Reunion Mission. Virginia Vaughan
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behind the school.” He stared out the window at the crowd already gathered. “And the area has already been contaminated. I’ll have someone clear out this crowd.” Preston got on the radio and issued his instructions for the search.
A uniformed officer poked his head through the door and addressed Preston. “The school principal is here. He’d like to speak with someone.”
Preston nodded. “Tell him I’ll be right out.”
Matt followed Preston into the hallway. A tall, sandy-haired man was waiting for them. He extended his hand. “I’m Bill Spencer, principal of Lakeshore High School. Can you tell me what happened?”
Preston took the lead. “Only that the body of one of your students was discovered in this classroom. We suspect foul play.”
“Claire said it was Luke Thompson. Was anyone else involved? Do you have any idea why this happened?”
“We’re still investigating, Principal Spencer.”
“Of course. Well, you can see half the town is already aware a body has been found. I’d like to be able to tell my students and teachers something about what happened here.”
“We just don’t have enough evidence yet to draw conclusions, much less make them public.”
“Will we be able to open the school for classes tomorrow?”
“We’re still processing the scene. It’s too early to tell.”
“I understand, but it’s imperative we get these kids back into school as soon as possible. It’s an important element to helping them cope. We’ll be calling in mental health counselors to assist the students in their grieving process.”
Matt was surprised when Preston seemed to offer the principal something. Protecting the crime scene should have been the most important thing. “For right now, this entire hall and portions of the parking lot and back forty are off-limits. We may open those to students if we don’t find anything, but this classroom will be inaccessible until we finish our investigation. It’s a crime scene. But I think you’ll be able to reopen for classes by Tuesday.”
Principal Spencer nodded. “We’ll utilize the cafeteria, auditorium and the courtyard for the overflow. I’ll make an announcement about the school reopening Tuesday. And don’t worry, Detective, we will keep this area off-limits. We won’t do anything to compromise this investigation. This tragedy will shake the school to its foundations. Luke was well liked. We’ll be concentrating on helping the students cope with his death. I’ve already got Claire placing calls to the other teachers.”
“The parents are here,” a uniformed officer told them.
“Would you mind if I’m there when you talk to the Thompsons about Luke?” the principal asked. “I think it would help for them to see a familiar face.”
“We’ll have to ask some difficult questions of the family,” Preston told him. “Perhaps it would be better if you were there. This is Agent Ross of the DEA. He’ll be joining us, as well. We’ll need to use your office.”
“Certainly,” Principal Spencer said. “Anything I can do to help.”
Luke’s parents were ushered into the principal’s office. They’d already been informed that their son was dead. Mrs. Thompson sat quietly, shock pressing on her heavily made-up face. Her mascara hadn’t even run and Matt had to wonder if she’d shed a tear yet. Shock had that effect on some people. It would hit her, though, and it would be hard and painful. Mr. Thompson expressed his grief differently—he was vocal.
“I want to know what my son was doing here,” he demanded. “And why was that teacher meeting him here alone? I want answers.”
“We’re working on that, Mr. Thompson.” Preston was the picture of grace and ease, and Matt had to admit he admired the man’s ability to handle this difficult situation. “We all want answers. When was the last time you saw Luke?”
His mother’s hands shook, so she clenched them together, fighting to keep her composure. “Last night. He said he was going out with friends.”
“You didn’t see him when he came home?”
“No, I was already asleep. Luke was a very independent boy. He didn’t take a lot of oversight. If he said he was going to be home by midnight, he was. I didn’t think anything about it. I left the house early this morning for a meeting. I assumed he was still sleeping upstairs.”
“Luke was a good kid,” Mr. Thompson said. “He had a lot of friends.”
“Do you know if Luke was involved in any kind of drug use?”
“What? No. I would know if my son was doing drugs. Luke was too smart to do something that dumb.”
Matt stepped forward and produced his DEA credentials. “My name is Matt Ross. I’m with the DEA. Your son contacted me with information he had about a drug ring operating in Lakeshore. I believe that’s what got him killed.”
“You think Luke was using drugs?” Mr. Thompson asked.
“We believe he was doing more than taking them. We believe he was selling, as well,” Matt said.
Matt watched his reaction and saw the typical parental denial. It seemed genuine, though. It didn’t appear that the Thompsons knew about Luke’s extracurricular activities.
“We gave Luke everything he needed,” Mr. Thompson said. “Why would he be involved with selling drugs? He certainly didn’t need the money. I don’t want you spreading these lies about my son. He wasn’t doing drugs and he certainly wasn’t selling them, regardless of what you say. Someone killed my son. Concentrate on finding that person, not on vilifying my boy.”
It wasn’t the first time Matt had seen parents refuse to admit the truth about their kids. Luke was dead and they would do whatever they could to preserve their memory of him. But Matt had another job—uncovering the truth. And the truth was that Luke had reached out to him, offering information about a drug ring operating out of the school. The kid had known something. If only they’d had the opportunity to talk more in depth.
His mind skimmed over the initial details Luke had given on the phone. He’d identified the drug being sold in his school as Trixie, and he’d hinted someone inside was involved.
Had Luke told Claire who it was? Was she too frightened to tell, after seeing what had happened to Luke? Or was she truly as innocent as she claimed to be?
Someone believed she knew more, or else why lure her to the school? To find out what Luke had told her? Or to make certain she didn’t know more than she should? If he knew the answer to that, he might know whether the attacker had planned to question her or kill her if Matt hadn’t shown up.
How had Claire gotten involved in this mess? The Claire he’d known had been kind and innocent. It didn’t matter that years had passed since he’d last seen her. He couldn’t imagine she’d changed. People simply didn’t change that much. But then when he’d known her, she hadn’t been counseling drug dealers, either. Had her involvement with Luke placed a target on her back?
Matt remained quiet as Preston ended the conference with the Thompsons, assuring them again that the police would do everything in their power to bring Luke’s killer to justice. As they were leaving, Matt slipped out. He walked back to the main office, but Claire wasn’t there. He found her in one of the other classrooms using the sink in the corner to fill a coffeepot with water. She still wore his jacket, which made her look small and petite. Wisps of dark hair fell across her cheek, loosened from their clip during her struggle. They framed her beautiful face and her big blue eyes—eyes he’d spent years gazing lovingly into, and many more years dreaming of.
She eyed him watching her. “I figure they’ll be wanting some coffee soon. I thought I would make a pot.”
He smiled. That was so Claire. Trying to take care of everyone else when she was the