Tanned Hide by R. A. Meenan

tight. “It’s just for a
little while, kiddo. Just until we get things settled. I’ll come
see you all the time, okay?”
    Philip looked at me with tear stained
fur and splayed ears. “I’m scared.”
    I ruffed the fur between his ears. “I
know, Philip, but this woman will take care of you.” I gave her a
quick look. She lifted her gaze, folded her arms and frowned. The
contemptible look she threw at me stung, but I probably deserved
it. I shook my head and looked back at Philip. “I’ll get you soon.
I promise. I’m not going to leave you.” I smiled. “But now I need
you to be a big boy and do what she says. Okay?”
    Philip sniffled and nodded.
“Okay.”
    “ It’s time to go, Philip,”
the social worker said.
    I gripped him one more time. “I
promise I’ll see you soon.”
    Philip didn’t say goodbye. He just
hugged me and dragged himself back to his social worker. I stood
and she gave me her card with no smile. I stared after them as they
disappeared around the corner.
    Trecheon was waiting for me in the
lobby, poking at the hole in his left mechanical hand with a small
screwdriver.
    I frowned and splayed an ear. “Are
they salvageable?”
    “ They’ll be fine,” Trecheon
said. “No major damage.” He stood and patted my shoulder. “Come on,
I’ll take you home.”
    I nodded. It took all my willpower to
make my legs move and leave my brother behind.

Nine
    “ I’m sorry, Mr. Black, but I can’t in good conscience approve
this application.” The pale housecat stamped the papers in front of
her with a huge red “REJECTED” stamp.
    I held in a snarl. This had been the
fourth time in ten months since my parents’ deaths that I had saved
up and worked through the supposed issues to apply to adopt Philip.
This social worker had it in for me. “Tell me, Miss Piper. What’s
wrong this time?”
    “ I never said anything was
wrong,” Miss Piper said, half-glaring at me from across her oak
desk.
    “ You have every other time
you’ve rejected my applications,” I growled. “First it was my
location--”
    “ You lived in one of the
highest crime areas of El Dorado, Mr. Black.”
    “ So I moved,” I said. “I
packed everything up and picked up a nice place in one of the
suburban areas. But then you complained about the state of my
furniture and apartment.”
    “ Your apartment wasn’t fit
for a feral pig.”
    “ So I fixed that too,” Neil
said. “It’s sparkling clean. It just smells of perfection. You
could probably eat off the carpet. But that wasn’t good enough
either. You complained about my business.”
    “ You make next to nothing
in your pathetic business, Mr. Black.”
    “ So, then I changed that,” I said. “My
business has grown now. I’ve got employees and a reputation to
match. Heck, I’m thinking about buying a house.” I leaned over her
desk. “I’m in perfect standing now. So tell me. What’s
wrong?”
    Miss Piper narrowed her eyes at me.
“Did the FBI ever clear your name?”
    I flattened both ears. “The FBI never
dirtied it. Where are you going with this?”
    “ I was there the day
Officer Wilde accused you of being involved with the Fawn Family,”
Miss Piper said. “I know you’re a suspect in Miss Fawn’s murder.
And I know that you’re likely responsible for your parents’ deaths.
So forgive me if I repeat myself, but I cannot, in good conscience,
let you adopt Philip.”
    I snarled. “That evidence was
circumstantial. They never even followed up on it. You can’t deny
me the chance to adopt my brother on a hunch. There are laws that
prevent that.”
    “ I can, and I will,” Miss
Piper said. She leaned forward with an angry frown. “There are
always ways around the laws when it means protecting innocent
children from murderers, Mr. Black.”
    I stood, slamming a fist on her desk.
“You little--”
    She leaned back and flipped open my
case file. “Displays unprovoked bouts of anger and aggression,” she
recited, while writing.