Death of a Foster Child explores the guilt felt when the foster placement of a teenage girl in the home of Rick Podowski and his wife failed. To complicate matters, the foster child was brutally murdered and the authorities believe she was selling drugs on the school campus and by implication asserted that the foster parents allowed this behavior. Rick Podowski with the help of Leti Ramos, Erin McGinty and Teresa Spinelli, also know as The Hefty Trio investigate to learn the truth.
In the process of investigating, they discover the world of drug sales on the high school campus, the underlying challenges facing students in a gang infested school, as well as the difficulties faced by special education students. The reader will experience the frustrations of foster parents when faced with a system that is designed to keep the children dependent. Suggestions to improve foster care and move the children towards independence are provided at the end of the book.
From the Book
Rick's first order of business was to order a bottle of
Odonata Malbec a glass of which he sipped as he waited for Agent Kaz with whom
he had developed a personal relationship. Rick had first met Kaz when he
realized that the principal of the school where he worked was involved with a
prostitution ring. When the local police wouldn't listen to him, Rick had gone
to the FBI and sure enough Kaz had helped him and The Hefty Trio solve the
crime. On another occasion, Kaz came to Rick when he realized that the Chinese
military had recruited U.S. students to infiltrate the Intel plant and steal
the chip being used in a top secret military program.
As it happened, since the sister of one of the recruits was
a student in Rick's class, working together, they were able to destroy the spy
ring and to keep the chip out of the wrong hands. Their third case involved
indicting a New Jersey mobster and a local lawyer because they had tried to
take the farm of the birth mother of one of his students. All in all, Rick and
Kaz had a long history of working together.
When the familiar figure dressed in a brown suit wearing
wingtip shoes walked through the gate, Rick poured his friend a glass of wine.
"I never liked wine until I met you," Kaz said,
lowering his lanky body into a chair. "Now it's really hard to go back to
Bud Lite."
"Thank goodness," Rick said, grimacing at the
thought of beer. "It's my treat," he added as the waiter approached.
"We'll have the bruschetta as an appetizer. Kaz, what do you want?"
"This grilled chicken breast with roasted red bell
pepper, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato on Kaiser roll looks
great," Kaz mused, scanning the menu. "I'll have half a
sandwich."
"I need something more substantial than half a
sandwich," Rick said. "I'll take the Baked Eggplant Involtini. Sure
you don't want to reconsider, Kaz? The eggplant is rolled with angel hair
pasta, marinara, and ricotta cheese and topped with smoked mozzarella. I've had
it a couple of times, and it tastes as wonderful as it sounds."
"It sounds fattening to me," Kaz said. "I
have to keep in shape."
"And so do I,"
Rick said as he patted his substantial belly. "Listen my friend, I really
need your help. We had a foster child killed at school, a girl in special
education who apparently didn't realize the dangers of selling marijuana on
someone else's territory."
Odonata Wines
Odonata the name selected for this new winery is an order of
insects, which includes not only dragonflies and damselflies but also nearly
6,000 other species.
Denis Hoey, the youngest winery owner and winemaker in the
Santa Cruz Mountains, graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz
with a degree in Business Management in 2004. Soon after that, he met Jeff
Emery, owner and winemaker at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard. Their relationship
quickly turned into an Old World apprenticeship for Denis, who is currently the
production manager for SCMV. This experience has been the foundation of Denis'
education in the art of wine making.
Denis made his first wine from the 2005 harvest, and has
built his limited production Odonata Wines to 1,000 cases per year, blending
old world methods with new world technique to produce nouveau-style wines that
include Chardonnay, Grenache, Malbec, and Syrah. His second label, Damselfly
Cellars produces Petit Syrah, Sangiovese and Rose.
Teresa's Italian Eggplant Involtini with Odonata Malbec
After Rick told Teresa about his lunch with Kaz, she went to the
restaurant and this is her version of this great dish.
2 eggplants (1 pound each)
olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups of marinara sauce
1/2 pound of thin spaghetti
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1/2 pound of smoked mozzarella cheese
Slice the eggplants lengthwise into 3/8-inch thick slices. You
should get 8 slices from each eggplant. Brush some olive oil on the eggplant
slices and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes per side.
Bring the water for the pasta to a boil, add salt to taste, and
cook the pasta until al dente. When the pasta is ready, drain, and toss with
half of the tomato sauce and half of chopped basil, stirring until the pasta is
well coated. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Put a slice of the cooked eggplant on a plate. Place a few strands of spaghetti on top of the eggplant slice; the strands should drape over the slice on both sides.Add some ricotta cheese over the pasta and roll the eggplant slice around the pasta and cheese. Place the roll in the baking dish.
When all the rolls are in the baking dish pour a little of the
sauce over them and sprinkle the remaining basil on top. Place a slice of
smoked mozzarella on top of each roll. Dot the top of each roll with a little
more sauce. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese melts.
Serves 8