“Okay, the school’s just a block that way.”

“Detective, I think you’re kinda excited to be going back to your old school.”

Nina saw she was exposed and laughed.

“Yeah, I guess. My years at McCollum High were good ones. And unlike like you, my high school years weren’t two decades ago!”

“Owww! You’re brutal.”

They stopped in front of the sign signifying the office and got out. Nina scanned the collection of buildings.

“Hasn’t changed much.”

“Well, lead the way, ex-alum.”

They walked up the sidewalk to a set of double doors and found them un-locked. School was out for the summer and basic staff plus maintenance would be the only people there.

They came in out of the heat and Jason removed his sunglasses. The office was immediately on the right and through a large glass window, they could see a collection of desks but no one appeared to be there. Jason stuck his head through the office door.

“Hello?!”

From a somewhere in the back, they heard a woman’s voice.

“Be right there!”

While they waited, Nina watched as Jason scanned the photo’s on the wall.

“Looking for something?”

“Yeah. Thought they might have your detention records framed.”

“Hey! I was a good girl.”

Jason rolled his eyes and laughed.

“May I help you?”

A woman dressed in gray slacks, black button blouse and black patent leather shoes, came into the room. Brown hair and hazel eyes, Jason guessed her to be in her fifties. She carried herself with an official bearing.

“Yes. My name is Detective Strong and this is my partner Detective Jefferson. We’re with SAPD.”

They both showed their badges.

“I’m Janice Hayes, the principal’s secretary. Is there a problem?”

“No. We’re involved in an investigation and the phone number of McCollum High has showed up on a couple reports linking the school to that investigation. We’d like to find out who made the calls and why the calls were made.”

“Do you have the numbers that were called?”

Nina took the phone reports out of a manila folder she was carrying and handed them to the secretary.

“I’ve highlighted them.”

Janice Hayes followed the highlighted numbers with her finger, across to the names.

“I made these calls.”

“Chelsea Morris and Ed Garland were both on my list.”

Nina took the reports back and put them in the folder.

“Your list?”

“Yes. I’m helping with notifications of the 10 year class reunion coming up. The class president gave me some of the names. I told her I had some extra time and I’d be glad to help.”

“May we see the list?”

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

Janice Hayes returned in less than a minute with two sheets of paper.

“I have about fifty names to call. We use email for most of the notifications, but these are the ones that we only have phone numbers for.”

Jason took one sheet and Nina the other. Jason found one of the names immediately.

“Ed Garland, fifth name down on this sheet.”

Nina’s sheet had the other.

“Chelsea Morris, near the bottom.”

Jason gave his sheet back to the secretary.

“Can we get a copy of these?”

The secretary took Nina’s, as well.

“Sure. Give me a couple minutes.”

When she was gone, Jason started thinking out loud.

“Okay. Both victims were called about their reunion along with about fifty others on these lists. In addition, there’s the list the class president is calling. Assuming it’s roughly the same size, that’s somewhere around a hundred names.”

“That’s just the call list. There’s apparently an email list also.”

Jason nodded.

“I’m thinking we start with the call list. Nothing has showed on the email list that we know of. Until there’s a connection to that list, we need to limit our search as much as possible.”

“So, you think the connection between victims is their class year and the reunion?”

“It’s about all we’ve got for right now.”

Nina was skeptical.

“Okay, following that logic, our killers name should also be on that list.”

“Maybe, but not necessarily. If he’s targeting this group or some of the group, it very well could be because he’s not on the list. When we get back, we need to run all the names from the phone list, find out if they have records.”

Janice Hayes returned with four pages.

“I copied both my list and the class president’s.”

She handed them to Nina who put them in the folder.

“Who is the class president, anyway?”

“Cindy Butler. Her name’s at the top of each sheet, along with her phone number.”

“And when is the reunion?”

“The fifth of next month, here in the gym.”

“Thank you. We’ll be in touch if we need anything else.”

The secretary looked at Jason.

“Can I ask why Ed Garland and Chelsea Morris are of particular interest?”

“They’re missing.”

“Missing! Both of them?”

“Yes, Maam. Both of them.”

 

Chapter  12

 

Donnie turned the corner and pulled in behind the small strip plaza. Tied in the backseat of her own car was Suzanne Cooper. The van was waiting for him and he transferred his captive to it, putting a hood on her when she was inside.

The plaza was about a mile from Suzanne’s house and Donnie had walked to get her. He would leave her car here and take her to the farm. The hood over his captive’s head was to protect him after he completed his mission, just in case anyone survived. He didn’t want them to know where they had been.

He started the van and drove out from behind the plaza. Home was just twenty minutes away.

****

Suzanne lay as still as she could. She was trying to trace in her mind where they were going. She knew they had gone to the plaza near her house but it only took a few minutes before she realized it was hopeless. She didn’t even know what direction they were headed.

There was no way for her to grasp what was happening, it just wasn’t real. Time had ceased to exist and her mind reeled with possibilities of what might happen when the van stopped. She wanted out of the hood and the darkness it brought but at the same time she was terrified of what she might see.

She didn’t know how long they had been going but she felt the van slow and make a hard turn onto a gravel road. She could hear the dirt and rock kicking up beneath her. After just a moment or two, the van ceased moving and the engine went silent.

She heard the driver’s door open and then the van’s side door slide open. Her captor grabbed her by the feet and tried to drag her out but she kicked wildly. He let go. Next to her ear came the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

Click!

Her heart stopped.

“No, no. I’m sorry. I’ll get out.”

Again, she felt the tug on her feet but this time she didn’t resist. When her knees were past the edge of the door, he took her by the shoulder and stood her up.

“Walk slowly, I’ll guide you. Don’t do anything stupid and I won’t be forced to hurt you.”

It took all the strength she could muster just to say nod her head up and down once.

They walked a short distance and then up a couple steps. She heard a door open and she sensed they had moved indoors. The hood came off.

She blinked at the brightness, trying to focus, and found the man staring at her.

“Please don’t hurt me. What did I do? Why are you doing this?”

He ignored her and pointed the gun towards the basement steps. She walked slowly to them and down into the basement. What greeted her there was shocking.

A small prison with four doors, two of which were locked. She could smell urine and it made her gag. She began to cry.