The sense that someone was watching her made Kate’s skin crawl. She gripped her phone as she scanned the area around the school. Was the person who’d graffitied the wall still here?
Was it the same person who’d tampered with her SUV?
Shivering as she reread the threatening message, she backed toward the school. She’d be safer inside. In her office with the door locked.
A noise from the rear of the building startled her. A metal trash can lid blowing in the wind? Footsteps?
Panic clawed at her and she ran for the building. When she reached the front door, she grabbed it to go inside, but it was locked. She frantically rattled the door then knocked on the glass and rang the security buzzer, hoping Jimmy would hear her.
Through the front glass window, she spotted a shadow hovering near the science lab. “Who’s there?” she shouted.
The shadow ducked into the lab, the door closing. Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. She screamed, jerked away then swung around, prepared to fight for her life.
But Jimmy stood there, looking contrite and worried. The poor man barely weighed a hundred and twenty pounds and his faded jeans and shirt hung on his bony frame. His graying hair stood out in tufts, his wire-rimmed glasses sliding down his nose.
“Sorry, Ms. McKendrick, didn’t mean to scare you.” His dentures clacked in a nervous rhythm. “I was around back, carrying out some trash. Heard you shouting and came to see what all the commotion was about.”
Kate’s chest rose and fell with her uneven breathing. Jimmy was almost sixty-five, thin and wiry, and should retire. But he’d become a landmark at the school, had even attended high school here himself when he was young.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I...got locked out, and thought you were in the building.”
A siren wailed as the sheriff’s squad car raced into the school drive. Stone and Riggs climbed from the car and jogged toward her. Both men halted at the sight of the graffiti.
“Pretty bold to do this in daylight.” Stone gestured at Jimmy. “Did you see anything?”
“No, sir,” Jimmy said. “I’ve been cleaning out the cafeteria, then was around back taking trash to the dumpster.”
Riggs crossed to Kate, his voice gruff. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I saw someone going into the lab.”
Stone raised his weapon. “Stay here with Kate,” he told Riggs. “I’ll search the building.” He got a key from Jimmy.
Riggs ushered Kate and Jimmy beneath a live oak near Stone’s squad car.
“Hey, Kate!”
Kate stilled then angled her head to see who’d called her name.
Woody Mathis sat rocking himself back and forth in the back of Stone’s squad car. His shifty eyes raked over her with a leer.
She hadn’t seen him in a while, but his shaggy beard and greasy hair were hard to forget. Over the years, she’d seen him around town at the store or diner. He’d always been jittery, as if up to no good.
“Ignore him.” Riggs situated himself between the car and Kate and urged her a few feet back. “He’s high as a kite.”
“What did he do?” Kate asked.
“We drove to the old lodge outside of town, looking for Billy. We found Woody instead.”
“What happened?” Kate asked.
“Idiot pulled a gun and shot at Stone.”
Kate stared at him. “Why would he shoot at Stone?”
Riggs shrugged. “Panicked. Probably had drugs, but he must have flushed them when we knocked on the door.”
A shudder rippled through Kate. Woody hadn’t been vocal about the school one way or the other. But Ned had shot him years ago, and word was that he suffered from PTSD and had turned to drugs.
Did he blame her for his problems?
RIGGS KEPT HIMSELF between Kate and Woody just in case the bastard somehow broke free of the handcuffs.
A minute later, the front door to the school opened and Stone appeared, tugging a young man with him.
“Isn’t that the mayor’s son?” Riggs asked.
Kate nodded. “Yeah, Brynn’s younger brother. Don was a late-in-life baby.”
“You have trouble with him at school?” Riggs asked.
“Some,” she murmured. “I had to call him into the office more than once this past year. Two days ago, I received an anonymous tip that he brought a weapon to school. Our security officer and I pulled him from class and accompanied him to search his locker.”
Riggs cleared his throat. “Was there a weapon?”
“Yes, a pocketknife, although Don was furious and said it didn’t belong to him.” She shivered. “He said I’d be sorry for embarrassing him.”
Riggs scratched his head. He’d seen this kid around town, too. He had an attitude, thought he could get away with anything because his daddy was the mayor. He was especially rude to women, as if he had a chip on his shoulder. Twice he’d caught him stealing Minnie Weaver’s tips where she waitressed at the Burger Barn.
He’d made the little twerp give it back. But Don had laughed it off and refused to apologize.
“How did the mayor react when he heard about the incident?” Riggs asked.
“He defended Don,” Kate admitted with an eye roll. “Said whoever sent in that tip probably put the knife in Don’s locker and I had to find the student and expel him or he’d have my job. But I explained that was counterproductive. We set up the anonymous tip system for everyone’s safety.”
Stone walked toward them, his expression calm, a contrast to Don’s sullen face. The punk sported one of those weird haircuts where it was shaved on one side and the other side hung down over one eye. A diamond stud sparkled from one earlobe and his T-shirt bore the name of a heavy metal band whose song lyrics were tinged with violence against women.
Stone gestured to Don. “Found him in the lab like you said, Kate.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I just went in to get my phone,” Don snapped. “I left it here the last day of school.”
Riggs exchanged a look with Stone then gestured toward the graffiti on the building. “Did you do that, Don?
The kid’s eyes twitched as he looked away. “Hell, no, Ms. McKendrick is picking on me.”
“Show me your hands,” Stone ordered.
Don gave him a surly look but lifted both hands. “See. I’m clean.”
Even from where he was standing, Riggs could see the teenager’s hands and clothes were paint-free.
“He could have changed clothes and ditched the dirty ones in the trash,” Riggs suggested.
Stone gave a grim nod. “Do you know anything about cars?” Stone asked the kid.
Don shrugged “I know how to drive one. See that fire-engine-red Beamer. It’s all mine.”
Riggs chewed the inside of his cheek. Typical attitude for a spoiled, entitled kid. And why had he parked his car on the corner instead of the parking lot up front?
“In fact, I need to check in with my father,” Don said with a cocky smile. “He’s taking me golfing for acing my finals.”
Riggs wouldn’t be surprised if the boy had cheated.
Stone cleared his throat. “You threatened Ms. McKendrick at school because she searched your locker, didn’t you?”
Don shot Kate a nasty look. “I was innocent then and I’m innocent now.” Defiance radiated from every pore in the kid’s body. “Now, can I go? Or should I call my father and ask him to send his lawyer?”
Stone’s eyes darkened. “You can go but stay away from the school and from Ms. McKendrick.”
The kid mouthed something Riggs couldn’t quite understand, although it sounded foul, then sauntered to the street to his Beamer and slid in. A second later, he peeled away.
“He could have washed up in the lab,” Riggs pointed out.
Stone gave a little nod. “I’ll have the crime team search there, along with the trash cans and dumpster out back.”
“Kate, do you think Don would hurt you?” Riggs asked.
Kate sighed. “I really don’t know. He despises me, although I’m not sure why. Maybe he overheard his mother talking about me. Mrs. Gaines forbid Brynn from hanging out with me after the shooting.”
Riggs rubbed his forehead. Why wouldn’t Mrs. Gaines want Kate to see Brynn?
Stone secured his gun in his holster. “If Don bothers you, call me.”
The wind picked up, swirling Kate’s hair around her face. She absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I will.”
“Meanwhile, I’ll get a crime team out here to process the building. Maybe we can lift some prints from the graffiti wall. I’ll also have them search for paint cans and a ladder.” Stone hesitated. “Make a list of any and all students you had trouble with this year. If you expelled someone or put them on probation, rank them at the top of the list. If they’re related to one of the victims from our class, note that, as well.”
Riggs shifted. If a family member of one of the victims had threatened Kate, that meant everyone in town, including the former students returning for the reunion, was suspect.
KATE RUBBED AT her temple where a headache pulsed. She just wanted to go home and forget about today. But she couldn’t escape the terrible sensation that someone hated her enough to want her dead.
Before she and Riggs reached her car, a dark green Lexus rolled into the drive. Kate rubbed her fingers together. Good grief. The car belonged to Gretta.
How had she heard about this incident so quickly?
Gretta squealed to a stop and hopped from her car wearing a hot-pink suit with matching acrylic nails. Her ash-blond hair was swept up in a fancy chignon, emeralds glittering from both ears. She spied the graffiti and snapped a few pictures then made a beeline for them.
Stone stepped in front of the squad car to block her from photographing Woody, who was rocking himself back and forth in the back seat. He must be coming down from his high and needed a fix.
Gretta quickly assessed the scene, addressing Kate. “What happened?”
“Someone vandalized the wall,” Stone cut in, his voice dry. “How did you find out?”
“I have my sources.” Gretta shrugged nonchalantly.
Kate bit back a comment. Gretta was a calculating, coldhearted woman who’d sacrifice her own mother for a byline. She’d never revealed how she’d gotten the scoop on students and exposed their secrets. She also hadn’t cared who she’d hurt.
Judging from recent incriminating pieces she’d written about a Ponzi scheme involving her own brother, she obviously hadn’t changed.
Gretta gestured at the police car. “Have you already made an arrest?”
Stone waved his hand dismissively. “No. I’m bringing Woody in on a separate matter. And I’d better not see a reference to him in the paper. Now, get out of here, Gretta. I have a crime to investigate.”
“I have a right to be here, Sheriff. The people in town need to be alerted if there’s a criminal loose,” Gretta said, then asked Kate, “Did you see who did this?”
Kate shook her head. She didn’t intend to feed Gretta any information. No telling how the woman might construe what she said. “No.”
“What about your car catching on fire?”
Kate tensed. Was Gretta simply being her nosy self or did she know more than she wanted to say?
She inched closer and touched Kate’s arm in a sympathetic gesture. “That must have been terrifying.”
Riggs spoke before Kate could. “What do you know about the fire, Gretta?”
Gretta released a dramatic sigh. “Just that it was suspicious. If someone is trying to hurt the school principal or anyone else in town, the residents need to be warned. And maybe the reunion activities should be cancelled.”
Kate frowned. What if that was the purpose of the threats?
“As I said, I have no comment at this time,” Stone said sharply. “And if you interfere, I’ll arrest you.”
Gretta released a long-winded sigh. “Seriously, Stone. Let’s be honest here. I witnessed the volatile reactions at the town meeting,” Gretta said. “And I know someone tampered with Kate’s SUV. Do you have any idea who did it?”
Kate’s temper surfaced. “No, I don’t. Do you?”
Gretta’s catlike eyes flashed with a warning. “No, but if you don’t share information, I’ll find out on my own.”
Jaw clenched, Stone straightened to his full six-two. “Don’t interfere with my investigation, Gretta.”
“I’m just doing my job, Sheriff. Like it or not, Kate’s campaign to tear down this building and replace it opened old wounds. If there’s someone dangerous lurking around, people should be aware so they can protect themselves. Just look what happened with Ned Hodgkins.” Gretta aimed an accusatory look toward Kate. “Maybe if we’d been warned he was so depressed that he was dangerous, someone could have stopped him and lives wouldn’t have been lost.”
Kate’s lungs squeezed for air. Gretta was right.
If she’d accepted Ned’s invitation to the dance, she might have picked up on his anxiety and depression.
Then she could have saved lives. Including her mother’s.