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
Laney ushered her daughter into the office under the speculative gazes of a pair of aides loitering near the staff mailboxes. Miss Aggie stepped out from behind her desk, and her forbidding glare shooed the curious aides out the room. Then she turned a smile on Briana and motioned them into Noah’s inner sanctum. Laney mustered a faint nod of thanks.
Her chest tightened as Miss Aggie closed the door. Laney looked down at her daughter. Now she’d have to tell her about Gracie. It had been difficult to go over the whole thing with the teaching staff a few minutes ago, but those were adults. How could she explain to an eight-year-old that she had an aunt she’d never heard about, much less what had happened to that child?
“Mama, what’s wrong?” Briana’s nostrils pinched above a frown.
Laney settled her daughter into one of the principal’s guest chairs, then eased into the other one. “Bree, I have something to tell you.”
“Is it bad, Mama?”
“Yes, honey, but it’s about something that happened a long time ago. At least, it started then, but I think…I’m afraid…Oh, I don’t know how to say this.”
Briana’s little hand folded around Laney’s. “It’s okay, Mama. You can tell me anything. We’re BFFs.”
“Best Friends Forever. Yes, we are.” Laney wavered a smile at her daughter, whose open gaze radiated innocent trust. Silently, she cursed the evil that had again touched her life and now forced her to violate that innocence with vile news.
God, give me strength. Give me wisdom. She filled every air passage with fortifying oxygen. “I need to tell you a story about a little girl your age.”
In halting, terse statements the tale came out. A flat, angry calm blanketed her words. Briana stared intent and silent into her face as she spoke. When she finished telling about Grace, Bree nodded, expression sober.
“I would have liked Grace.” A soft smile flashed. “I’m excited to meet her in heaven.”
“You would have liked her a lot, and you’ll get the chance to meet her one day.” Laney got down on her knees and hugged her sweet daughter, then put her at arm’s length. “But that’s not the end of the story. Today I—Well, I found something that lets me know that the bad man is back. We need to do certain things to stay safe until he’s caught. That’s why Mr. Ryder let us be in his office.”
Briana’s eyes widened. “Principal Ryder’s going to look out for us?”
“In a way. He’s arranging things with people in the school so everyone can be safe.”
Briana nodded. “That’s good. I like Principal Ryder.”
“Yes, we can trust him.” She’d only known Noah Ryder for this school year, but she knew that with every fiber of her being. Besides, he couldn’t have planted the backpack. He wasn’t outside during recess today.
Laney tweaked her daughter’s button nose. “But
