life.
And her reaction to the idea of talking to reporters. Most women that he knew would love to be in the limelight, talk about how they’d saved a child. And even if they didn’t necessarily revel in the attention, they wouldn’t mind giving an interview.
But not Paige.
Interesting. Curious. It made him want to ask her about it, find out why she didn’t want to be in the spotlight.
The hair on the back of his neck tingled, and he looked up. Nobody in the hall looked like they had an interest in what he was doing. Still, he frowned. After the incident with the car, he was on edge.
He’d been stopped by several reporters since the accident but thought he’d given them enough of what they’d wanted. Another sweeping glance still didn’t reveal any reason he should feel watched.
Uneasy, he pasted a smile on his face and said to Will, “How about we go grab a little snack and then come back to see Ms. Worth?”
Will’s lips parted in a smile.
For the second time that day.
Dylan’s heart flipped. Ever since Will’s mother, Dylan’s sister, Sandra, had been killed in the fire that ripped through her house, Will had become mute, haunted by nightmares that woke him, that caused the little boy to scream until he was hoarse. And that was the only time he ever made a sound. Even when he cried, his tears were silent.
Dylan had shortened his hours at the medical clinic, working only during Will’s school time so he could be there to pick up the boy from school.
And Will always seemed glad to see him. But Dylan felt there was something he was missing, something he should be doing for Will. He just wished he could put his hands on what that something was.
Even the therapist Will had been going to seemed stumped at the child’s continued silence.
They walked into the cafeteria and Will went straight to the fruit section. Dylan got him a bowl of grapes and banana slices, and they found a table in the corner. Will picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of banana.
Surprise hit Dylan when he found himself wanting to hurry Will up so they could go back to check on Paige.
Swallowing hard, he examined what he was feeling. He wasn’t in a good place to be this attracted to someone. He had been engaged until very recently, but Dylan could finally admit that his and Erica’s relationship had died long ago even though the recent betrayal still hurt.
Pushing those thoughts away, Dylan felt a smile curve his lips. It might be fun to get to know Paige. To see what she was all about.
To hear her deepest secrets.
Then he frowned. Of course if he expected that of her, he’d have to be willing to reciprocate.
Then he flushed, embarrassed by his premature thoughts. He’d just met the woman. He knew nothing about her. For all he knew, she might have a boyfriend somewhere. Someone who lived in another state and just hadn’t come to be by her side.
The television caught his attention. The reporter was talking about Paige’s amazing rescue this morning. Captivated and horrified all at the same time, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the woman who stood in front of the school where it had all happened giving a detailed account of the near miss.
In his mind, he watched it all over again as her bike flashed in front of the car, her arm snaked out to grab Will and then the front headlight clipped her back wheel. And down she went.
He sucked in a lungful of air.
Not knowing where the sensation came from, he couldn’t help feeling his life was getting ready to be rocked by the strawberry blonde, blue-eyed woman lying on the bed upstairs.
As soon as the doctor stepped from the room, Paige grabbed the cell phone that had been placed on the table beside her. She punched in the number she’d memorized a long time ago.
Her boss answered on the second ring. “Ashworth,” Charles Forester almost growled, “where are you? Are you all right? I just talked to ‘your principal’ who said you were in the hospital. What’s going on?”
“I’m fine.” Well, she would be. “But we’ve got a problem. Reporters have already gotten wind of the story and are making a big deal out of it.”
Filling him in, she did her best to ignore the aching in her head compounded by his sudden bid for her to hold on.
She held.
A minute later, he said, “I’m back.”
“I should be out of here tomorrow and plan on getting back to the school as soon as possible.” She paused. “How’s Larry’s family doing?”
“Not good.” His voice lowered. “They need his killer brought to justice, Paige.”
“I’m working on it, but I need you to make sure that my face doesn’t appear on the news. If some hotshot reporter or photographer decides to make this his story, and someone recognizes me …”
A long pause.
“Charles?”
“I’m watching the reports now. Got Louis to pull it up and stream it to my computer as soon as you said something about reporters.” Louis, the DEA’s tech guy who could do anything with a computer. “Right now, the story’s only on the local channel. We’ll do our best to keep it that way.”
Paige blew out a sigh and shifted her head. “And you’re still against working with the sheriff on this one?”
“Definitely. He’s squeaky clean, but Larry’s dead, and the investigation of his death hasn’t produced much. Let’s keep this one close to our vest for now. If we need to bring the sheriff into it, we will. I’m still screening his deputies.”
Thoughtlessly, Paige nodded and grimaced at the shaft of pain that shot through her. Maybe she’d be out of commission a bit longer than she thought.
“All right, give me a couple of days, and I’ll see how I feel. One more thing, you’ll never guess who the little boy was.”
“Who?”
“Dylan Seabrook’s nephew, Will Price. Dylan was walking him to school when all this happened. Dylan always lets him cross to the guard who waits in the center of the street. He was almost to her when the car came flying down the street toward him.”
Charles scoffed in disbelief. “You’re kidding. Sandra Price’s son? The woman who was killed in the fire with Larry?”
“Yes.” She paused. “This accident may actually be a blessing in disguise. It gives me a way to get close to Dylan.”
A pause. “Are you sure it was an accident?”
She thought about it. “No, I’m not.”
“If the people who killed Larry and Sandra think Dr. Seabrook knows something, they may decide he needs to disappear—or cause his nephew to in order to keep him quiet.”
“I know.” The thought filled her with dread. “I need to find out if he’s had any threats made against him or Will.”
“That sounds like a good place to start. Listen, I know you haven’t had a chance to really work on the case yet, but given that you’ve been in the town for a couple of days, are you sure we’ve got you in the right place? The elementary school rather than the high school?”
“I think so, based on what Larry said about Sandra being friends with one of the parents who was arrested. Although she didn’t know the name of the person who supplied the drugs—or exactly how they were being transported through the school—she was pretty adamant that they were coming from the elementary school. The ID found in the fire is the biggest sign, of course.” A charred staff ID from Rose Mountain Elementary School had been found in the residue of the fire.
“And