Fire

by Lynnette Bonner

  Kyra almost choked on the bite of blintz in her mouth. That was the last thing in the world she’d expected him to say.

  He raised his hands. “I know. I’m obviously not interested in her and I made that very clear to her last night, but now she’s jumped to the top of our suspect list and the likelihood of me getting all the information I need from her in one pass is slim to none. So I’m going to need to spend some time with her without leading her on. Got any ideas on that?”

  “You need a girlfriend.”

  He blinked at her.

  Her face blazed. “I mean, not in real life, but maybe you could invent one. That should allow you to be friends with her but still keep it platonic.”

  “I already told her I have a girl back home.”

  Disappointment slipped through her. So he was already taken. Of course a guy like him would already have a woman in his life. She forced a casual nod. “That should be good then.”

  Case shook his head. “She made it pretty clear she wasn’t going to let that stop her.”

  Girls these days. Kyra couldn’t believe that a wash of jealousy had just swept through her over a teenage girl with a crush. Or maybe it had more to do with whoever the woman on the other side of the water was. Had that relationship developed after he’d flirted so outrageously with her in the salon that day? Or was he just as much of a womanizer as his earlier comment about enjoying spending time with beautiful women seemed to imply?

  Realizing he was still waiting for her response, she hurried to say, “Uh, well… I could try to find out something from her if you need me to?”

  Case practically leapt to his feet. “No.” He paced to the kitchen island and leaned into his palms.

  Kyra was taken aback by the abrupt response.

  He looked over at her. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I don’t want you involved with this investigation. It’s dangerous. Whether you believe me or not.”

  She leveled him with a look. “I’m already involved simply because I work at the school. I can’t just ignore these kids. They need someone they can confide in.”

  He spun toward her. “So you haven’t changed your mind about what you said in class on Friday?”

  She shrugged. Now it was confession time. “It’s sort of too late to change my mind.”

  He stiffened. Studied her leerily. “What do you mean?”

  With a sigh, she rose and walked closer to him. “I haven’t told you this yet, but when I was just a freshman in high school, my older brother got into drugs. It was like overnight he became a different person.”

  Case reached out to squeeze her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

  Kyra pressed ahead, keeping the details as sparse as possible. “He took his own life within a year. I chose then to become a teacher with the hope that I could maybe help other kids who might find themselves in that same place. When you told me you were a cop, I didn’t know whether to believe you but I still wanted to help. So I told all my classes about the option to contact me anonymously. And now there’s this…” Placing her phone on the counter between them, she pressed the icon to pull up her texting ap, then brought up this morning’s messages.

  Case picked up her phone and read the texts. His shoulders drooped as though the weight of the world had just been dumped on them. “Well, I guess you are involved now whether I like it or not.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “Promise me you’ll be careful, and that you’ll run everything by me before you make any decisions?”

  Kyra was just fine with that. She’d already been uncertain of even how to respond to this morning’s messages. “I promise.”

  “I especially want you to be careful around Simon Hall. Don’t go out to dinner alone with him, or anything like that.”

  Kyra dipped her chin and narrowed her eyes at him. “Simon? Really? Because from my interactions with him he seems to genuinely care about the kids. He was pretty broken up about Greg Salazar’s death.”

  Case shrugged noncommittally. “There’s just something about the guy I don’t like. He’s right up there at the top of my list along with Chloe, and another person who just came to my attention this morning. And maybe Ashley. Anyhow”—he lifted her phone—“you didn’t respond yet?”

  She shook her head. Wrapped her arms around herself to ward off a sudden chill. “I wanted to show it to you, but only once I was certain you were really a cop.”

  “Mind if I reply?”

  She shook her head. “Please, feel free.”

  He tapped in a few words and hit send before setting it down on the counter.

  “What did you say?”

  His thumbs tapped out a rhythm on the counter as he stared at the phone as though impatient for a quick response. “I asked them if they were safe right now.”

  Horror raced down Kyra’s spine. “I should have thought of that! Why didn’t I ask that right away! What if something’s happened and I didn’t even respond!”

  Case covered her hand—a gesture that both told her to calm down and offered comfort. “I’m sure they’re fine. It’s highly unlikely they took time to text you if they were in danger. It’s just always good to be sure.” His tone held encouragement.

  Kyra withdrew her hand from the too tempting warmth and appeal of his touch.

  They both stared at the phone. Kyra realized she was almost holding her breath and released it. She frowned and forked her fingers into her hair, needing to break the silence. “Will you be able to figure out who it is by their number?”

  He shook his head. “Probably not. There are all kinds of ways people can send anonymous texts these days, but we’ll certainly give it a try.”

  “Anonymous texts?” She hadn’t even known that was a thing.

  The phone chimed and Case snatched it up.

  Kyra crowded close to read over his shoulder. Yes. I’m fine. I don’t think s he would hurt me.

  She? Or was the ‘S’ a typo and it was meant to read ‘he’?

  Kyra glanced over as Case’s brows raised, and only in that moment did she realize they were so close they were standing shoulder to shoulder. She eased away. “If it is a she, I guess that blows your theory about Simon Hall.”

  “Maybe.” Case admitted before he smirked. “Unless this is Simon Hall trying to throw you off the scent. Or unless that ‘S’ isn’t supposed to be there at all.”

  Kyra folded her arms, feeling defensive. “You’re just jealous.” Her face blazed. She couldn’t believe she’d just blurted that out even if she partially thought it was true.

  Case’s gaze swept over her and then a glint of humor touched his eyes. “I guess that might be true. Do I have anything to be jealous about?”

  Was sweat actually breaking out on her forehead? She paced over to the window to put some space between them and tugged the curtain to one side to peer out. “I told you the other day that I’m not looking for another relationship right now, and I meant it. Plus, I’d never date a colleague.”

  “What about a student?”

  She spun toward him, ready to let him have it, but stopped at the twist of mischief on his lips. She flapped her hand toward the phone. “Can we just get back to the present situation, please?”

  Case chuckled, but his expression turned serious when he returned his focus to the phone. He studied the screen for a moment before asking. “Both texts came through about seven thirty?”

  She nodded. “One right after the other.”

  “Interesting.” He tapped one knuckle against his lips, staring toward the ceiling and seemingly considering some possibilities before he finally stopped pacing and returned his focus to the text message. “In situations like this it’s generally best to give them lots of room and not make them feel pressured. I could ask if it’s a he or a she to try to fish for a little more information, but that might spook them.” He spoke his message as he typed. “Well, if you change your mind, I’m happy to listen.” He tapped a few more keys, informing her that he was forwarding the message to his boss so they c
ould check out the number, then he handed the phone back to Kyra. “I’m betting you won’t hear back for a while, but if they respond again, please let me know right away.” He glanced at his watch. “For now, I really have to get going. I’m supposed to meet Chloe at the beach in half an hour. No other thoughts for me on that front?”

  Kyra stuffed her phone into her back pocket. “Well, you could always bring your girlfriend from back home over here and let her see you two together. That might make the reality of your unavailability more real to her, but still allow you to maintain a friendship where you can get some information.”

  Case rubbed the back of his neck. “The only problem with that is she doesn’t exist.”

  Kyra’s heartrate gave a little spike. “She doesn’t?”

  But Case was still talking, not seeming to have heard her. “Too bad, too, because that’s actually not a bad idea. I think Chloe might open up more if I did have a girlfriend. She’s the type who might do a little bragging to try to impress me if there was a little competition.”

  Kyra felt her eyes widen, because she suddenly had a really crazy idea.

  Back when she was taking her theater arts major in college she’d routinely made herself over into someone else. She’d often taken pleasure in tricking her friends into thinking she was someone entirely different. They’d always been shocked when she revealed herself to them. If Case needed a girlfriend, she could play the part.

  She opened her mouth to tell him so, but then snapped it shut again. He would only tell her once again that it was too dangerous and he didn’t want her involved. Better to act and then ask for forgiveness later. But she ought to feel out the situation a little more first. “You could always have someone else pose as your girl?”

  He shook his head. “Can’t. That would involve bringing more people into the loop. And there isn’t time at this point to get another officer over here from the mainland. At least not for my meeting with her this morning. But don’t worry about it.” He was already heading for the kitchen door. “I’ll figure it out. Be safe and let me know if you get any more texts.”

  Kyra’s heart raced. She needed more information if she was going to pull this off. And it had to happen today because she’d promised Lainey that she would come over to the mainland and go to church with her family tomorrow since the twins were being dedicated. “Where did you say you were going to meet her?”

  Case paused and eyed her questioningly. But after a moment he must have decided that it couldn’t hurt to tell her. “At the park down near the ferry landing.”

  Perfect. “Okay. Bye.” She lifted a hand. “I’ll stay in touch. See you soon.”

  Sooner than he realized.

  “Right.” He nodded. “See you Monday, if not before.”

  They repeated the routine with her taking out the trash, which felt less tense in the daylight, and then he leapt her fence and disappeared from sight.

  Kyra turned for her room with a huge grin on her face. She couldn’t wait to surprise him. A quick check of the ferry schedule revealed that she had just enough time to pull off her transformation.

  CHAPTER 13

  Anger burned cold, like a cauldron of frothy liquid nitrogen lodged just below breastbone and heart.

  I knew Kyra Radell was trouble the minute I laid eyes on her. Offering kids an anonymous way to tattle. Gah! But little did they all know they were beaten before they’d even begun. “I’m smarter than all of you put together.” The words rasped past lips that had hardly spoken a word since yesterday.

  Thumbs tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel. Parked just across and down the street from Kyra’s house, the time had come to decide and take action. It was imprudent to simply sit by while students smiled in your face and then betrayed you the moment your back was turned. If that little minx, Chloe Schumacher, had betrayal on her mind, it was time to plug up the potential leak. At least it was clear she was still fearful enough that she was having second thoughts. What would have happened if she’d revealed all?

  Nausea roiled.

  Indigestion burned an already tight throat.

  The little traitor!

  Popping the lid off the bottle of Tums on the passenger seat was easy. Downing three of the chalky tablets, not so much. Lips twisted in disgust. Nasty stuff. Always leaving such a gritty paste on the tongue. A swig of cold coffee from the travel mug only made the taste worse.

  Slamming the mug back into the holder eased some of the irritation. But not enough.

  What to do? What to do? Think!

  No one had come or gone from Kyra’s house yet this morning and she hadn’t made any calls, so maybe she hadn’t decided what to do about the texts yet. But the cloned ap clearly showed that she’d read the betraying texts from Chloe.

  Wait!

  Even as panic nipped at an already thready pulse, letters started appearing in the ap. She was replying right now!

  A huff of ironic disgust escaped at the first reply.

  She wanted to know if the kid was safe? She might be for now, but not for long. Traitors didn’t deserve to keep breathing. That much had been made more than clear to every kid who’d ever been invited to partake of Fire. It wouldn’t be hard to find her and take care of her. It needed to be done today before she got up the courage to reveal more than she already had.

  Thankfully, the text had arrived on Kyra’s phone after this morning’s surveillance session had already begun. It would have been crazy-making not to know if she’d rushed right out of her house to head to the police station with those texts. Even now it was a little surprising that she hadn’t called someone or even texted someone for advice on what to do.

  It was Saturday, maybe she’d been sleeping in a little?

  A curl of uncertainty wormed through the nausea. Was Kyra being too laid back about the texts? Could someone be in the house with her? Giving her advice? She seemed like the type who would immediately seek out advice on what to do in a situation like this.

  Don’t be paranoid.

  The texted reply came back.

  Yes. I’m fine. I don’t think s he would hurt me.

  A drop of sweat dripped onto the phone despite the fact that it was a balmy sixty-nine degrees outside. Calm down. She didn’t reveal anything too important with that. The mistake in the type was bound to leave just as many questions as it answered. Still, it was time to go find the kid and silence her before she revealed anything more.

  It would kill two birds with one stone. Stop the leak. And send a message to the rest of the clientele that silence equaled life.

  The curtain at Kyra’s kitchen window moved slightly.

  Just enough to send heartrate skyrocketing. Scrunched down behind the steering, wheel it was hard to see past the glare on her window glass.

  Had she noticed the car parked down the street? The curtain dropped back into place. But she didn’t rush out to her porch to get a better look.

  After a moment, tension eased a little. That wasn’t saying much considering how terrifying this morning had been.

  Maybe laying off production of Fire for a bit was called for?

  No!

  This was not going to be a setback. All the supplies for the ramped-up production had just arrived this week. The final shipment, signed for yesterday after school, held the last ingredient needed. This next batch was going to be the biggest, and most lucrative, yet.

  Nervous fingers fiddled with the nob of the gearshift. Squeezed it so hard that a tremor worked all the way to scrunched toes.

  Relax!

  Purposefully, muscles eased their stricture. One long slow breath in. One long slow breath out. Another pair of Tums crunched down.

  All would be fine again before lunchtime. Chloe would never be able to undertake betrayal again.

  But it remained to be seen if Kyra Radell could be allowed to live. If students were going to keep taking her up on her offer, she was going to have to go. What if one of them really did leave a note in her assignment inbox
? And it couldn’t be retrieved before Kyra found it? That was a method of communication that couldn’t be hacked.

  A sigh slipped free, even as the engine turned over.

  Yes, Kyra Radell just might have to be dealt with. But for now, there were other matters to attend to. The sports car’s engine purred quietly as Kyra’s house slid by on the left.

  Tonight, there should be plenty of time for more surveillance of her. And if things went as planned, there would no longer be a leak to worry about.

  Kyra’s transformation was complete. She sat back and looked at herself in the mirror. She grinned. It always amazed her what a lot of makeup and a little bit of ingenuity could do to change someone’s appearance.

  She’d added a prosthetic to widen her forehead just slightly—one that she’d previously used for a show where she’d played the part of an older lady, but it had worked just as well here to transform her to a slightly younger woman. A darker foundation than she normally wore gave her a bit more of a tan than she usually had. She’d also applied tanning lotion to both her arms and her legs. Colored contacts changed her eye color from blue to green, and fake lashes combined with the heavier than usual makeup, worked together to make her eyes look a little more slanted and exotic. Bright red lips, a stick-on beauty mark, and a dark wig swept into a curly updo finished the facial transformation.

  For her outfit, a black leather miniskirt paired with a black tank-top, knee-height black stiletto boots, and a gothic spiked leather necklace-collar changed her from everyday-school-teacher to gothic-biker-chick.

  Now all that was left was to surprise Case at the park and prod Chloe into revealing whatever it was she might know. Unless the student who’d texted her decided to reveal more information, this was their best shot.

  Hopefully, Chloe would be appropriately jealous and try to get his attention by spilling whatever information Case thought she might be hiding.

  She stuffed her phone into the top of one of the boots, more because she didn’t like to be without it than because she felt like she was going to need it. Then, popping a piece of gum into her mouth, Kyra headed for the door.