Kiss of the Goblin Prince Read Online Free PDF Page A

it wasn’t the white-skinned, white-haired Flynn. It was two cops. She swallowed and tried to suppress the rising sense of dread. This wasn’t going to be good news. What had Flynn done this time?
    “Mrs. Coulter?”
    “Yes, how can I help?” She stood up and offered her hand.
    The cop shook her hand and sat down with a nervous glance around her office. Some adults never got over the fear of being in high school. His partner hovered near the door as if expecting trouble.
    “Have you see Flynn Lloyd today?”
    Amanda shook her head. “He was due to come in.”
    “Had any problems with him?”
    “No, never. He’s polite and happy to talk most days.” Which was more than she got from half the kids. Mostly he talked about being bullied. Kids were cruel, and he looked very different. He also acted different, like he wasn’t part of the world and held himself separate.
    “Saturday night he attacked a man and took his watch.”
    That didn’t sound like Flynn; he’d never been aggressive. Flynn wasn’t a bad kid, but he had kleptomania, and it had brought him before a judge one too many times. Unlike most kleptomania sufferers, his stealing was limited—he only ever took golden-colored things. Pens, paper, coins, foil-wrapped chocolates, and lately actual gold. But he could never explain why he took it and added it to his collection. If he gathered paperclips he might have been okay, but people valued gold and as a result the police weren’t too happy with Flynn.
    “Are you sure you have the right kid?”
    “How many albinos go to this school?”
    Amanda’s heart sank. Only one . Had he come to her for help and she’d ignored him? Or had he come to her house after he’d attacked the man? The thought made her ill.
    She forced herself to speak, even though she already knew the answer. “Was the watch gold?”
    The cop frowned. “How’d you know?”
    “Flynn has kleptomania. When he sees gold he can’t help himself.” Yet he’d always been happy to pay for the things he’d stolen. It had never been about what the items were worth, only what they were made of.
    “He beat a man unconscious. He knew what he was doing. Consider him dangerous.”
    Amanda kept her face neutral thanks to years of practice. No matter what kids told her she always looked calm and caring. Flynn wasn’t violent. What had changed?
    “What’ll happen to him?”
    Flynn’s parents had bailed him out of trouble before and they’d all sat down to discuss treatment. The antidepressants were working…had he stopped taking his meds?
    “His father wants him to be taught a lesson this time. Hopes to scare him straight.”
    Amanda shook her head. “That won’t work. He needs help, not jail.”
    All the work she’d put into him would be unraveled because his father was embarrassed by his son’s looks and behavior. Going to jail wasn’t what Flynn needed. But he might be beyond her help now. She’d try his cell phone and see if she could convince him to turn himself in. Lawyers could make a psychiatric case that would keep him out of jail.
    “Sorry, ma’am. Assault is a police matter. If you see him, ring.” The cop got up.
    He’d see her calling the police as a betrayal of trust, and at the moment that was all she had. He wouldn’t hurt her; she was the only person who he confided in, and the only one who didn’t see him as freak. A word he used to describe himself. But she couldn’t let the invasion of privacy go. She had Brigit to look after.
    “He came to my house Saturday night.”
    The cop paused. “Did you speak to him?”
    Amanda shook her head. “He was just watching the house.”
    “If you see him again, ring emergency. Don’t approach him.” With the warning the two cops left.
    The door to her office was wide open, but she didn’t care who saw as she let her body sag. This was the worst part of her job. Flynn wouldn’t be the first student to be arrested, but she thought they were making progress. Somehow she