Hereeee's Lucas.
Nine: House Learns About IsabellaIt was Monday, nearly a week after Isabella ran out of his apartment, and House still hadn't heard from Isabella. He didn't want to admit it to himself but he was guilty as hell and he was worried. She was just a kid and he had messed up her life.
House had gone to the vital records department at the county court house and bought a certified copy of his marriage certificate and was able to learn Isabella's last name from the certificate. Isabella Tobin. His wife's name was Isabella Tobin. His child bride was Isabella Tobin, Isabella Tobin….House?
A computer search turned up a research article by a woman who had the same name, but surely his wife was too young to have a published paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, or… maybe not. She said she was graduating from medical school in a few days. Maybe she already graduated. An 18 year old doctor, huh. Everybody lies.
Lucas walked into House's office and slumped into a chair.
"Hey House."
"Hey Lucas"
After talking and catching up for a few minutes House told Lucas what he wanted without telling him that the woman he wanted Lucas to spy on was his wife. House gave Lucas the little information he knew about Isabella; it wasn't much, but Lucas had ways of learning things.
Lucas returned the next afternoon quite excited about all the things he had learned. He had accomplished a lot in very little time. "Who is this girl, House? She is really amazing, totally incredible." he gushed.
"What did you find out?"
"You won't believe how much information I uncovered in just one day." Lucas bragged.
"Yea, yea, what do you have?" House said rolling his hand, wanting Lucas to get to the point.
"Isabella Tobin graduated from medical school last Saturday at the tender age of 18. She finished high school with high honors when she was only 10 years old and was the class valedictorian.
Ten year old Isabella and some law students took the school district to court to force them to send her to college because of a federal law that says students have a right to a free public education in the least restrictive and most appropriate environment until the age of 18.
Some states added the provision that the requirement ended when the child graduated from high school, but New Jersey did not have that addition at the time. It was changed after Isabella's law suit.
She graduated from a Catholic high school and the public school district wanted her to repeat high school, saying that she could take classes that had not been offered in her small high school and that would meet their requirement to educate her. Isabella argued that she had already graduated from high school and should not have to repeat an education that she had already mastered. Repeating high school after graduating did not meet the definition of "free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment."
The judge agreed that Isabella had already met the requirements of graduating from high school, had earned her high school diploma, passed her college entrance exams with flying colors and did not have to repeat high school.
The judge had some serious reservations about a child that young attending college with adults, but there was no legal reason to prevent Isabella from attending college and in this particular case, college was probably the best solution for this child. Because of her superior intellect there was no reasonable and appropriate alternative.
The school district was required to pay for her college education because that was the most appropriate and least restrictive educational environment for a person with her qualifications and she had not yet reached the age of 18.
The district applied for financial aid in her name and because of her grades and test scores the entire cost of her college education was covered by grants, scholarships and private donations, so the district paid nothing.
She graduated from college at age 14 with a double major in pre-med and health care administration and a minor in finance. She almost had enough credits for a second minor in research methods. As in high school, she graduated first in her college class and was again valedictorian. She started medical school the next fall when she was still 14."
"Who the hell is this kid, House? She's waaaaaay smarter than you." Lucas asked while opening a package of gum and putting a slice in his mouth.
House was leaning back in his chair playing with his ball.
House was quietly thinking, "What else did you learn?"
Lucas looked at House for a moment and then continued.
"She is a former foster kid. As soon as she became emancipated when she turned 14 she organized the kids who were or had been in her last foster home to testify against the foster parents from that home. They also testified against the case worker who was supposed to check up on the kids and the home and make sure that everything and everyone was OK.
The district attorney, the governor, the state fraud unit and the police department near the home all received anonymous copies of the restricted records of the foster parents going back twenty years; which children they had in their care and the dates the kids were there, payments received for caring for the children, food stamp and Medicaid records. Also included were reports the case worker had written about home visits, which children she had seen and how the children were doing.
The anonymous records came with allegations of some pretty seriously bad abuse and also alleged that the foster parents were collecting payment and benefits for children who had run away many years ago because of the abuse they had suffered. It was also alleged that the case worker lied about seeing many of the children she reported seeing in the home.
Along with the hacked computer records was a message that if the issues weren't addressed within one week that copies of the all the records and allegations would be sent to the major local and national news programs along with the statement that the records had been forwarded to the DA, police department, the fraud unit and the governor and that nothing had been done to correct the abusive, deplorable and dangerous situation that children had been placed in by social services.
House, those records were hacked from government agencies' computers and were supposed to be private. Isabella was suspected of being the hacker but they couldn't prove anything because the records were hacked from a public library and the library deletes everything from the computers used by their customers every night at midnight. Isabella frequently used that particular library.
Isabella contacted and organized the kids who were former foster kids in that home. Many of those kids are now adults. The ones who are still alive all testified. Three of the kids had already committed suicide. The kids currently in the home also testified.
Maybe because of the threat to go to the media, or maybe because he thought that the allegations were serious and needed to be investigated, the District Attorney worked with police detectives and the state fraud unit to get court orders gaining access to all of the records of the foster parents and the case worker.
They talked to the kids and ordered medical examinations before deciding to criminally charge the two foster parents for child abuse resulting in bodily harm, fraud for continuing to collect payment and food stamps for children who had run away, sending false reports to a government agency and failure to report the missing children in their care.
The case worker was charged with filing false reports, failure to carry out her duties in a reasonable manner, failure to protect children under her care and failure to report missing children.
The court records on the case are sealed because of the age of the victims, but both foster parents are serving 15 to 20 years and all their belonging were seized to pay the government back. The case worker was sentenced to five years in prison and can never work with children again. She'll probably never get a job in her field again. Social Services changed the way supervision and reporting of children in their care is carried out due to this case.
House, this one incredible little kid was the driving force for all of this and she was only 14 years old at the time."Lucas was impressed.
House was playing with a rubber band. "Huh, did you find out anything else?"
Lucas was disappointed by the lack of response, "House, you only gave me this case yesterday and I've already given you all this information!"
"Uh huh, that's gooood. What else did you find out?"
Lucas smiled, "Isabella volunteers on the pediatric oncology floor in this hospital and she is working with the patients to put on a talent show for the First Annual Pediatric Oncology Conference next month. She is working with Wilson and Foreman to organize the conference and it's reported that she has a big part in it."
House looked up. Now he knew how to find his missing child bride. "Uh huh. What else?"
"House, you're killing me, here! OK House, I have one more piece of information. She works in one of the research labs here in the hospital basement. She has worked there six years. The interesting thing is…she was only 12 years old when she started working here; BUT kids aren't allowed to work and can't get work papers until they are 14."
House was interested. His wife worked and volunteered in this hospital. "Which lab does she work in?"
"She works in room B049."
"What else?"
"HOUSE! I get all this great and interesting information for you in a little more than 24 hours and all I get is what else? What else do you want to know? Do you want me to keep looking for information on her? Do you want me to keep spying on a kid who is probably going to take over the world before her 21st birthday?" Lucas whined.
House sat quietly thinking, he looked at the thick file sitting in front of him. "No, that's good, Lucas. Thanks."
Lucas was disappointed that House seem preoccupied and wasn't as excited as Lucas thought he should be.
The two men went out for a beer, and then they both went home. House had a lot to think about.
Thank you all for hanging with me and reading all nine chapters. There is plenty more to come. I hope that you continue on this journey with House and Isabella.
Thank you to each of you who have review, favored and or follow House and His Accidental Teenage Bride. I am glad that you enjoy my work. J
