Page 43 of Deadly Forever

James rubbed the back of his neck as he considered Serafina’s statement. “You said you didn’t care about the drugs – and I get that – but what about the rape?”

“When we first heard about it no one believed the rumors.”

“Why not?”

“Because Darcy Sweetin is a book nerd who was trying to be popular,” Serafina explained. “Why would Dakota rape her when he had any number of girls lining up to give it away? Everyone wanted to bag Dakota.”

“But why would she lie?” James asked, grinding his molars to keep from snapping at Serafina. Her airy attitude was beginning to grate.

“Because she wanted sympathy,” Serafina answered. She either didn’t notice James’ change in demeanor or didn’t care. “She wanted Dakota to pay for turning her down.”

“Except she was dumped in her own front yard after being drugged,” Jake argued. “She was bruised and battered. She didn’t do that to herself.”

“No one saw her that morning,” Serafina pointed out. “She probably made it up.”

James bit the inside of his cheek to keep from lashing out. “You said you didn’t believe the rumors at first. Do you now?”

Serafina shrugged. “I don’t know what to believe,” she said. “I never thought any of those guys were capable of taking guns into a mall and doing what they did. Now I can’t help but wonder if Darcy was telling the truth about the rape.”

“I’m going to guess she was,” James said. “I’m also going to guess those boys had something else going on. Do you have any idea what that would be?”

Serafina made a face and shook her head. “I have no idea. All I know is that they were supposed to be here in summer school with us.”

James leaned forward, his interest piqued. “They were supposed to be here with you?”

Serafina nodded. “I … .” She broke off when a male silhouette stepped into the hallway and headed in their direction. James watched, amazed, as her demeanor shifted from flirty to worried in the blink of an eye. “Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

Serafina didn’t answer, instead stepping closer to the wall as the man approached.

“What are you doing out here, Serafina?” the man asked, his eyes keen as they bounced between Jake and James.

“I was just going to the bathroom, Mr. Kaspar,” Serafina answered, avoiding eye contact. “These guys stopped me to ask questions. I swear I wasn’t doing anything bad.”

James marveled at the change in the girl’s demeanor. She obviously didn’t like the new arrival. Even more than that, she was terrified of him.

“I’m Lee Kaspar.” The man extended his hand for James to shake. “Can you tell me what you’re doing here?”

James opened his mouth, the truth on the tip of his tongue, and then he changed course almost immediately. There was something about the guidance counselor’s demeanor that bothered him. “We’ve been hired to look into the deaths of four students.”

“It was the boys at the mall,” Serafina interjected.

“Thank you, Serafina,” Kaspar said, his eyes narrowing. “I figured that out myself. This is private property, gentleman. You can’t just let yourself into a high school.”

“It’s a public building, though,” Jake argued.

“Not really,” Kaspar shot back. “It’s not like City Hall. You can’t just wander around the school. If you have questions about the boys, the only person cleared to answer them is the superintendent.”

“Okay,” James said, feigning amiable courtesy. “Where would we find him?”

“On whatever golf course is closest,” Kaspar answered, grabbing Serafina’s elbow and shoving her toward the hallway. “Until you have a proper appointment, though, I’m sure you can find your way out.”

“I’m sure we can,” James agreed. “We’ll definitely be on the lookout for the superintendent.”

“You do that,” Kaspar said. “Until then, though, this is a closed campus. If you don’t show yourselves to the door, I’ll be forced to call the police and have them do it for you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” James said, his tone icy. “We’re leaving.”

“Good.”

With those words, Kaspar disappeared down the hallway. Serafina, who wouldn’t shut up when she first met James and Jake, was oddly silent.

James waited until he was sure Kaspar was out of earshot before turning to Jake. “What do you make of that?”

Jake rubbed his thumb over his lip. “That was weird, right?”

“Oh, yeah, that was weird,” James said. “Come on. I want to run that guidance counselor through our search system. Something is definitely not right here.”

“There’s something off about this entire school,” Jake pointed out. “It has a weird vibe. It’s nothing like the high school I attended.”

“One step at a time,” James said. “I want to check on the guidance counselor first. He’s definitely off … and Serafina was terrified of him.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.”