“Oh, right.” Sam released Scotty, signed where directed and guided him from the office. Outside, she took a couple of deep breaths to regain her composure. Who knew that picking your kid up from school could be so fraught with emotion? She kept an arm around him. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

The one-word answer was so out of character that Sam stopped walking and turned to face him. She was shocked to see his brown eyes brimming with tears. She rested her hands on his shoulders and bent to look him square in the eye. “What’s wrong?”

He glanced at the school. “Not here.”

Suddenly filled with anxiety, she said, “Come on.” With a wary glance at the agents who followed them from the school, she shepherded him into her car and went around to the driver’s side. She had him settled before they could insist on driving him home. “What happened?”

“Some kids were saying that Willie was a loser for not catching the ball. They said he deserved what happened to him.”

“Oh, man.” She could already see where this was going. “What did you say to that?”

“I told them he made a mistake, and no one deserves to die for that.”

“That’s right.”

“They didn’t agree with me. This one kid... Nathan Cleary...”

“What?”

“He punched me in the stomach.”

“What? Are you kidding me? I’m going back in there to have a conversation with the principal.” Not to mention the words she planned to have with his detail. What the hell were they doing letting another kid hit him?

Scotty grabbed her arm to stop her from getting out of the car. “No, Sam. No. You can’t do that.”

“What do you mean I can’t do it? You were assaulted in school. You bet I can make a stink about that.”

“If you do, the other kids will hate me. He’s popular, and I’m still new. You can’t make a stink. You can’t.”

Sam wasn’t used to being told she couldn’t do something, especially when it came to protecting her loved ones.

“Please?”

The single word, uttered in a small voice that was so not him, did her in. “Okay, fine, but if he hits you again, I’m getting involved.”

“He caught me by surprise this time. If he hits me again, I’ll hit him back.”

“Yes, you will, and if they suspend you for that, we’ll get ice cream and celebrate your first suspension.”

That drew a hint of a smile from him.

“So you’re not really sick.”

He shook his head. “My stomach kinda hurts from being punched.”

Alarmed, Sam said, “Should I take you to see Dr. Harry?”

“No,” he said, full of preteen disdain.

Another thought occurred to her, one that she hoped would cheer him up. “Wanna come to work with me this afternoon?”