His thoughts were interrupted by two uniformed officers making their way into his office.
Following introductions, Dillon told them what had taken place.
“Too bad you didn’t get the plate number,” Officer Temple, the taller of the two, said.
When he had first seen them, Dillon had hidden a smile. One was as tall as a giraffe, the other as short as a Shetland pony. Side by side, they reminded him of Mutt and Jeff.
Dillon’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll admit the little creeps got the better of me. But I thought I could handle them and the situation.”
“That’s never a wise assumption, Mr. Reed, especially in this climate.”
“I know that now,” Dillon said harshly, again mentally kicking himself. It was damn embarrassing to make such a gross error in judgment and be caught at it. “Come on, let’s take a look-see at the lab.”
The officers made notes, then called the lab team to scour the premises, which Dillon knew would be a lost cause. The kids had played it smart. He’d noticed they were wearing gloves.
Officer Riley, the short cop, finally said, “We’ll do what we can, but you’ll probably have better luck checking around the campus yourself.” He paused and rubbed his chin. “That is, if you think it was some of your students.”
“Oh, I think that’s a real good possibility,” Dillon said in a grim tone. “I just hope the break-in wasn’t gang related.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Officer Temple said, his voice brusque.
Dillon tightened his lips. “I’ve suspected we have one trying to form on our campus, but I haven’t been able to prove it yet.”
“I hope you’re wrong,” Riley said. “But gangs are springing up faster than cancer.”
Dillon remained silent as the lab team completed their work. Once they were gone, he made a quick inventory, then called the janitorial supervisor to clean up the mess. That done, he grabbed his briefcase, flicked off the lights and left the building.
First thing tomorrow morning, he would turn into a not-so-nice Santa. He would make a list and check it twice.
Dillon steered his utility vehicle through the gates of his hundred-acre horse farm. But instead of making a hairpin right turn that would take him to where his sister and brother-in-law lived, he braked and shoved the gearshift into Park.
While the engine purred, he stared into the darkness. At the moment he was lucky. The late-August clouds had drifted away from the nearly full moon, giving it carte blanche to shine for all it was worth.
Dillon took advantage of that treat. To the left, he could see the cabin that sat atop the hill. One day he planned to remodel it so that he could live there. He could envision its homey coziness, with smoke snaking out of the chimney from a wood-burning fireplace on a cold day, and a dog—the Heinz-57 variety—sitting beside him.
The only thing missing from that picture was a woman.
Muttering an expletive, he focused his gaze on the shack, over which towered several huge oak and pine trees that kept it shaded all year long. Beyond, but not visible to him now, was an acre of cleared land. From there, a narrow gravel road wound through the dense thicket like a tunnel. Occasional clearings offered glimpses of the nice-size pond below, which had been filled with catfish. Any time he wanted fresh fish, he just had to cast a line.
Dillon continued to pat himself on the back that he’d had the foresight three years ago to buy the land when it was offered. Despite the hefty bank note he would be paying off for a long time to come, he didn’t regret it.
This place was his lifeline. Without it, he didn’t know what he would have done. Probably have sunk into the depths of despair and been content to wallow there.
Grimacing, he refused to let his mind wander down that forbidden path. He had too much ahead to look forward to. His horse farm had the potential to begin paying off soon, now that his prized piece of horseflesh was almost ready to be bred. And he was starting a new school year that held a lot of promise.
For a second, Dillon’s mind reverted back to the incident in the lab. He grimaced again but refused to let himself dwell on that, either. The school problem he could correct; the past he couldn’t.
Suddenly he realized he’d been lollygagging far too long. His sister, Allie, was probably ready to skin him alive. She believed in punctuality, no matter what. Nothing wrong with that, he reminded himself.
Thinking of his sister, a legal secretary for an affluent attorney, made him smile. That smile remained intact as he parked in front of the modest three-bedroom home on his property, a home he’d generously lent to Allie and her husband, Mike, who worked as his foreman.
His smile widened as the porch light flipped on and Allie opened the door. “It’s about time, brother dear,” she called out, a hand braced on one hip.
Dillon stepped out of his truck and heard the comfortable crunch of leaves and pine bark under his feet. He inhaled, positive he could smell fall in the air, then said, “Hey, sis.”
“Don’t you ‘hey, sis’ me. You’re late.”
“I can explain,” Dillon said, walking onto the porch. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her next to him.
A smile flirted with her lips. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Ah, give me a break, will ya?”
“I’ll have to think about that.”
They parted as they walked into the cheerfully lighted living-dining room combination, where the smell of freshly baked bread permeated the air.
“Before I hear your excuse, how about a hunk of banana-nut?”
“Ah, my favorite,” Dillon exclaimed.
“I shouldn’t let you have any,” Allie said with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Dillon merely grinned, knowing that her threat was empty. She loved for him and everyone else to compliment her cooking, especially her bread. She was known for that specialty all over town.
But then, Allie was known for a lot. She lived to entertain. She enjoyed people, and they enjoyed her. At thirty-eight, two years his junior, her face was still relatively unlined, although she had prematurely gray hair that she didn’t bother to color.
Like him, she was tall and rawboned. Yet her height and build didn’t make her less attractive. Her vibrant blue eyes and ready smile made for a charming combination.
He loved her dearly and couldn’t imagine his life without her, since he had no other family. Their parents had died in a freak auto accident a long time ago. Since then, they had stuck together.
That was why those dark circles under her eyes and that pinched look around her mouth, visible in the light, gave him cause for concern.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She made light
