she knew that the parents’ weekend would be of interest.
Then again, they hadn’t told her everything, either.
“I want to go outside the school for information, as well. I want everything.”
Murphy left the couch. “You got it.” Since their computer genius was a night owl, he’d probably have something substantial to report by morning. Cal promised to help, after he called his wife again, and Dante headed for his room, apparently for some well-deserved rest.
When they were all gone, Flynn went to the window to look over the campus. Crap. He wanted to be out of here ASAP, but this was a deadline he could do without. If he didn’t find Austin in the next two weeks, he’d have a campus brimming with potential victims. He could insist that the parents’ weekend be canceled, and Max could make it happen, but if they did that Austin would be spooked and might not resurface for years.
Besides, there was no guarantee that the target was among the parents. All they knew with any certainty was that Austin had been here.
He tried to imagine Tess Stafford planning to rob one or more of the parents, in between baking cookies and brewing coffee and giving the most inept of the girls a little extra smile and conversation. And he couldn’t make it work.
But he knew too well that didn’t mean Tess Stafford wasn’t the one he was looking for.
“Time for bed,” Truman said gently. “You need your sleep.”
Sadie looked away from the computer screen long enough to smile widely at her husband. He had always been overly protective, but now that she was pregnant he was downright possessive.
A part of her actually liked it.
“I think I found her.”
Truman cocked his head and smiled at her. Sometimes just looking at him still made her heart go thump. “She’ll still be there come morning.”
“Maybe,” Sadie muttered. Kelly Calhoun never stayed in one place very long, but she did have a tendency to come back to the South on a regular basis. “I don’t want to lose her again.”
Truman laid his hands on her shoulders and massaged lightly. “Are you going to call Cal and tell him?”
Sadie shook her head as she typed the last of the e-mail message to the private eye who’d found Kelly. Maybe. “No. I don’t want to get his hopes up and then come up empty-handed again. He’s been through that too many times.”
Her husband bent down and kissed her cheek. “You’re a good friend,” he said. “And a good wife,” His hand settled over her stomach. “And a good mother.”
Sadie smiled at the computer screen. Once she found Kelly for Cal, she was going to take some serious time off. Like maybe until the last of the kids started school. She’d never imagined she could feel this way.
“So,” Truman said, leaning against her and hanging on lightly. “Where is she this time?”
“Close,” she answered, then she finished her e-mail and glanced up. “Kelly’s back in Georgia.”
Chapter 3
Saturdays were nice on campus, even when it was cold. Peaceful. Quiet, in a way that touched the soul. On most Saturday mornings and many weekday afternoons, if it wasn’t too cold, Tess took a turn or two around the nature trail that wound through pine trees and old oaks and thick underbrush. The path itself, which circled around the soccer field and cleared the thick growth on the side nearest the parking lot, was kept clear of debris and poison ivy by the landscaping crew that came in once a week. The kids walked and ran on this trail, in their spare time or as part of their physical education class. And still, when she walked the path alone it felt as if no one else ever came here. The wild growth and the whisper of trees was miles away from the sparkling appliances of the massive kitchen.
Tess walked briskly around the path to stay warm, her eyes on the soccer field where one of the teams was practicing. It was the middle school team, she knew. The Ladybugs. Laura and Bev were on the team, though from what she’d seen in weeks past they didn’t get to play much. Neither of them was athletic enough to get a lot of playing time. Of course, the entire team was less than athletically stellar. Maybe they’d improve before the season started, but from what she’d heard that wasn’t likely. The soccer teams usually both finished last or near last in their divisions. Coach West had been very laid-back, and if his complacence had been a part of his coaching style she could see why the teams hadn’t done well.
Coach Calhoun wasn’t at all laid-back. He yelled at the girls when they made a mistake, and there had been one or two times when she’d been sure he was literally pulling out his hair. It was early in the soccer year, and some of the newer girls had a tendency to run in the wrong direction or use their hands when they shouldn’t. As one of the girls used a hand to deflect a ball, Calhoun ran across the field to yell at her, up close and personal.
Quinn Calhoun was as out of place at this all-girls’ school as Flynn Benning. Maybe he’d been fired from the same military school at which Flynn had once taught. Military certainly described them both, though neither Dante Mangino nor Sean Murphy fell into that category. And still…she was sometimes sure the four of them were up to something. Then again, her imagination had gotten the best of her in the past, and here she was again—imagining trouble.
She hadn’t come out here to think about Flynn! In fact, she was here in part to get him out of her mind. Tess turned her attention to the soccer field, as she took a turn in the path. Laura had her hair up in a curly ponytail this morning, and Bev’s was styled much the same, though her ponytail was straight and sleek. Those two stuck together, whenever they could. That was a good thing. Laura needed a good friend. She’d heard enough from Laura to know that her sorry excuse for a father hadn’t been much of a friend to her, and apparently that new stepmother of hers didn’t care to spend any more time with the kid than she had to. Still, Laura was thirteen, so it was possible her observations were colored by teenage angst. Tess wanted to see for herself what kind of father Jack Stokes was.
Tess had already begun to worry about the parents’ weekend coming up. Two weeks from today, the campus would be swarming with mothers and fathers anxious to explore the school and meet everyone. Would cafeteria personnel be included in that list? Would Jack even bother to come? And if he did, was it possible that he wouldn’t even recognize her after all this time? Thirteen years was such a long time, and she’d changed. She’d changed very much.
Tess walked briskly, keeping up the pretense of getting her morning exercise. But as often as she could, she watched her daughter.
Jack had stolen her baby from her, and if she could find a way to steal her daughter back without breaking the girl’s heart she would. She hadn’t been able to think of a way to reclaim Laura without turning the girl’s world upside down and inside out, so she watched when she could, and tried to be a friend, and cried herself to sleep at night when it seemed like she would never find a way to fix everything in her life that was broken….
“Hey, Red.”
Speaking of friends. “Good morning, Flynn,” she said as the big man moved into step beside her. “I’m surprised to see you up and about so early on a Saturday.” Especially since he’d missed breakfast. Dammit, she’d actually looked for him this morning, as she’d served up pancakes and sausage.
“I
