“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Roddy.
“Don’t be.” Roddy shook his head as he watched his partner sleep. “I had to call him three times just to get him out of bed this morning. He’ll learn a valuable lesson from this.”
“The correct application of lip liner is an important lesson for all of us.” The laughter Vero had been holding back burst out in a loud snort.
Delia looked up, blinked at us, and smiled. “Look, Roddy! Isn’t Ty pretty?”
Roddy flashed her a proud thumbs-up as Ty began to stir. Vero hid the last of her giggles behind her hand as he opened his eyes.
Delia patted his chest. “You’re all done,” she said, putting the cap on her marker. Ty sat up fast, the spider legs drawn around his eyes stretching wide as he put a hand to his face. “Remember to ethfoliate and moithturize. Vero says it’s very important.”
“It’s water soluble,” I called up to him as Vero laughed silently into her fist.
Roddy gave a startling clap of his hands. Ty looked up from his nails. “Nap time’s over, Rookie. We’ve got a class to cover. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Ty sprinted down the bleachers.
“Thanks, Roddy,” I said as he followed Ty to the door.
Roddy tipped his hat. “No thanks necessary. It’s a pleasure to serve.”
“You’re right,” I said to Vero as I watched them go. “There’s no way that man isEasyClean.” It was the only thing I felt certain of. Andthat after spending the afternoon with my children, Ty would probably never want kids of his own.
I turned back to the mess my son had made of the basketball court. His ball sat abandoned by the back wall.
“Where’s Zach?” My eyes darted to every corner of the gym. Delia glanced up from her markers and shrugged.
“Come on, Dee!” Vero grabbed Delia’s hand, towing her after me as I raced to the rear exit. It was the only door Zach could have escaped through without any of us noticing.
I shouted his name, catching a glimpse of his coat as he followed a group of students through a side door to the lecture halls, completely unnoticed. I chased after them, impatiently swiping my card key and waiting for the locks to slide open. Vero scooped Delia into her arms and followed me inside. We called Zach’s name, dodging groups of students chatting in the hall.
I skidded to a stop beside Mrs. Haggerty. “Mrs. Haggerty! Have you seen…” She squinted up at me through the thick lenses in her rose-gold frames. “Never mind.”
Flashing lights caught my attention down the hall. Over her shoulder, I spotted Zach’s blinking sneakers as they disappeared into a classroom. I navigated around Mrs. Haggerty and sprinted down the hall. Vero’s sneakers squeaked on the tile behind me as we skidded to a stop inside the classroom door.
A familiar man stood at the front of the room, the same man we’d seen standing behind a podium on the stage of the auditorium two days ago, right before his lecture with Peter. The name printed on the whiteboard behind him readDR. MOHAMMED SHARIF—FIREARMS EXAMINER.
“That’s the asshole that stole our bullet,” Vero whispered.
Dr. Sharif’s Adam’s apple bobbed as Zach stared at him across the room. He watched the blinking lights on my son’s shoes with a look of abject horror.
“I’m so sorry if he disturbed you.” I grabbed hold of my son to keephim from tackle-hugging the doctor’s legs. Zach giggled and the man flinched. Tiny beads of perspiration had begun forming on his forehead. “Dr. Sharif? Are you okay?”
The doctor’s eyes lifted to mine, recognition sparking. “You?”
I read his name again and glanced down at his shoes. “Mo?”
He backed into the whiteboard.
A police radio squawked and Roddy appeared in the doorway behind us. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said, hiking up his belt. “Steven’s here.”
“Thank god,” I whispered.
Roddy plucked his mic from his vest. “Nick?”
“Copy.”
“Found ’em. I’ll have everyone escorted downstairs.”
