Page 48 of Deadly Forever

Fourteen

“Stop watching the door.”

Three hours later, James kept one ear on Maverick as he ran the background search on Kaspar and his eyes on the front of the office. He’d spent so much time with Mandy since the incident at the mall that he keenly felt her absence. There was an empty hole in his chest where her smile belonged.

James shifted his eyes to Grady and made a face. “I’m not watching the door.”

“You’re a crappy liar,” Grady shot back. “There’s no need to be worried. The girls are perfectly safe.”

“That’s easy for you to say. Your girl is at work.”

“Where she finds a lot of trouble,” Grady reminded his brother. “Sophie isn’t as trouble prone as Mandy, but she sticks her nose in big stories all of the time. Her nose is in this one, mind you. She’s out at the school right now.”

James was intrigued, despite himself. “She’s at the school? Did she get inside?”

“She’s talking to the superintendent in his office,” Grady replied. “I’m not sure what information she’s gleaned yet, but she’ll share with us the second she finds something. You know that.”

“I do know that,” James confirmed, dragging a hand through his hair. “I’m just … antsy.” He pushed himself to a standing position and paced in front of the desk. Maverick, his fingers a blur, continuously worked as the others chatted. “Have you found anything yet?”

Maverick made an exaggerated face. “Yes, I’ve found the answers to all of the big questions in life … and your little ones. I’m just keeping the information to myself because I like playing games.”

“No one needs your snark,” James said, rolling his neck. “Not that I’m questioning your work ethic or anything, but how hard can it be to run a background check on a guidance counselor?”

“Harder than you may think,” Maverick answered. “Hacking into the school’s employment records was a breeze. There’s some weird stuff in this guy’s file, though. I’m trying to track it down.”

“What weird stuff?”

“I’ll tell you when I know more,” Maverick growled, darting a look in Grady’s direction. “What’s with the big brother routine? He usually lets me work in peace as long as the blonde isn’t in danger. We just saw her. The only thing she’s in danger of is splitting her pants after eating so much food.”

“Don’t talk about my baby,” James chided, wagging a finger. “I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like anything where she’s concerned,” Maverick argued. “You like everything about her, don’t get me wrong, but if anyone else even looks at her you go all Hulk angry.”

James didn’t want to encourage Maverick, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Mandy used to say that, too. She thinks I have a bad temper.”

“Do you beat her? Is that why she thinks you have a temper?” Maverick looked legitimately curious.

James was affronted. “I would never hurt my wife!”

“So … that’s a no?”

“I’ll kill him if he doesn’t hurry up,” James warned Grady. “He’s on my last nerve.”

“Stop poking the bear, Maverick,” Grady ordered. “Tell us what you’ve got.”

“I don’t have much,” Maverick said. “Lee Kaspar has been at the school for three years. He has several reprimands in his file, all for inappropriate contact with students.”

Grady arched an eyebrow. “Girls?”

“Actually, both boys and girls,” Maverick said. “One is for measuring the girls’ skirts, which is just a genius idea if you ask me.”

“No one asked you,” James growled.

“One is for telling a girl that she needed to wear a bra because everyone could see her nipples,” Maverick offered. “The third is for inviting the football team over to his house to watch a game. One of the parents claimed her kid came home drunk, but Kaspar denies the drinking was done at his house. There’s a note that they couldn’t prove the claim in the file and that the boy denied Kaspar served him alcohol.”

“Does it say what kid was drunk?” James asked, playing a hunch.

“That would be one Dakota Landers.”