“No, he’s not. He left the office just before ten a.m., and he never came back. The superintendent called, mad as all get-out because he never showed up at one, like he was supposed to.”
Confused, she checked her watch. “He told me in our morning meeting that he was going to the administration building to meet with him at ten.”
“I know. That’s what my calendar said too. Superintendent Sealy was adamant that the meeting was for one o’clock, so I double-checked with his assistant, and she said her calendar for the boss said one p.m.”
“It’s almost one thirty.” Elyxandre frowned at Juliette. “Are you telling me no one’s seen Dr. Vaughn since just before ten a.m.?”
“As far as I can tell.”
Elyxandre bit her lip. Lucas was meticulous about his schedule. There was no way he got that time so wrong. There was also no way he would miss an appointment unless it couldn’t be helped, and he’d call if he was going to be even so much as a minute late.
She started back in the direction of the office, noting that his truck was parked out front of the school building, as always. “Did we radio him? I didn’t hear anything go out, but I might not have since I was out in the preserve.”
“We tried several times. He never responded.”
Elyxandre went to his office. He always carried a radio on him, as well as his cell phone. If there was trouble, he had two ways to call someone. Neither was sitting on his desk. “And he didn’t say he was going somewhere besides the superintendent’s office?”
“No. He was going there, and then he was supposed to meet with Lieutenant Axton at two. That was all he had on his calendar today because he wanted to be free for anything related to Kennedy.”
“He doesn’t like to sit still. Maybe he’s out at the preserve looking around.”
“Didn’t you just come from there?” the assistant asked, worry etching her face.
“Yes, but there are several entrances and exits. I wouldn’t necessarily have seen him. The police are monitoring those. I wouldn’t think they’d let him inside, but maybe since he’s the principal, they would.” She grabbed her radio. “Lieutenant Axton, come in, please.”
“This is Axton. What can I do for you, Hookstead?”
“Has anyone let Dr. Vaughn into the preserve, or seen him recently?”
“Let me check the log.” A tense minute followed. “Dr. Vaughn was here at eight a.m. and talked to me. No one has seen or talked to him here. I’m supposed to meet with him in about half an hour.”
“Hold off on that. What’s your current location?”
“North entrance.”
“No need to come here. I’ll be there shortly.” She looked at Juliette. “Say nothing to anyone about Dr. Vaughn being missing. I’m going to need you to do something for me. I need you to check that every radio is accounted for. Note who has it and where they are. You’re going to need to manufacture a reason that’s plausible. You’re also going to need to space them out. Two minutes between, five minutes, three minutes, whatever. Nothing in the same time interval. If someone is listening in who shouldn’t be, I don’t want them to know we’re onto the fact that he’s missing.”
“Should I call them on their cell phones?”
“No. I want to verify that the radios are in actual use. As radios come in today, shut them off and take the batteries out. If anyone asks why, say we’re doing a battery switch because of high use from homecoming weekend. If we get to the end of the day and he still hasn’t turned up, call me on my cell. You know what the duress phrase is?”
Juliette blanched. “You mean, like if someone has him at gunpoint?”
“Yes.”
Voice shaky, she replied, “He’ll tell us he’s going to be late getting home, and Ezra needs to let the dog out.”
“Good. I’m going to go check the camera feeds. He went out the main door?”
“Yes.”
She placed a calming hand on the woman’s forearm. “Hang in there, Juliette. You can do this. And remember. Tell no one what’s going on. If someone asks for him, tell them he’s in a parent meeting. If they say it’s an emergency, farm it out to one of the assistant principals. If they won’t take no for an answer, call me.”
“Got it.”
As Juliette went back to her desk, Elyxandre took a last look around Lucas’ desk. He kept things neat and tidy, although he did have a lot of sticky notes lined up, each with a single note on it. He told her he preferred that method because crunching up a completed task and throwing it away was more satisfying than crossing an item off and still being able to see it on the page. She took pictures of them with her phone, then scanned them. Nothing leaped out at her as out of place.
Making sure to lock his office door behind her, she proceeded down to her office and sat behind the computer. The screens on the far wall showed her all of the camera views on campus, but she knew exactly which door to watch, so she went to the app on her computer and pulled up the feed for the main entrance. Scrolling back, she found him leaving the building. He didn’t appear stressed, and there was no one with him. He left the building during the middle of a class, so it was six minutes of no one entering or leaving before he left, and four minutes after he left.
