walked out of the office and headed back outside. Declan glanced at her. “Do you have any idea where Bobby spends his lunch hour?”
Tess shook her head. “Not really. I forgot that seniors were given the option of leaving the school grounds during lunch. So, as far as I know, he could be anywhere.”
“What about Greenland Park?” Declan asked.
Her spine went stiff, and he mentally smacked himself. Of course Tess wouldn’t want to go to Greenland Park considering that was where her idiot prom date had tried to assault her.
He was about to tell her never mind when she abruptly agreed. “All right, let’s check out the park.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. We have almost twenty minutes before Bobby is due back in class. We may as well see if we can find him on our own.”
Tess walked back to the truck, and the dejected stoop of her shoulders bothered him. The events of the morning were obviously catching up to her, especially if her head was pounding the way his was. But he knew she wasn’t going to be able to relax until she was reunited with her brother.
“It would be easier if I had my cell phone,” Tess muttered. “But it sounded as if your boss wasn’t letting anyone back inside the school yet.”
“Sorry, but we’ll get your personal items as soon as possible,” he assured her.
Greenland Park wasn’t very far from the high school, which was why the students liked to hang out there. He wound his way along the parkway, and when he saw a blue GMC truck parked along the side of the road, he gestured at it. “Is that Bobby’s?”
Tess slowly shook her head. “No, his is a much older model. I don’t remember the entire license plate number, but it starts with three letters UTS.”
He nodded, knowing that it was a long shot that they’d even find Bobby here. It took almost ten minutes to circle the park and then from there, he decided to take a quick drive past the local fast food joints that were close to the high school.
“I don’t see his truck anywhere,” Tess said, rubbing a spot along her temple. “Where could he be?”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost a quarter after twelve now. Maybe we missed him. Your brother is probably already back at the high school.”
“I sure hope you’re right.” Hearing the worry clearly evident in her tone, he frowned as he drove back toward the high school. Was there something more going on here? Was Bobby the type that might skip school, or who’d been hanging out with the wrong crowd? When the time was right, he planned to get more intel on her brother. By the time he’d parked the car, it was close to twelve twenty-five. His cell phone rang as he was about to open his door.
“Hello, is this Deputy Shaw?”
“Yes,” he said, recognizing the school secretary’s tone. “Do you have Bobby Collins there with you?”
“No, that’s why I’m calling. Bobby never returned to his fifth-hour English class.”
“I see. Will you please call me as soon as he does show up?” Declan asked, feeling Tess’s concerned gaze boring into him. “Thanks.”
“He’s not there?” she asked, her voice rising in panic.
“No, Bobby didn’t report to his English class. Tess, is it possible he skipped school?”
She stared at him. “I can’t say for absolute certainty that he didn’t skip on his own accord, but I don’t think it’s likely. Bobby knows he’s on probation this semester, and he promised me he wouldn’t ditch school. Believe it or not, he really wants to graduate.”
He couldn’t deny the sincerity of her tone. “Then where could he be?”
“I don’t know,” Tess whispered. “But, Declan, what if this crazy guy who’s after me somehow got to Bobby first? What if he plans to use my brother as a way to get to me?”
Declan wanted to reassure Tess that it wasn’t possible, but he couldn’t lie to her.
Obviously anyone who wanted to hurt Tess would know she had a younger brother, one she’d raised for the past few years.
Finding Bobby just might lead them to the mastermind behind the bombings. He could only hope and pray they wouldn’t be too late.
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