she would have missed it. Within a heartbeat his expression was back to neutral.
“SVPD, of course. They told me they were going to send out the samples they took.”
“Did they? I’m not always copied on lab request emails.” She took photos of the paper with her phone and quickly put her cell back into her purse. Since she couldn’t be seen at the school before going undercover she hadn’t been part of the initial SVPD response this past week. “If this had hit you in the head, you wouldn’t be standing right now.”
“No, and I usually stand over there when I’m lecturing.” He pointed to the spot the rock had arced over. “He missed me by an hour.” Mitch grinned. “Not the smartest bad guy. But he’s got a decent throwing arm, I’ll give him that.”
* * *
He’d missed him when he’d thrown the rock. When Everlock’s face appeared at the broken window, looking for the thrower, the disappointment had been keen. His belly, full from lunch, had threatened to spew.
It wasn’t nerves. It was his disgust that the sinful teacher hadn’t been hit by the rock. He’d tried to time it better but work had kept him from getting there earlier. More government inspections. His assistant was upset, so worried that they could lose the entire business, every single farm, all of their income. The government suits wanted to know where his profits had gone. Today, they were from the IRS. Tomorrow, it would be another agency that had figured out he’d embezzled from the agricultural corporation he’d been hired to protect.
Yeah, his assistant was concerned. Frantic. She knew her job wasn’t secure. She didn’t understand that he’d been giving his money to the only cause that mattered. The only thing that was going to give them all the security mankind needed. The True Believers and their new mission, New Thought.
His wife was on board but the children didn’t know the riches they were about to enjoy when they moved into the New Thought community. He wished he’d been able to join the group years ago, when they’d been known as the True Believers. The government had shot Leonard Wise down then. But, Wise, the group, the purpose, was greater than any court of this world’s law. The True Law was with New Thought and Mr. Wise.
His biggest challenge would be getting his family to move without a fuss. The younger ones weren’t a problem but he had to make sure his eldest stayed on the straight and narrow. When he’d heard there was a new student in the school, in the chemistry classroom, he knew it was divine timing at its best. A new student was the perfect target to send home the message that things were going to change in this town. The native Silver Valley families wouldn’t get hurt, not if they heeded the message. It would be worth whatever it took to hurt the new student, as a warning.
God had come to Silver Valley and chosen him to help Leonard Wise fulfill what he’d started a long time ago in Upstate New York. He was glad Wise had picked Silver Valley because, really, it meant that they were all chosen. If they wanted to be.
“How goes it as a high schooler, Nika?” Bryce Campbell didn’t look up from his computer as he entered case notes. Nika took his query as a cue to enter his office.
“You were wrong, Detective.” She dropped into the chair next to his desk. “The chemistry teacher is definitely not gay.”
This caused the ever-busy Bryce to look at her. “I never said he was gay.”
“No, but you implied that he probably was, being the teacher in charge of the LGBT club.”
“No, I said he was a teacher who had his own reasons to be supportive of the Rainbows. What difference does it make? You have a job to do.” Bryce went back to entering his handwritten notes into the SVPD case database.
“He’s a little difficult, is all. His ego is a mile wide.”
At this Bryce took his hands off his keyboard and gave her his full attention. “SVPD is full of male egos—you’ve not been fazed by them before. Why, Officer Pasczenko, you’re not hot for teacher, are you?”
“Give me a break. It’s a case.” Oh, God, please don’t let him see how close he is.
Bryce grinned. “You know, I told myself I didn’t have feelings for someone I had to work with, and look where it got me.” His smile might melt his fiancée’s heart but it only annoyed Nika.
“It’s not like that, Bryce. I’ve never gotten personally involved in a case. I’m not starting now. And you knew Zora from before. You had a history. I don’t know Mitch Everlock from Adam. How is Zora doing? How goes the wedding plans?”
Bryce scratched the back of his neck and to her relief he accepted the change of topic. “Zora has turned into the redheaded bridezilla of Silver Valley. She wants everything to be perfect, and if it wasn’t for her best friend, Kayla, being a florist and also heavily invested in the event, I’d have eloped with Zora to Atlantic City by now.”
“Atlantic City? Surely you’d have the class to at least take her to Vegas?”
“Yeah, well, you know what I mean. It’s hard to believe New Year’s Eve is only a few weeks away. How goes your date search?” He might be up to his ass with police work, since he was in charge of SVPD’s overall operation against the True Believers, but Nika could see Bryce was just as invested in his future wife’s wedding dreams. She wondered, not for the first time, if she’d ever meet a man who’d be willing to cater to her needs, her career. Not that she was looking, or even wanted to have more than a very short-term relationship with any man. Her heart was still too sore from her breakup with Ron.
“Stop asking. I told you I don’t need a date. If you insist, to make the dinner tables even, I’ll bring my mother.” Except then her mother would start the “when are you going to stop being a policewoman and marry a nice man?” routine.
“I know several young police studs I can fix you up with if you need me to, Nika. And none of them are Pennsylvania state troopers.” Compassion shone in his eyes and she wanted to spit.
“Now you’re just being gross, Campbell. And I’m over that jackass. I already told you that months ago.” Nika leaned over her seat and put her elbows on Bryce’s desk.
“I’ll believe you’re over him when you let your guard down enough to admit you could use some love in your life. We all need it.”
It’d be a long time before she’d be willing to do that, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “If we can drop the silliness, I have something to report. We had an incident while I was at the school today. Right before I left.”
“I saw the initial call come in.” Bryce whistled. “What happened?”
“A rock crashed through the class window, aimed at the exact point where Mitch Everlock usually stands when he’s lecturing.” She detailed the event, giving Bryce time to type it up into his computer.
“Don’t think for one minute I’m your secretary, Nika.” He grinned. “But I’ll send a copy of this to you when we’re done.”
“Thanks.”
“So, Everlock saw the rock coming before you did?”
