“Has he asked you yet?”
I was relieved the room was dark when I blushed, remembering this morning. “Uh, no, he hasn’t asked.”
“Will you say yes?” one of the girls whisper hissed.
“I’ve never been someone who wanted to get married, but I guess if he does it on the right day, I’ll say yes. I can’t make it too easy for him, can I?”
For the next hour, we discussed things like my relationship and the kittens while I kept an eye on the updates coming in.
I was so killer at multi-tasking that I even managed to play a game of I spy with Tamsin while we were in different rooms. Crazy but true, and it helped to keep me calm and level-headed.
Then we got the message we’d all been waiting for.
Piersville HS Emergency: Police have cleared the school, and parents have been updated. Students are being released immediately. Police will be in attendance to ensure the safety of all people on campus. An update will be given to all staff once we have one.
It took a hell of a lot more strength to lift the filing cabinet and bookcase back up again, but we finally managed it and cautiously made our way to where DB, Raoul, Alex, and Logan were standing at the front doors.
“Good afternoon, we’re your friendly escorts this afternoon,” DB greeted, smiling widely at them.
Hopefully, the students didn’t notice how pissed off he was, but for me, it was evident in the clenching of his jaw and the hardness in his eyes.
“Now, your parents are going to meet you, and you’re to get into the vehicle quickly. We’ll walk you down and make sure everything’s okay, but the sooner we get y’all home to recover from today, the better.”
Amazingly, it all went smoothly. I was shocked that none of the parents stopped to demand answers, but maybe the updates they’d received told them they had to be quick.
Within an hour, everyone was out, leaving just the faculty behind.
Holding a hand up, Principal Teller got our attention. “We have no answers aside from what our law enforcement officers have no doubt told you. There’s no damage to the school, but they found casings on the football field, just out of sight of the security cameras.”
Then, almost like he was talking to himself, he added, “Which we’ll be sorting out tomorrow. Who sets up security cameras that don’t get the whole property. Waste of fucking money and an absolute risk to our safety and the safety of the students. I better speak to John Tafferty about organizing something with Tamsin to help the students.”
“Who decided on placement and arranged the funding for it all?” DB asked, interrupting his planning for what sounded like therapy for the students if Mr. Tafferty was involved. He was a psychologist who worked with Tamsin to educate the kids on the subject and touched base with them about mental health when a student needed it.
“Mayor Kirkwood. We had a new security system put in when Tabby started working here, I think? Yes, it must have been back then.”
DB’s eyes flashed at the mention of his wife, who was tucked securely under his arm, looking pissed off at the information.
“Alejandro and Carter are looking over the footage you’ve got to see if they can spot the person responsible, and we have Garrett fingerprinting the casings. Palmerstown P.D. is sending over some of their officers to search for footprints and any trails they can find. If everyone could go home—using the door at the front because we don’t want the casings to be disturbed or any evidence to be lost—it’ll make it easier for them to work.”
Almost jumping at the authority in DB’s voice, Principal Teller nodded frantically. “Absolutely, of course. I’ll speak to the mayor about—”
“No,” DB barked, making him jump properly this time. “For now, we’d prefer that Mayor Kirkwood wasn’t involved in this. He’s assisting us with our investigations…” he trailed off, but the look on his face said otherwise.
Surprisingly, Teller was quick to grasp what he meant. “Finally! I think y’all are going to be busy once you get to looking into his affairs. He’s the most crooked man I’ve ever met, and I hope you’ll excuse me for saying it, but he and his sons are complete assholes.”
“I’m willing to bet you’ll be right about his affairs, and you’ve got no argument from me on calling them assholes,” DB agreed, rocking back on his heels.
Logan walked with me out to the car, keeping his arm around me and his attention on our surroundings.
The fact that someone was shooting near or at a school was terrifying, but my nightmare wasn’t over because Logan was going to be investigating it. What if he came across the person and they still had the weapon?
“Are you going to be okay?”
He didn’t reply until we got to my car, and then he was glaring for a new reason. “After this is all over, we’re going car shopping.”
“No, we’re not. I like my car, it’s what I can afford, and it’s better for the environment than yours is. Do you know how much I pay for gas every month? I’ll bet it’s half what you do.”
“Then we’ll find you an environmentally friendly vehicle. Just not this one.”