I waited just outside the school grounds while Matt went inside the school. Classes were over for the day, and the kids were waiting outside for their buses to arrive. Within a few minutes Matt strode back toward me, with Dean following behind.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Dean said when he reached me. “You’ve been banned. I have to report you if I see you here.”
“I know, and I know you have no reason to trust me.” I glanced at Matt, hoping his support would get Dean on side. “But we need your help.”
“Tyler is no bomber. He’s a good kid.”
“I believe you.”
“You do?”
“I have reason to believe someone else may be planning to plant a bomb in the furnace room. I’m sure you would do everything you could to save the kids in this school.”
“Of course.”
“Does the school have surveillance cameras to watch for break-ins?”
“Yes, but just on the outside doors.”
“So there is no camera in the basement.”
Dean shook his head. “And if the bomber wanted to get away with it, he would have to plant the bomb during the day. The motion detectors in the school will sound the alarm at night.”
I nodded. “We need a set of eyes on the furnace room.” From my bag, I pulled out the two small web cameras I had just bought at the electronics store. “Can you install these cameras, one just outside the furnace room and one inside? They’re wireless. I can pick up the camera images on my smartphone. That way I can stop the bomber.”
“And have proof that what you’ve been telling everyone is for real,” Matt said.
I nodded. I would have evidence to take to Officer Banks, to Chief Wallis and to my editor. “Dean, you’ll have to make sure the cameras are hidden, maybe under a light fixture. And you understand you can’t tell Tyler about them. We can’t tell anyone about these cameras. If we do, word could spread. Principal Sloan would undoubtedly put an end to this plan.”
“Or the real bomber might remove the cameras.” Dean sighed. “I get it.”
He did seem to understand. I just hoped my trust in him wasn’t misplaced. He still might report me to the principal.
I turned to Matt. “We’ll have to take turns watching around the clock. You’ll have to keep an eye on my phone when I grab a nap.”
Matt nodded. “I’m up for it.”
“I’ll have to stay at your place until all this plays out,” I said. “Your house is only minutes from the school.”
Matt grinned. “I can live with that.”
“But what if you really did dream of the future?” Dean asked me. “My wife dreamed about her own death. There was nothing we could do to stop it from happening. What if we can’t stop this bomb from going off?”
“I have to believe there is a reason why I had that nightmare and that vision,” I said. “We have to stop this from happening.” If I couldn’t, so many lives would be lost, my own among them.