Rachel Alexander 04 - Lady Vanishes

beings. Nathan broke the silence.
    “What would be the point of implicating that poor soul?” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
    Time seemed to stop at that moment, and when Nathan continued, it was as if his voice were coming at me through a long tunnel. It sounded hollow and tinny.
    “This may be a first for you, but it isn’t for us.“
    “What—?”
    “Do you think this never happened before?” he asked me. “It’s old hat for us. What do you think happens in institutions such as this? This sort of violence is part of the risk, it comes with the territory. It might not happen again for a year. Or it might happen again tonight. You never know, and if you work here, Rachel, you best be aware of that.”
    “But the police—?”
    I looked at Nathan again, waiting for the answer to my half-phrased question.
    “Our function here,” he said, “is to protect these people, not to turn them over to the police.”
    When I opened my mouth, he raised his hand to stop me. “As I said, what would be the point? None of our residents can be charged with assault, Rachel. Penal law says that in order to charge someone with assault, there has to be intent to cause physical injury. How would you ascertain that in this case, by questioning David?”
    “David pushed her?”
    “You were told he has a history of violence, weren’t you? I believe Venus tells everyone who works here that.”
    “Then why did you tell me Venus had been alone?“
    „Because the fewer people who know, the better. Some people quit after the first incident that occurs after they’re hired. Dad and I didn’t want to lose you, Rachel. You and Dash are good with the kids. And that’s—”
    “All you care about.”
    “That’s why we’re here. For them.”
    “Will the Crime Scene Unit be called at all?” I asked, thinking of the number of people that had already trampled the scene.
    “I doubt it, Rachel. It would be a shameful waste of taxpayer money and the valuable time of the unit, coming all the way down here from the Bronx for what? In order to press charges, you have to meet the standard of the law, don’t you? There has to be intention. And what would they do then, take David away from us? And put him where? It’s an aided case, Rachel, call nine-one-one, and you automatically get police along with the fire department ambulance. That’s the law. But it’s not as if we haven’t been through this before.”
    “Well, you were just through it, weren’t you?”
    “Indeed we were. And you know what happened then, I take it? Some overenthusiastic officer aggressively questioned David until he ended up breaking the window with his hands. They won’t be allowed near him this time. Dad will make sure of that. Not that he didn’t try to stop that oaf who questioned him after Harry died.”
    “Where is David now?”
    “Upstairs. Sedated.”
    “What do you think set him off? I thought he was doing well.”
    “His medication was cut this morning.”
    “I see.”
    “All the kids pick up the stress around them. That’s why we do everything possible to shelter them. However, Uncle Harry’s death has affected all of us, and there’s no way we’ve been able to shield them from our own feelings. They’re too sensitive.”
    “Litmus paper.”
    He nodded.
    “Perhaps Dad should have waited until after the funeral, but there are unpleasant side effects, and he thought this was the right time. You can’t possibly get it right every time. There’s just no way.”
    I heard music coming from across the lobby—Samuel trying for business as usual.
    “I shouldn’t keep you any longer, Rachel.” He opened the door. “We don’t want to hold up Samuel’s class.”
    For a moment I stayed where I was, though clearly I’d been dismissed. I was wondering about the crime scene and how far Nathan might go to protect one of his charges.
    But was it a crime scene if the person who caused the damage didn’t understand the consequences of what he was doing?
    And then there was another question. This one came from Nathan. He put a hand on my shoulder and turned me so that I was looking right at him.
    “What would you have us do, Rachel?”
    This time I knew the answer.
    “Whatever’s necessary,” I said. Then I headed across the lobby with my dog at my side.

Chapter 20
    There Was No One in the Lobby

    After Samuel’s class, Charlotte was still looking unusually stressed, so I sat with her and gave her time with Dashiell. When I