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You’ll hear officers and possible K-9s running up and down the hallways as they also execute a locker search.
We hope to be able to release you soon, where we will expedite getting everyone home.
Principal Taggert
The death of a senior had happened during my first year in Laurel Springs, and it had torn this small community apart. Now that I’m more ingrained into this community and entering my second year, tears spring to my eyes as I think about any of these kids hurt because of a stupid decision made to drink a bad batch of moonshine. I feel anger at whoever is bringing this into our school, who’s selling it cheap enough that these kids don’t want to go down to the local liquor store and beg someone to buy them beer. But most of all, I fear for them, because I’m scared to death they’re going to lose someone else, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
Menace
I hate this. Hate being at this school, searching for moonshine while my son is locked in one of the classrooms. I loathe that we haven’t been able to find the person responsible, and failure is weighing on me. We’ve been working our asses off following leads, but there just aren’t many, and what we have isn’t solid. It makes me feel like not only a failure as a parent, but also as an officer of the law, especially as a member of the specialized Moonshine Task Force.
Havoc, the commander of the task force, pulls me aside. “You go with the K-9 Officer as he searches lockers. Since your son is a student here, and you already have a relationship with educators, and the principal, I feel like they would respect and listen to you more than me. Especially if y’all find something in a locker, and the student needs to be confronted.
Everything he says is understandable, but every part of my body is wanting to go to the classroom Caleb is in, and make sure he’s okay. But this is part of my job, part of what I signed on for, and how I make my living. Until we get the scene cleared and make sure it’s safe for everyone, there will be no checking on my son. “Got it, we’ll be in touch.”
The K-9 Officer out of the next county over and I make our way down the hallways. I can never remember his name; all I can recall is the dog’s name Jinx. Typically the officer answers to it, too.
“Your son goes here, doesn’t he?” he asks as we wait for an indication of a hit from the dog.
“Yeah, I bet he’s freaking the fuck out in whatever classroom he’s in, he knows exactly what this shit means.”
“Do you want to go reassure him it’s okay? We can do that corridor next,” he offers.
“No, I’m actually not sure what room he’s in, and if he’s scared, the rest of them have to be too. As soon was get the sweep done, I’ll track him down and make sure he’s good.”
Thirty minutes later, ten bottles of moonshine, three baggies of weed, and a bag of what looks like meth rocks have been confiscated to go along with the initial finding. And now, the dog is pawing and scratching at a classroom door, begging to get in.
“Jinx, halt!” The dog goes down on his belly. He’s wearing a muzzle, so there’s no way he can accidentally bite someone, but he wants in the door bad. He’s whining, which I’ve never heard him do in the many times we’ve worked with this department.
“That’s an occupied classroom,” I whisper to him. “What the fuck is in there?”
“No idea, but Jinx wants it bad. Get Havoc and see what he wants us to do. I’d say let’s take the kids out, but what if it’s something one of them carried through the door and it left a trace?”
Within minutes, Havoc is standing with us in front of the door. The principal is there too as we all discuss on what the proper protocol should be.
“Goddamn it.” Havoc runs a palm over his buzz cut. “None of this shit is easy. We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. But if Jinx is picking up something in there, we’ve got to investigate it, Taggert.”
“I do agree with you.” The principal nods. “However, I ask that you allow me to be present if you do have to take a student.”
“We can do that. Can you instruct them to open the door?”
My nerves are on edge as I barely listen to what’s going on before the door opens and we’re permitted inside the classroom. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Caleb. More than anything, I want to stop what I’m doing, go over and tell him it’s okay, but I can’t. I have a job to do, and a lot of people counting on us to do the job well. As Jinx moves up and down between the students, he gets nothing. However, this is a science room and there are a ton of cabinets. When he hits on one, Taggert asks the teacher, a Mr. Cartwright, to unlock it and let us look inside.
When he does, Jinx goes insane and I wonder what in the fuck could be in a science teacher’s cabinet. For more than five minutes, they pull out bottle after bottle, but nothing illegal is found.
“Probably just the mixture of smells,” Havoc apologizes to Mr. Cartwright and Principal Taggert. As I watch the teacher, I’m not so sure, but that’s just a sense I’m getting. Since there’s no proof to the contrary, we leave the room, but not before I wave at Caleb and give him a reassuring nod.
Now it’s time to take care of what wedidfind. I have a feeling cleaning up this particular scene and dealing with parents is going to make for a very long afternoon.
CHAPTER 2
KARINA
M: The weekend was busy, and yesterday was a crap day at work, but I wanted to let you know I had a great night with you! Maybe we can do it again! Ya know, get each other’s last names this time?
Glancingdown at the phone in my hand, I read the text message again, calling myself a fool millions of times over. This marked the fourth day since I had my date with Mason, and the second day he’d texted me. It would also mark the second day I’d ignore him.
Tilting my head back, I inspect my neck in the bathroom mirror. I won’t have to be caking on the concealer and foundation for much longer. The love bites are finally starting to fade, but I still have bruises on my thighs and in between them I can still feel a twinge when I move a certain way. Mason definitely left an impression on me unlike anyone else has before. A part of me already wants to see him again, to make sure I never have to know what life is like without these love bites, without this soreness again. But that’s only one part. The other part? Not so sure. Totally unsure if I want to open myself up to potential heartbreak again. Do I want to put myself out there, and trust someone, only to have that trust be thrown back in my face? Confidence? I got it. Trust? Not there yet.
