“What about Mrs. Cowan?”
“She’s going on thirteen years.”
“And Leroy Bennett?”
“He’s only been here a couple of months.” For some reason that sent up a red flag. “The other custodian retired.”
“I see. Have you been in this closet at any time today?”
“No, sir.”
“Where’s Mrs. Cowan right now?”
“She’s in the office with the rest of the staff.”
“Will you get her on the phone so I can speak to her?”
“Yes, sir.”
Oscar punched in some numbers and after getting Reba on the line, he passed the phone to Vic. “Mrs. Cowan? This is Ranger Malone. As you know, my son Jeremy has been missing since school let out. Have you been over in the second grade pod or the main hallway at any time since school started today?”
“No. I heard Leroy called in sick, so I was going to get to that area after I finished my regular rounds.”
“Thank you.” He handed the phone back to Oscar. “Is it the rule to keep these storage closets locked?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So if Leroy didn’t show up today, then to your knowledge this closet hasn’t been opened since it was locked last evening.”
“That’s right. Leroy would have ensured it was locked before leaving the school.”
“Will you please put on this glove and unlock the door for me?” Vic pulled another glove from his pocket.
After the custodian put it on, he pulled up his chain of keys from his belt and found the right key. When it clicked, Vic turned the knob and opened the door. He discovered a person could lock the door from the inside.
“Take your time looking around in here, Mr. Fyans. Do you see anything missing?”
The man scratched his head. “Yeah. There should be the big garbage can set on wheels that we roll to the classrooms, but it’s not here.”
“That’s all I need to know. Thank you. Please go to the office and get fingerprinted. I’ll take your glove.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kit rejoined him and Vic told him about the missing garbage c
an. “You didn’t by any chance see a garbage can with wheels while you were outside, did you?”
Kit shook his head. “But there are a couple of maintenance vehicles parked right outside on the playground. I talked to two men who were doing some repair work on the roof. If Jeremy was taken out this exit, another vehicle could have been waiting there for him and no one would have questioned it. I checked for tire marks on the asphalt outside the door and didn’t see any. I’ve put in a call to the school district to find out if a truck is missing.”
“Good. Let’s search this closet thoroughly.”
Kit pulled on his own pair of gloves and started dusting for prints.
* * *
“ARE YOU THINKING there could be some connection to the big arrest you made three months ago?”
Vic grimaced because Kit had been reading his mind. Two months ago Vic had been appointed to the NIGC known as the Indian Gaming Working Group because of that arrest. The group consisted of representatives in the economic crimes unit of graft and corruption. Their work was to identify resources to address the most pressing criminal violations in the area of Indian illegal gambling interests.