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It was then that sh
e heard the scrape of footsteps from the street. Geneva stopped and turned. She couldn't see anyone clearly, because of the glare of the bright sun. Was it the black man in the green jacket coming toward her?
The sound of footsteps paused. She turned away, started toward the school, pushing aside every thought but the power rule of calculus.
. . . equals nx to the nth minus one . . .
Which is when she heard footsteps again, moving fast now. Somebody was charging forward, headed straight for her. She couldn't see. Who is it? She held her hand up to block the fierce sunlight.
And heard Detective Bell's voice call, "Geneva! Don't move!"
The man was sprinting forward, with someone else--Officer Pulaski--at his side. "Miss, what happened? Why'd you come outside?"
"I was--"
Three police cars squealed up nearby. Detective Bell looked up, toward the large truck, squinting into the sun. "Pulaski! That's him. Go, go, go!"
They were looking at the receding form of the man she'd seen a minute ago, the one in the green jacket. He was jogging away quickly, with a slight limp, down an alley.
"I'm on it." The officer sprinted after him. He squeezed through the gate and disappeared into the alley, in pursuit of the man. Then a half dozen police officers appeared in the school yard. They fanned out and surrounded Geneva and the detectives.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Hurrying her toward the cars, Detective Bell explained that they'd just heard from an FBI agent, somebody named Dellray, who worked with Mr. Rhyme. One of his informants had learned that a man in Harlem had been asking about Geneva that morning, trying to find which school she went to and where she lived. He was African-American and wearing a dark green army jacket. He'd been arrested on a murder charge a few years ago and was now armed. Because the attacker in the museum that morning was white and might not know Harlem very well, Mr. Rhyme concluded, he'd decided to use an accomplice who knew the neighborhood.
After Mr. Bell learned this, the detective had gone into the classroom to get her and found out that she'd slipped out the back door. But Jonette Monroe, the undercover cop, had been keeping an eye on her and followed her. She'd then alerted the police to where Geneva was.
Now, the detective said, they had to get her back to Mr. Rhyme's immediately.
"But the test. I--"
"No tests, no school until we catch this guy," Bell said firmly. "Now, come on, miss."
Furious at Kevin's betrayal, furious that she'd been dragged into the middle of this mess, she crossed her arms. "I have to take that test."
"Geneva, you don't know what kind of muley I can be. I aim to keep you alive and if that means picking you up and carrying you to my car rest assured I will do just that." His dark eyes, which had seemed so easygoing, were now hard as rocks.
"All right," she muttered.
They continued toward the cars, the detective looking around them, checking the shadows. She noticed his hand was near his side. Close to his gun. The blond-haired officer trotted up to them a moment later. "Lost him," he gasped, catching his breath. "Sorry."
Bell sighed. "Any description?"
"Black, six feet, solid build. Limp. Black do-rag. No beard or mustache. Late thirties, early forties."
"Did you see anything else, Geneva?"
She shook her head sullenly.
Bell said, "Okay. Let's get out of here."
She climbed into the back of the detective's Ford, with the blond officer beside her. Mr. Bell started for the driver's side. The counselor they'd met earlier, Mrs. Barton, hurried up, a frown on her face. "Detective, what's wrong?"
"We have to get Geneva out of here. Might be that one of the people wants to hurt her was close by. Still could be, for all we know."
The heavy woman looked around, frowning. "Here?"
"We aren't sure. A possibility, all I'm saying. Just better to play it safe." The detective added, "We're thinking he was here about five minutes ago. African-American, good-sized fella. Wearing a green army jacket and do-rag. Clean-shaven. Limping. He was on the far side of the school yard, by that big truck there. Could you could ask students and teachers if they know him or saw anything else?"
