Page 73 of Facade

“Jace investigated the people whose reactions got your attention. We didn’t know if any of them might be connected to Dad going missing, but hadn’t found any leads on our own with no direction to look in,” Clarke told him. “You were on target with the maintenance workers, one of whom has a drinking problem, while another is in ill health. He’s still looking into the groundskeeper. Nothing has led to Dad.”

“We can check them both off the list of suspects for all the mysteries, then,” Russell said. “Since I was curious, I made some inquiries. The head groundskeeper is a heavy gambler, explaining his excitement.”

Clarke nodded. “He’ll be betting on the events with inside knowledge of the entrants from Mars and Venus. With all the students and coaches housed here, he’ll have a strong sense of the competition and odds.”

“Exactly,” Russell agreed. “I haven’t heard anything about your dad or this veterinarian. No one on campus pops into my head as a likely suspect. Mitch is deranged, but I wouldn’t call him smart or subtle enough to cover his tracks if he’d been involved in a kidnapping. Whoever this is, knows how to keep his mouth shut, and play the game.

“Can we meet in a few days, or possibly over the weekend? I’d like time to organize my thoughts, and strategize.”

“Let’s aim for the weekend,” Clarke suggested. “We’ll all have more time to plot, and bounce ideas off of each other then. I’ll text a day, place, and time after talking to the guys.”

“Sounds good, but won’t we just meet here again?” Russell asked as he stood from his chair.

“Now that you’re on board, Heath might prefer the main house,” Clarke commented. “But I want to discuss it with him first.”

“That makes sense. Bye Heath, bye Jace. Let the canoodling commence!” Russell declared with a wink and a smirk as he walked to the door.

Clarke rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind him. She hadn’t confirmed that Jace and Heath were here. But Russell was confident they were, and naturally, he was correct. He was incorrigible.

Heath and Jace walked into the house from the garage when Russell’s car turned onto the road.

“I’ve never heard of canoodling,” Jace said. “Is that a naughty word?”

“It’s an old term,” Heath answered. “I think it refers to kissing and cuddling. Russell probably read it in a classical novel. That went well.”

“It did,” Clarke agreed. “I feel good about this.”

“I’m fine with meeting at the house,” Heath said. “Hearing his conversation with you has me seeing Russell from a different perspective. My whiteboard might help organize his thoughts.”

“Saturday or Sunday would be probably be best for all of us,” Jace said. “We can figure out the exact details later.”

“Sounds good,” Clarke said.

Not wanting to be away from the dorms longer than necessary on a weekday, Jace and Clarke didn’t stay much longer. Clarke hugged Heath, and said she’d talk to him soon before walking to the car.

“Russell seems like quite a character,” Jace commented on the drive back to campus.

“That’s indisputable,” Clarke said with a grin. “Russell strikes me as a young, gay version of Dad. That’s probably why I like him so much.”

Jace barked a laugh. “Now that you mention it, I can see it. They have a similar flair for drama. Both are good, thoughtful people. We’ll have to tell Russell to be careful when he noses around. Who knows what these people are capable of?”

“Good point. I wouldn’t want Russell ending up in danger for helping us,” Clarke said.

“He sounds smart enough to be cautious, but it won’t hurt to warn him,” Jace mentioned. “Have you thought about confiding in Nadine and her husbands? I’ll support whatever you decide. But, for what it’s worth, I think they are trustworthy. They helped compile the information Heath had, and are working with him to figure out what the hell is going on.”

“The more people who know my identity, the greater the risk of exposure,” Clarke said. “But bonding Heath makes Nadine and her husbands extended family. Since she teaches at Venus, and Roger and Brady work in town, they aren’t suspects. Even if the strange behavior of local animals and missing students have nothing to do with Dad and Dr. Prentis, this is much more complicated than any of us originally realized. So, yeah. I think I’ll bring them in on this.”

Clarke wouldn’t put a strain on Heath’s relationship with his family if she could avoid it. She was nervous to reveal herself to yet more people here. With Heath’s sister and her mates, however, the risk should be minimal.

“As you said, they aren’t suspects, and could be a lot of help,” Jace said. “Can I text Heath that he doesn’t have to hide from his family anymore?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” she said.

Remembering Heath’s hilarious reenactment of Nadine’s fear-inducing interrogation had her smiling again. Jace nodded, and began texting, with a mischievous smirk.

“What are you up to?” Clarke asked.

For weeks, Jace had been in a constant state of protective concern and fury, mixed with his worry for her dad, until Mitch was ousted from campus. It was nice to see him in a good mood.