Calculated Revenge

The custodian plunked the bag on the grass and backed away from it. “Just tryin’ to see whose it was. Didn’t recognize the name.”

“Thank you, but it’s not your worry. Head inside, but be aware that we are on orange alert.”

Richard’s prematurely lined face settled into a scowl. “Figured we couldn’t end the school year without some kind of trouble.” He clomped away.

Noah watched him go. For a thirtysomething guy with most of his life ahead of him, a steady job and good benefits, the custodian had the dimmest outlook of anyone he knew. What was his story?

Shaking his head, Noah studied the bag. The backpack used to be green. He squatted down and took in the shabby condition and decaying seams. A few sheets of yellowed paper stuck out of the torn edges—aged but not pulped by exposure to the elements. Interesting. When the police arrived, he’d have to inform them the custodian had handled the bag, so they could get his fingerprints for elimination. Laney’s, too.

Noah let out a soft growl and rose. Even after all this time, his thoughts fell into investigator mode. This situation was a trap for him in more ways than one.

“The authorities are on their way.” Laney’s mellow voice reminded him of one of those traps.

He turned to find her approaching. Her complexion had more color than when she all but collapsed in his office. Everything about her appealed to him, from the glossy brown hair bouncing against slender shoulders to her big blue eyes and gentle way with her special needs students. But he’d vowed never again to mix his professional life with his personal life.

She stopped beside him, the top of her head coming to his chin, which made her a petite five-two or so. “I think we’re going to see both the sheriff and the city boys,” she said, her gaze fixed on the backpack. She shuddered and hugged herself.

Noah bunched his fists and denied the impulse to hold her. The temptation would have been harder to squash if he didn’t know so many eyes were on them. He’d seen noses pressed against the windows. Even without the orange alert, people in this small school could smell something was up.

“Tell me about it, Laney.” He stepped close.

Noah mentally smacked himself for a fool. The fresh rain scent of her understated cologne reached his nostrils, and as usual, those enormous eyes did terrible, wonderful things to his insides. Good thing for him she’d always appeared oblivious to the attraction.

“Grace was autistic,” she said. “It wouldn’t have been hard for someone to take advantage of her.”

“She was eight.” He grimaced. “It’s pretty easy for an adult to take advantage of any child that young.”

“I know but…how do I explain?” She rubbed the side of her neck. “My sister didn’t see the world in the same way as a child without that particular perspective. Gracie could fixate on something and not notice one other thing around her. The monster who took her must have lured her with something that fascinated her. Otherwise she was leery of strangers, and could get vocal and combative if someone unfamiliar invaded her space.”

Noah frowned. “Lured her? You’re sure it was a stranger abduction?”

“The FBI came to that conclusion after extensive investigation.”

“Did the predator have to get her away from a public place? If he found her in a remote or private location, he wouldn’t have cared if there was a struggle.”

Laney’s sable brows lifted. “You talk like someone familiar with these situations.”

Noah rippled his shoulders. “A school principal needs to be these days.”

She looked away, and a breath stuttered between her teeth. “The world has gotten so scary. You surmised correctly. Grace was walking home from school and disappeared from our home block. People were in their yards, but no one saw a thing.”

“I take it she was never found.”

“Not her body, just evidence that she didn’t survive the abduction. A lot of blood was discovered in the bottom of a ravine near Grand Valley. That’s the town in southeastern Minnesota where we lived at the time.” She shook her head. “I blame myself to this day.”

Noah narrowed his gaze at her. Why did she feel responsible? She couldn’t have been much older than her sister. Just a kid.

A sheriff’s SUV and a Cottonwood Grove police cruiser pulled up to the curb outside the playground fence, lights flashing but no sirens. Sheriff Hank Lindoll and one of his deputies climbed out of the SUV, and a pair of city officers out of the car. The convocation strode toward them in V formation, with Lindoll flying point.

“Noah.” The tall, rawboned sheriff greeted him and sent a long glance toward Laney.

“Hank.” Noah nodded to the county official who’d be lead investigator in this case. A good man. He should feel relieved. Instead, he tamped down an irrational spike of resentment.

“What’ve we got here?” The sheriff glared at the tattered pack.

“Laney says it belonged to her sister who was abducted as a child. I’ll let her fill you in.”

Noah forced himself to back away as the sheriff started the interview process and assigned his deputy and the other officers to cordoning off the area for examination. Eyes would really be glued to school windows now that yellow tape was going up.

He went back to his office and found Miss Aggie fielding questions from alarmed staff. She told them he would issue a statement soon. Noah sent them to perform assignments around the buildings, then set up a game plan with Miss Aggie.

When Noah returned to the edge of the crime scene tape, the sheriff was on the phone.

Laney sidled up to him. “He’s calling the FBI. The Minneapolis field office investigated Gracie’s disappearance years ago. They’ve got the case file from back then.”

He nodded. “They’ll probably want to come out here.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hope they don’t send the same people. One in particular.”

Sheriff Lindoll smacked his phone shut. “A team of agents and Evidence Recovery Technicians are on their way from Minneapolis. The agent in charge said for us to hold the scene but not do anything until they arrive.”

Noah nodded. “I can buy that for letting their techs get first shot at the schoolbag, but we need to contain the people factor.” He canted his head toward the school building. “I want to meet with teaching staff first and give them every available detail. Then I’d like to hold a general assembly and explain things in simple terms that even the kids can grasp. We’ll send them home with letters for their parents. Families should be on the alert if there’s a child predator in the area.”

Laney gasped. “But won’t that frighten everybody, especially the kids?”

Noah met her concerned gaze. “People will be afraid, but not panicked. I believe they’ll react with steady heads, even the children, if the information is presented the right way.”

“And you’re the guy to do that for sure,” Sheriff Lindoll spoke up.

“And you’re the guy to organize students and staff into interview groups while everyone is assembled,” Noah shot back. “We need to speak to people while memories are fresh, before they’ve had time to go home and debrief with friends and family. Every class was on the playground in shifts over the noon hour before Laney found the pack. We need to find out if anyone saw someone leave it, or if and when people first started noticing the pack. That should help establish a timeline to narrow the investigation.”

The sheriff pursed his lips. “That’ll lean on FBI toes, but I think you’ve got a winner of a plan. Not surprising, with your background.” He smacked Noah on the shoulder and tromped off to consult with his deputy.

With your background. Noah gritted his teeth. Hank had to mention that in front of Laney. But in this situation, wasn’t it only a matter of time before his secret was out?

“I’ll have Miss Aggie call the teachers together.” Noah avoided Laney’s questioning gaze. “I’d like you to be in that meeting and share the facts. Then you might want to pull your daughter aside and give her a heads-up on what’s going on. You can stay with her in my private office until we call the assembly. Then I’ll have you sit backstage so you can hear but not be seen. I don’t want Briana subjected to staring eyes.”

She touched his arm, and his gaze returned to hers. His pulse rate quickened. How could she not feel this powerful connection between them? Please, don’t let her feel it.

“Thank you,” she said. “You’ve been terrific. I knew you would be.”

A smile quivered up at him, slipping a sharp pang of longing beneath the armor his head had erected around his heart. As far as he knew, there was no man in her life. Her ex-husband was out of the picture. She was available, but out of his reach. Not only was theirs a work relationship, but she was now the nexus of a missing person’s investigation. Pure poison for him.

Noah answered her smile with an effort, then strode toward the school doors.

There was no way he could risk involvement with Laney, or this case, beyond his duties as school principal. But, a small voice niggled, if there’s a predator lurking near the students, shouldn’t that include catching the slime? He slowed his pace. He had the skills, and this incident involved him directly, but to save his sanity he had to let law enforcement handle this. After what happened six years ago, nothing could drag him back into the business.

TWO