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He spoke to the busy plump black lady who jumped at the sound of a man’s voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you come in, officer. What can I do to help you?” A pleasant expression took over the lovely features on her beaming face.
Officer? Was it so obvious? Beau had no idea how he got made when he dressed in normal clothes and his gun and badge weren’t in sight. He looked into the caring eyes of a woman who kept her hair really short and her smile wide.
“Right. It’s agent. Agent Beau Walker. And this is Agent Lori Page. Looks like you have a number of kids hanging out with you.”
“I’m the coordinator here, Lucy Dahl.” After shaking hands, the lovely woman nodded and looked around with satisfaction. “Yes. It’s actually fairly quiet right now. But those times come and go. On the weekends it gets busier. A lot of the kids don’t want to hang around their places and get in trouble with their parents.”
Lori spoke up, her tone kind. “We’re here because of a girl called Jessica—”
“Jessica Boland. Yes, I’ve been expecting you. Why don’t we go into my office back here and talk.” She led the way into a very small room with a desk, two chairs and ceiling to floor locked cabinets on the wall behind her. An old computer sat on one side of the desk and papers were piled orderly next to it.
“We get funding from a private organization so we can keep the doors open. But they do demand a budget and spreadsheets showing where every penny is spent. Thanks to donations from other stores in the neighborhood, we get to help the best way we can. For the kids around here, it’s essential they have this place, or they’d be on the streets with nowhere to hang. Jessica was just such a child.”
“Yes. I gather her homelife was pretty bad.” Lori had to refashion her actual opinion to come out with something reasonable yet true.
“Bad isn’t the word for it. Disgusting is more like it. She had a terrible time and many days she came to me with bruises both on the outside and inside that took a long time to heal. Well, until the last year that is. I didn’t see much of her then.”
“Did she ever mention anyone by the name of Johnny Ray or JR, maybe just Ray?”
Shaking her head, Lucy frowned in concentration. “No. I don’t recall her ever mentioning anyone like that.”
“Would she have maybe shared her story with one of the other kids?”
Certainty filled Lucy’s features as she shook her head. “No, Jess never made friends easily, and no one here paid her any attention after I made it clear that she was as welcome as anyone else. They had a problem with her smell, you see. I offered her the use of the shower here, but she refused. I never understood her reasoning because I knew she hated being that way.”
“What was her excuse?”
“If I recall, she said if she cleaned up, she’d pay when Herbie noticed. Guess he pestered her.”
“Did you ever call the police?”
“Spoke to one of the officers who often comes around. Told him as much as I knew about the situation I figured was happening. He told me that without proof and someone who would press charges, they couldn’t do much. I discussed it with Jess, and she freaked, ran out, and didn’t come back for weeks. Only until I promised to stay out of her business would she stay.”
Lori’s sympathy showed. “So you figured she needed this refuge more than you needed to step forward and most likely get nowhere.”
“Pretty much what happened. But my heart feels for that girl She didn’t choose to be born into that mess.”
Feeling dejected, Beau and Lori walked back to their car, entered, and Beau pressed the start button just as both their phones pealed with a message. Another school massacre was in play. And this time, they believed the shooter had escaped. He was on the loose and every cop in the city was on his trail.
Beau heard Lori’s whispers. “Sweet heaven. Is there to be no end to the madness?”
“Guess not. At least, not until we find this JR bastard and put a stop to his hate-filled plans.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Darkness descended with Beau and Lori back at the office, trying to figure out how the hell this happened… again. Three days, three shootings. This nutcase JR was playing with them, pulling their strings, and making things happen according to his plan.
Every cop in the vicinity was on the lookout for the latest shooter and every lead followed. They just couldn’t catch a break. Many of the agents were working the case overtime, all following whatever leads came their way but so far, none had helped. Earlier, Lori and Beau had been at the school for hours, going over each step with those involved.
Seems the gloved and masked kid had gone to a locker, retrieved the weapon waiting there, and started shooting up the hallway. Thankfully, classes had begun so there were very few students still hanging out. Unfortunately, one of the teachers had stepped into view, held his hands out and it looked as if he tried begging, making sense to the young man… obviously to talk him down.
The video showed clearly how he’d even started to approach before the kid’s head lifted. The mask moved as if he were talking. Then it stopped while he listened to orders. Slowly, very slowly he aimed the rifle and fired. The teacher dropped to the floor, blood spurting from the chest wound. Shock seen on the shooter’s face had been telling.
As if he didn’t understand that this conduct would actually hurt someone, first he’d looked at the weapon, and then with his eyes scrunched and his body twisted as if in fear and revulsion, he threw it away from him like something that smelled rotten. Incredibly, he stopped dead, again listening. Slowly, like someone in a trance, he bent down and picked the gun up. Swiveling blindly in a circle, he ran for the door, missing the arriving cops by a few minutes.
Back at their desks, Lori and Beau worked with the late staff to put the details in order before closing themselves down for what was left of the night. Lori had rewatched the video a number of times and had come to the conclusion that the shooter hadn’t acted normally for someone who wanted to kill others. She’d muttered to Beau, “It’s like he’s under a hypnotic spell. Like he didn’t fully understand what his actions would cause.”
“I agree. Even for someone with that kind of pressure, this kid is acting weird.”
