most inappropriate candidate for a relationship. The man she couldn’t stop thinking about.
Mitch Everlock.
* * *
The following Monday, Nika decided to touch base with Mitch. They weren’t officially working this case together as he wasn’t in law enforcement. But she wanted him to know that she hadn’t discounted him as a valuable resource in solving the case. It would take everyone they had to bring the Rainbow Hater down, especially if he turned out to be linked to the cult.
“That smells wonderful.” Nika sniffed the delectable aroma of Mitch’s coffee as she spoke with him in his small office in an annex off the lab. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m stopping by. It’s important to me that we connect.”
“I don’t disagree with that. And you’re welcome to some.” His eyes sparkled with interest as he nodded at the coffee. “I don’t picture you as the black-coffee type.”
“I am, but I do enjoy some real cream in it, too. I’d better not. I doubt a lot of students drink it that way. All I’ve seen them drink are very fancy, expensive lattes and other sugar concoctions.”
“You’re right, although I’ve had an odd one here or there who joined me in a mug of black. Go ahead, have some. We have a good half hour before any students show up.” He leaned back in his chair and Nika absorbed the sight. Button-down shirt, khaki slacks and upscale comfortable shoes. She helped herself as directed.
“Thanks for not kicking me out of here this morning. I do need some extra help with my homework.” They’d agreed that their “cover” whenever they had to get together to discuss the case would be that Nika needed some extra assignments, and perhaps some guidance as to where she should apply for college since she wanted to stay in Pennsylvania.
“What’s up?”
“First, I want to apologize for assuming you didn’t know what you were doing when the rock came through the window. You obviously have extensive training for dangerous situations.”
“I do. But so do you, Nika. You would have been fine if I hadn’t been around.”
“But you were there, and you saved me from what could have been several nasty cuts or bruises.” Maybe even a concussion.
“Apology accepted.” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Nika, I owe you an apology, too. I assumed you weren’t going to be able to pull this off. To me, you look like a grown woman, in the best way. But the students seem to have taken to you. They accept you as one of them.”
“Have any of them said anything to you?” Her gut tightened. From concern over how well her undercover disguise was working, not any reaction to Mitch’s compliment. She had to succeed at this op.
“Only Rachel.” He lowered his voice. “She hasn’t come in to see me outside of class since she started behaving differently. But she stopped by after class last week and said she’s not sure having you in class is a good idea.”
“Did she say why?”
“Only something vague about letting in new students who didn’t even need the class. Said her mother had the concern, not her. But since then, I’ve noticed she’s spending more time with you in and after class. Is this true?”
Nika nodded. “Have you met her parents?”
“Yes, last year at open house, but I barely remember them. Since Rachel’s always been a good student, there was no need to see them since. They didn’t come in this year, though.” He looked thoughtful.
“What are you thinking, Mitch?”
“I could be way off, but I’ve had students here and there who are from very strict families, who aren’t allowed to be real teenagers. I worry most about them, actually. Because no matter how well they do academically, there are certain rites of passage that need to happen in high school to help the kids go on to survive in college, or wherever they go next.”
“And you think Rachel’s from one of these families?”
“Hard to tell. She has older siblings, but they’re in college or living away. It’s just her and her parents, as far as I know.”
“Do you have any reason to think she’s in danger?”
“No, but if her family’s fallen in with that crazy cult, it would explain her sudden lack of enthusiasm about schoolwork and extracurriculars. She used to be a more active part of the Rainbows but hasn’t participated much since the end of last semester, last spring.”
“What cult are you talking about?” Nika thought that while the general public might know a bit about the former True Believers Cult members showing up in Silver Valley, the SVPD was working closely with the media to make sure the most important details of the case against the True Believers were kept out of the spotlight.
Was Mitch blushing? Not for the first time she had to wonder if he was only a chemistry teacher.
“The one that they think might have been partially responsible for the church fire last Christmas, and the huge takedown that happened at Mayor Charbonneau’s daughter’s wedding.” He looked directly at her as he spoke.
He was telling her the truth, per se, but her gut never proved incorrect. Mitch knew more than he was telling.
She’d let it go, for now.
“Yes, well, that’s a scary thought. That a girl you knew as a bright, confident student is suddenly under the thumb of controlling parents, who might be connected to a dangerous group. Do we know if her parents have actually had contact with the cult?” She didn’t want to reveal anything she knew to Mitch. Not yet. Even with his military background, he was still a civilian and didn’t need to know everything.
“Again, no. I have no idea about her family.”
He leaned back and touched the holiday lights strung around his desk. “Tell me something, Nika. I appreciate that you’re dedicated to your job, and that you no doubt always get your man. But you seem really, really intense about this. As if it’s personal. Is there something you haven’t told me about this case? Have you been affected by this group of wackos?”
She shook her head. “No, no. It’s not that.” She looked into her coffee before she faced him squarely. “The deal is that I’m first-generation Polish American. My mother and father came over right after the Berlin Wall came down. They had nothing, just the clothes on their backs. They were political refugees. They’d fought against tyrants and an oppressive system that essentially brainwashed its citizens to believe its lies. Granted, the True Believers Cult is much smaller, but if we can save one child, one family, from suffering, and help get those bastards, it’s worth it, right?”
“Getting the bad guy is always worth it, yes.”
He had a pained expression on his face but again she didn’t feel she knew him well enough to push it. But she wanted to. She wanted to know more about Mitch than she had any business to.
“Hey, Mr. Everlock!” Neel faltered when he spotted Nika sitting in the office, his bright red sweatshirt emblazoned with the face of a red-nosed reindeer.
“Good morning, Neel.
