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With a heavy sigh, Principal Fleming places her hands on her desk. “I’m afraid this puts us in quite a predicament, Liliana. Stealing is a zero tolerance issue and?—”
“Are you expelling me?” Liliana asks, her face lighting up with glee.
“Now, Principal Fleming, there must be some other way that we can work this out.”
Principal Fleming lifts her hand toward me. “Dr. Chaplin, Sheriff McEvoy, I believe your work here is done.”
Rory and I take the hint and leave the all-too-quiet office behind us.
As soon as I step into the hall, I almost bump into Fred. His height hasn’t intimidated me before, but the darkness in his face sends my body into fight or flight.
“I hope you’re happy with yourself,” he says.
Before I can reply, Rory grabs my arm, pulls me back, and puts himself between Fred and myself. “If I were you, Mr. Frederickson, I’d walk away.”
The two men stare each other down. Then Fred steps aside and lets us pass before disappearing into the office. Boy, does he have an earful waiting for him…
Rory and I hustle down the hallway toward the orange double doors leading outside.
“You didn’t need to do that,” I say softly, even though my nerves are fried.
Rory does a double-take. “I wasn’t going to let him speak to you like that.”
If I were the me I was when I met Rory, I would have replied with an edge. Would have said something like, “I can take care of myself.”
With him around, I don’t have to. Because I’m worth protecting. I haven’t felt that in a long time.
I can’t muster thanks. So instead, I change the subject. “You found that note interesting.”
“I’ve seen the paper before,” he replies.
“Where?”
He hands the paper to me to take a look at. The note reads, “Do it before sunrise tomorrow morning.” The paper doesn’t look overtly familiar to me, though.
“Any businesses you know of still do things the old-fashioned way?”
“Surprisingly, no.” To keep up with the occasional bouts of tourism, most businesses have updated their systems.
“Well, I know one.”
I smile. Excitement building in my chest. “Which?”
“Willie’s Bar and Grill.”
A puzzle piece I hadn’t consider slots right into place. “Oh my gosh.”
Rory slows to a stop. “What?”
I start adding the pieces together. Could it really be this simple?
“Constance…?” He touches my shoulder.
I look at Rory. The rings of amber around his eyes set me aflame.
“I think I know who our culprit is.”
18
