
Mathias had gone over to the vid screen in the library and asked for the holo console. When the visitor's log appeared on the screen, he studied it in silence. "Who is that?" he pointed to the arrival of a woman named Sabrina Loring. She had given her reason as being there to visit David Hospice, their new head of security.
"Booty call?" suggested Garth.
Mathias frowned. "He was on duty at the time. Not that I'm opposed to our workers having a private life, but he should have had someone relieve him if he wanted to visit with her."
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