Chapter Text
Tate had begged – BEGGED – his social worker and the cops who came by to check up on him to let him go to Katie and Andy’s trial. He had seen enough Law & Order reruns to know that he could totally save them if the judge and jury heard how nice they had been to him. If only the grown-ups now in his life would listen to him!
Grown-ups never wanted to know what kids thought, that’s what Shawn, one of the other kids in his newest foster home, had told him. But Shawn was smart, and he had a library card that let him use the library’s computers and internet service, and he liked Tate. He’d told Tate this after the first week of sharing a room. Also, Shawn was a teenager and could probably get around the adults’ plan to exclude Tate from everything that was happening to Andy and Katie.
Yes, this would work.
“We’re going to the library!” Shawn called to Mrs. Coelho, their foster-mother.
“Who’s ‘we’?” the sprightly older woman asked as she rounded the corner to face the door and her oldest and youngest children.
“Me and Tate. I promised him I’d help him get a library card today.”
“Really?”
“ We’ve got everything we need for one! See?” Tate showed her the report card with his name and the Coelhos’ address on the front of the card.
“Don’t forget your IDs.”
“We’ve got ‘em. Don’t worry! Got a bus to catch; be back in a few hours!”
“Bye, Mrs. C!”
The two boys ran out the door before she could remind them to get receipts for whatever materials they checked out of the library. She shook her head. Those two were as thick as thieves.
“Are you sure we’ll find out where they are?” Tate asked Shawn as they hurried towards the bus shelter two blocks from the house.
“There should be some article online about where they were sent before their trial. Don’t worry; at the very least we can find out who their lawyers are and send the letter to them.”
“Okay,” Tate agreed as the boys fished out their passes for the arriving bus. He hoped this would work out. It had to!