Friendly Fire (8 page)

Logan didn’t say a word as the woman hung up and then set a bright smile on her face. He could tell that beneath the surface, she seemed a little on edge. Maybe she was worried he’d shoot up the place.

“I’m Logan Wilde, the new sheriff,” he began. “I was wondering if I could have a moment to speak with your principal.”

Her eyes widened. “You want to speak with Sue? Is everything all right?” she added with way too much interest.

“Everything’s fine. Is Sue in right now?” he asked.

“Oh, yes.” She slid back her chair and hurried around the desk, tapping on an open door around the corner. She poked her head in and whispered loud enough that Logan could still make out what she was saying. “That new sheriff is here, the one—you know, who shot up Julia’s cafe? He’s cute, too.”

Logan leaned on the counter when the secretary hurried back to her desk, a bright smile on her face.

“Sue will be right with you,” she said.

A second later, a woman with cropped hair strode out of the office. She appeared to be in her fifties and wore a light blue, knee-length skirt and matching suit jacket. She held out her hand. “Sheriff, I’m Sue Griffin, the principal here.”

Logan took her warm hand. “Logan Wilde. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time.” He waited a second, and both women exchanged a glance.

“Yes, of course. What can I do for you?” she asked, not moving but resting her hand on the desktop.

Logan gestured to her office, and she took on a startled look.

“Of course,” she said, leading the way.

Logan followed her, very aware of the secretary watching him. He shut the door behind him and watched as Sue stood behind her desk. He held the doorknob and said, “I want to see every file you have on Brent Maloney—his teaching certificate, his resume, and the last school he taught at.”

Chapter 13

J
ulia had been kicking herself for two days, wondering what was wrong with her. Brent had stopped by her cafe to ask her out again, this time to see a movie. She had wanted to say yes, but in the end, what had slipped out was a no. She felt horrible, as he had seemed so disappointed; but the fact of the matter was—she just wasn’t feeling it, and she was having trouble getting the taste of Logan Wilde from her mouth—not that it was a bad taste. It was a taste she now believed she wouldn’t be able to survive without. She dreamed of it, reliving the kiss and remembering how it had sent every one of her senses into heaven.

“Oh, man, I am in trouble,” she muttered, leaning back against the counter and taking in the new espresso machine, which she knew darn well had cost Logan a small fortune. He was an amazing man, but at the same time, he was unstable, which made him dangerous. He had not only put the bullet through the first coffee machine, but she had recognized that glazed look in his eyes. He had been yanked into some other reality. Of course he was sorry, she knew that, but she had to remind herself that he could have shot her. He had flashbacks, and what soldier didn’t have some trigger? It wasn’t something she could hate him for, after what he’d been through. She believed him to be an amazing man, but she couldn’t have that kind of instability in her life. She needed dependable, sane, stable—and Brent was all those things.

She shut her eyes. What if she called Brent and just said she wanted to reconsider, to get to know him? Yes, that would work. She just needed to try harder, with no wine this time, just the two of them out together. Maybe a movie was a good idea, after all. She just needed to get to know him, and then maybe her walls would come down. She wiped the tables and glanced at the clock. The girls would be done with school by now and would be clambering through the door at any time, raiding her baked goods and wanting hot chocolate.

She decided to celebrate her decision by treating herself with a latte, and she sat at one of the counter stools, sipping at it and picking at a lemon ginger scone she’d made that morning. It was peaceful and quiet in the empty cafe. When she finished, she glanced up at the clock and realized the girls were late, which wasn’t like them. Had they planned something with a friend and forgotten to tell her? She reached for her bag under the counter and rummaged for her day timer, but there was nothing written there.

The girls were never fifteen minutes late. That never happened, not in this town. Julia reached for the phone and dialed the school number, tapping her fingers on the counter as it rang four times.

“MacKay School, Darlene speaking.”

“Darlene, this is Julia Cooper. Is there something going on after school today?”

“No, nothing that I know of.”

“Well, the girls aren’t back yet,” she said. Other kids from the school were walking past the window, but no twins.

“Do you want me to check and see if they’re still in Miss Mills’ class?” Darlene asked. “Maybe they stayed to clean up.”

“Yes, could you call me back?” Julia replied, trying to keep the worry from her voice. This just wasn’t like her girls.

“Sure, honey.” Darlene hung up, and Julia gripped the phone as the knot tightened in her stomach. Then she spotted Dawn skipping over the sidewalk. Relief washed over her—along with anger. She was ready to scold them both for scaring her like this. Julia pulled open the door and stared down at Dawn.

“Where were you? I was starting to get worried,” she said before realizing Trinity was still missing. “Where’s your sister?”

Dawn dumped her backpack behind the counter. “I don’t know. I waited for her, but she dumped me at lunch today for stuck-up Kari Richards, so I figured she took off on me. I finally left. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Oh, that was thoughtful,” Julia said, immediately regretting her sarcasm. “Sorry, honey.” What was going on with Trinity? She would have to have a talk with her about ditching her sister. That was never okay.

The phone rang.

“Tree’s cafe,” she said.

“Julia, it’s Darlene. The girls aren’t here.” The secretary sounded breathless, as if she had raced to the phone.

“Dawn just showed up here, but not her sister. She said Trinity was hanging around with Kari Richards. Are any kids still on the playground? Maybe Trinity is still there with Kari.”

“Ah, well, I can see the playground from here, and I don’t see either of them. Did you want me to start checking the school?”

“Well, if you could maybe give me the Richards’ number, I’ll call them and see if Trinity went to their place.”

“Sure, here it is. Do you have a pen?” There was rustling in the background.

“Yeah, uh-huh.” Julia scribbled down the phone number Darlene rattled off.

“I can have a look around the school, check the girls’ washroom for you. If she is at Kari’s, call back and let me know.”

“Thank you, Darlene. I’ll call you when I find her. This is so unlike her. She’s never not shown up with her sister.” Julia was counting the ways she was going to ground Trinity for pulling a stunt like this. She was ten, for the love of God. She hadn’t even gotten into the teenage years! Julia wondered what that was going to be like. Would she be pulling out her hair, or what? She hung up the phone and then dialed Kari’s house. The phone was answered by a woman with a high-pitched voice. “Can I speak with Missus Richards?” Julia said.

“This is Missus Richards. Who’s calling?”

“This is Julia Cooper. I’m Dawn and Trinity’s mom.”

“Oh, hi, Julia. We’ve met before a few times. You have that lovely cafe on Main Street. I just love your sandwiches.”

“Thank you,” Julia said quickly. “I was wondering if Trinity is there with Kari. Dawn said they were hanging around together today at school.”

“Why, no! Kari is home, dear, but she didn’t bring a friend with her. Just a minute. Let me ask if she’s seen her.”

Julia could hear her call out to Kari and ask about Trinity.

She came back on the line. “Kari said she last saw her at lunch, but not after school.”

Julia was feeling the knot tighten in her stomach again. “Okay, thank you,” she said before hanging up. She stared at the phone, her hand now shaking, feeling as if the floor was softening beneath her. She stared down at Dawn. “Tell me again what happened and when you last saw your sister,” she ordered.

Dawn was worried, wearing the expression she took on when she knew she was about to get in trouble—but Dawn was the worrier, while Trinity was the risk-taker and challenger.

“Well, at lunch she called me a baby, and her and Kari were both laughing at me. She made me cry. She wouldn’t even sit with me after lunch in math class, so I left without her and went to music.”

“Did you see her in music class?”

Dawn had tears in her eyes, and Julia knew she was scaring her. She couldn’t help it, because she was freaking out. She wanted to shake both of them. They were sisters! They should have been looking out for one another. They were all each of them had, with no other family around.

Dawn was shaking her head. “I was so mad I didn’t want to see her. I didn’t look for her.”

Julia dialed the school again. “Darlene, it’s Julia. I called Kari’s mom, and Kari hasn’t seen Trinity since lunch. Dawn said she doesn’t remember seeing her after math class. She went to music next, but she wasn’t looking for her there, either.”

“Just a minute, Julia.” There was a rustling and muffled talking in the background, and then Darlene came back on the phone. “I’m going to let you talk to Sue. I’ve already spoken to her, and she sent a few of the teachers to look through the school. Just a minute.”

Julia was put on hold, and the line clicked.

“Julia, it’s Sue. Darlene filled me in on Trinity. Listen, I think we should alert the sheriff so they can keep an eye open, as well. I’m going to check with Mister Reynolds, the music teacher, to see if he remembers whether Trinity was in class.”

“I’m coming down there,” Julia said. “I’m just going to close up the cafe.”

“Okay,” Sue replied, her tone tense.

Julia’s throat ached. She had to squeeze her hand, it was shaking so hard. Dawn was watching her with fear, taking it all in as if she was somehow responsible. Julia couldn’t do anything to calm her down right now, or tell her it was all right, because until she found Trinity and held her in her arms, too…well, she just didn’t know what to do.

“We’re going to go to the school,” Julia said. “Grab your things.” She went to the front door, locked it, and turned the sign to “Closed,” then hurried to the counter and grabbed her sweater and purse, rummaging for her keys. “Let’s go,” she said, setting her hand on Dawn’s shoulder and guiding her to the back door.

Just then, someone pounded at the front. She didn’t have time for this, but the pounding continued.

“Julia!”

It was Logan. She darted back to the front door and let him in. He stepped right into her space, setting both hands on her shoulders and looking at her with a concern she wanted to lean into.

“Logan, I…” Her throat was dry. At the same time, there was something comforting about him being there, and she didn’t want him to let go.

“A call came through at the station from the school. Trinity is missing?” he said. He was so grounding—that was what it was. His strength came through when he spoke.

“Dawn showed up fifteen minutes late, and they’re never late, Logan! Dawn waited for Trinity at school, but she never came out, so she left. I don’t know what’s going on. Even the girl she was hanging out with at lunch doesn’t know where she is. What could have happened to my daughter?”

“Okay, you need to breathe. Is there a friend she could have gone home with, anyone new at school?” he asked. She realized she was now holding his arm, holding tight. If she was gripping too hard, he didn’t seem to notice, and then he was guiding her to a stool. “Sit down.”

“Logan, I want to go to the school. Maybe she’s there. Maybe she fell down and she’s hurt—in the bathroom, maybe,” she said as he moved in front of her, forcing her to sit.

“I know you do. You’re looking for something bad, and I need you to stop. We’ll start looking, but the best thing for you to do is stay here,” he said in a strong, pointed tone.

“Why? I can go through the school! Maybe there’s someplace they haven’t looked—”

“Julia,” Logan interrupted her, “listen to me. She could have gone off with a friend and might be on her way here right now. If you’re all locked up and not here, then what is she going to do? No, I need you to stay here. I already have Jordy and Clinton on their way over to the school.”

Julia noticed Dawn hovering in the doorway to the back, appearing absolutely terrified. “Dawn, come here, honey,” she said.

Logan turned and noticed Dawn, too, and he held out his hand, gesturing for her to come to her mother. “Dawn, can you tell me what happened at school today? Who did you see your sister with?” He kneeled down in front of Dawn, and Julia noticed how he struggled with one leg.

Dawn looked to Julia as if she needed permission to talk.

“You need to tell Logan everything,” Julia urged her.

“She was hanging out with Kari today at lunch, and they made fun of me,” Dawn began. “She turned her back on me and told me to go away. She’s never done that to me before. She was mean, and they laughed at me. She came into math class after lunch with Kari, and they both ignored me.”

Logan glanced at Julia, unable to understand little girl drama. “Okay, honey,” he said. “When was the last time you saw your sister?”

“We had math this afternoon with Mister Maloney. I left class before Trinity, and her and Kari hung back together. I went to music class.”

“Was your sister in music?” Logan asked, resting his arms on his knee. Julia noticed he winced and struggled to stand, as if his leg was bothering him, and she remembered his injury.

Just then, his phone rang. He lifted it to his ear. “Yeah?”

Someone was talking on the other end, and then Logan turned his back and said, “No, where? Well, how does something like that happen? No, listen: I want you to get a list of all the parents and kids in her class and start calling every one of them. Find out whether anyone saw her.” He turned around, watching Julia, holding her in place with one look. She couldn’t keep down the icy fear that was clawing its way up her throat. She reached for Dawn and held her tight. Logan didn’t need to tell her that her daughter wasn’t at school.