He sucked in a breath, then released it, relief easing through his body, assuring him he was doing the right thing. “I think something's going on at the high school,” Jack said. “Something involving students being given pills by a staff member or coach.”
Colt's jaw tightened, but Mark managed to keep his voice calm. “What have you heard?”
Jack looked from his partner to Colt, finding both with gazes pinned on him.
Jack laid it out methodically, exactly what Carson had relayed from his conversation with Robbie. A student hiding in the locker as part of a freshman prank. The varsity wrestler. The man in the hoodie with his back turned. The pills being handed over with promises about performance enhancement and going to states and scholarships.
Mark listened without interrupting, his expression carefully neutral. When Jack finished, Mark was quiet for a long moment but darted his gaze between Jack and Colt.
“You're sure about your source?” Mark asked finally.
“I am.” Jack held his partner's gaze. “And I want you to know this before I talk to anyone else. Before we bring anyone else into this. I don’t want this source to go further than this room unless there is no other way to check out the story.”
Mark nodded slowly. “Alright.”
“The kid who was in the locker is one of my JV baseball kids. Now, I haven’t talked to him, but he told two of his friends what he saw, and then I talked to one of them, who told me what was said. It’s my brother, Carson.”
“Oh shit,” Mark groaned as Colt growled.
Mark interjected. “Carson’s smart. He knows it’s risky to start throwing accusations if his friend has no proof. That’s a lot of pressure for a fourteen-year-old.”
Colt’s jaw was tight for a moment, then he scrubbed his hand over his face, sighing heavily. “I lay awake most of last night worrying about this. You more than anyone know what the pressures of being the sheriff’s kid are.”
“Exactly. So how do we investigate this now?” Jack asked.
“If kids are being given something from a coach or staff member, even if it's a legal substance, it's against school board policy,” Mark said firmly. “If it were any other student giving the pills, that’s still a big fucking problem. And if the pills aren’t legal, then we're talking about drug distribution to minors. Either way, we need to handle this carefully and by the book.”
Jack nodded. “I agree.”
“As a coach, you can talk to your kids informally, see if you can get them to tell you what they saw, going straight to the source,” Mark continued.
“I can search the locker room area,” Jack offered.
“But if you find anything suspicious, call me,” Mark interjected. “Any evidence can then be collected properly.”
Colt leaned forward, his expression grave. “We have to find out who the man in the hoodie was.”
Jack nodded. “Supposedly, the student couldn't see his face. His back was to the locker the whole time, and the hoodie covered everything.”
“It's not uncommon,” Colt said quietly. “Especially in competitive athletic programs. Parents push, coaches push, and kids feel like they have to do whatever it takes to succeed.” He straightened and pinned Jack with a hard stare. “Here's what we're going to do. Jack, I want you to talk to the JV baseball boys you coach. See if Carson will get the one who saw the activity to talk to you. You’re not interrogating, but just checking on them. See if there is anything one of them didn’t mention. Don’t promise confidentiality.”
Jack nodded. “What about the administration?”
“I'll call Jacqueline Martine,” Colt said, referring to the high school principal. “And the deputy resource officer. I'll let them know we are just checking into some alleged suspicious activity. I'll tell her what we know and let her know that you'll be checking into the situation to see if there is anything to investigate. And once we have an idea of what we're dealing with, then Mark, you’ll take the lead.”
Jack felt something settle in his chest. This was real now. It wasn’t official, but the boys’ concerns were not going to be overlooked.
“Thank you,” Jack said quietly.
His dad’s expression softened just slightly. “You did the right thing by bringing this to me last night. Now let's make sure we handle it the right way.”
The meeting broke up, and Jack walked with Mark back to the detective's bullpen. Jack looked at the files on his desk and sighed. He wanted to focus solely on the high school athletes, but he knew he and Mark had active investigations to work on. At least, by lunchtime, they’d had a case solved just by a woman finding items in her boyfriend’s closet when she was doing the laundry. Jewelry that she knew he couldn’t afford and shouldn’t have. When Jack and Mark went to her house, it was obvious they were looking at the stolen items from the pawn shop.
Deputies picked her boyfriend up at his place of work, and when confronted with the jewelry found in his drawers, he immediately admitted to the theft.
As the end of the day neared, Jack looked over at Mark. “Sure would be nice if the rest of our cases resolved so easily.”
Mark chuckled, then looked at his watch. “’Bout time for you to get to the high school.”
