Naked Justice Read Online Free PDF Page A

what he laughingly called a living. “I think we should cut Joey a little slack.”
    “I’m perfectly willing to cut him as much slack as he needs, Mr. Kincaid. But I am not willing to jeopardize his personal safety.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I’ve already told you. Joey wanders off. He doesn’t listen. He doesn’t do as he’s told. It’s dangerous. Whenever we go outside, we have to watch him every second. If we blink, Joey wanders off by himself. He could get lost or hurt. There are only two teachers in each classroom, and twelve children. We can’t afford to have one person permanently assigned to preventing Joey from hurting himself.”
    “Why not? God knows your tuition is high enough.”
    “Mr. Kincaid, this isn’t about money. It’s about the fact that … that Joey isn’t like the other children.”
    “So this isn’t about compliance at all. It’s about conformity.”
    Ms. Hammerstein’s head tilted to one side. “Joey … does march to the beat of a different drummer.”
    “But you’ll soon have him goosestepping with the other soldiers. Is that it?”
    “Mr. Kincaid!”
    Ben tried to get a grip on himself. He wasn’t being rational and he knew it. He took a deep breath and swallowed. “So what do you recommend?”
    “I would like Joey to be examined by a professional.”
    “ What? ” His shout practically lifted the ceiling.
    “Nonintrusive, of course. The doctor would just come to the school and observe Joey.”
    “The doctor . What kind of doctor?”
    “Well …”
    Ben’s jaw clenched together. “A shrink, right? You want to send him to a shrink.”
    “I would like him to be observed by a specialist in pre-adolescent personality disorders—”
    “He’s only thirteen months old, for God’s sake!” Ben leaped out of his chair. “What kind of people are you?”
    “Mr. Kincaid, please stay calm. I assure you this is as hard for me as it is for you.”
    “I doubt it!” Ben bounced back into his seat, hands folded across his chest. “I refuse to believe a thirteen-month-old kid can have some deep psychiatric problem.”
    “I hope you’re right. If you are, then we can eliminate that possibility and explore some other possible cause. But we can’t reach any diagnosis without help.”
    “I can’t believe you want to foist some headshrinker on my boy.”
    “But he isn’t your boy, is he, Mr. Kincaid?”
    That slowed him down a beat. “What do you mean?”
    “Mr. Kincaid, I’m familiar with your situation. And believe me, I admire what you have done under such difficult circumstances. But at the same time, I can’t help wondering whether Joey might not be better off in … well, a more stable home environment.”
    Ben felt his eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”
    “Please don’t think I’m being critical, Mr. Kincaid. I don’t mean it that way. But you are single, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “You live in a small apartment in a boardinghouse?”
    “Yes.”
    “You work full-time.”
    “Right.”
    “Your practice is … what’s the word?”
    “Struggling?”
    “Good. Struggling. And your work often requires you to be away from home at night.”
    “Well, when I have a case in court.”
    “And that happens …”
    “Not as often as I’d like.”
    The placid smile returned to Ms. Hammerstein’s face. “Don’t you see, Mr. Kincaid? Joey has had such a traumatic first year. He needs constancy. He needs to know there are people he can count on day in, day out.”
    “He has a nanny—”
    “He needs a parent.” She closed her blue notebook. “Maybe even two.”
    Ben didn’t respond for several seconds. Dark thoughts raced through his head. “I don’t know what you want me to do.”
    “Well, before we do anything drastic, let’s get a doctor to see Joey. See what he says. Then we’ll go from there.”
    “Fine, but I don’t want Joey to know he’s being tested.”
    “He won’t, I assure you.” She reached across the table and placed