Less than two minutes later the door is open, the harried-looking janitor who came running in seconds ago eyeing my strained face with worry moves aside as I push by him.Relief hits me like a fist in the chest when I see my son, unharmed and looking sheepish, standing beside a blond girl.Her face is beet red and tear-stained, while Remi’s arm is draped protectively around her shoulders.
“It’s my fault,” he admits, but the girl shakes her head.
“No, it’s mine.”
Chapter15
Tessa
I reachfor the coffeepot to top up my mug.
I’ve had a hard time shaking the lingering fear and haven’t slept a whole lot this weekend.
Even last night I’d doze off, land right back into the nightmare reel that has been playing on repeat in my subconscious since Friday, and caused me to startle awake again.There’s nothing wrong with my imagination, which has had no trouble conjuring up every horrific scenario possible, when in the end it had been nothing but a rather innocent mishap.
“So the janitor locked them in?”Brenda asks.
I’ve been recounting Friday night’s scare.I guess she’d heard about it over the weekend and this morning accosted me in the small station kitchen when I stumbled in for my morning hit of caffeine.
“Yep.Remi and the girl wanted a quiet place to talk.”
I use air quotes, indicating that last comment is to be taken with a grain of salt, which Brenda was already doing, chuckling and shaking her head.I’m opting not to share poor Katie Van Buren’s name.
As it turns out, my son and this girl have been seeing each other on the sly.The secrecy is because Katie has a very protective brother and strictly religious parents, who don’t want to see their fifteen-year-old daughter dating yet.Katie—who plays soccer for the girls’ school team—suggested they meet in the equipment storage by the locker rooms, citing those were always unlocked.They are during game days, but what she didn’t realize was the janitor secures those doors when he goes home, which is how they ended up locked inside.
She was so afraid of the consequences if they were discovered, she’d convinced Remi not to call out when people were knocking on the door, obviously looking for them.But he wasn’t able to hold back when he heard my voice out there.
Still, I felt for the girl when she begged for me not to contact her parents.They were out at a concert in Spokane, and she was supposed to stick close to her big brother.Of course, Jacob hadn’t exactly been looking out for her, since he just went home without her.
I ended up driving her home and had a little talk with big brother about the dangers of leaving his sister to find her own way home.I’m pretty sure he won’t be in a hurry to tell his parents Katie wasn’t waiting for him after the game.
“All’s well that ends well,” I conclude, “but I’m pretty sure I have gained a fair number of additional gray hairs after that.”
“I’m telling you; these kids age me faster than time can,” Brenda commiserates.“Chris messaged me last night saying he won’t be coming home next month, because he’s going rock climbing in the Grand Canyon with a couple of buddies.”
Her oldest, Christopher, is in his first year at NAU in Flagstaff, while the younger of her boys, Colby, is a year ahead of Remi.
“Why do these kids need to take crazy risks and terrify the shit out of their mothers?”
The question is rhetorical, so I don’t bother responding and nod in sympathy instead.
“Tessa?”
I turn to find Rick poking his head around the corner.
“Hugo wants to see us.”
“Oh, okay.”
I grab my mug and follow Rick to Sheriff Colter’s office, where Hugo has taken up residence while Savvy is still on maternity leave.
These Monday morning check-ins are nothing new.It’s usually just getting caught up on what happened over the weekend and planning the week ahead.However, when I walk into the office and Rick waits to close the door behind me, I get the sense this is not a standard weekly meeting.
“How are things?”Hugo directs at me, indicating one of the visitor chairs.
I sit down, and Rick takes the seat beside me.
“Fine,” I respond cautiously.
