“You will?” Cameron asked. “I can run really fast.” The bed bounced, and Grant smiled and peeked out from under the covers.
“And I want to see that. But you have to get dressed and ready to go. Officer Grant is going to go to work too, so we all have things we have to do.”
“Yeah, I know. Me too.” He sounded like the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders. “But Billy won’t be mean while you’re there, because you can beat him up.” With that little pronouncement, Cameron ran out of the room.
“So are you going to beat up Billy?” Grant asked as he let the covers slip away. “Or do I need to keep my eyes on you to make sure you aren’t beating up nine-year-olds?” He couldn’t help snickering. The idea was absurd.
“Of course I’m not. But I do intend to be there so this bully can’t be mean to Cameron. He needs to know that I’ll protect him if I can.”
Grant pulled on his pants and shirt before looking around for his shoes. “And how are you doing to do that?”
“I’m hoping that just by having adults there, this kid will behave. But who knows.” Marty got dressed. “I’m going to make breakfast. Would you like some?”
Grant checked the time. “I need to leave and get to the station. But thank you.” He kissed Marty and grabbed the last of his things, calling for Dexter. “I have a million things that I need to take care of, but I’ll call you later.” He went downstairs and put on his shoes. Then he got Dexter into his harness, and they both hurried out of the house. More than anything, he wished he had been able to spend the day with Marty, but there were important things to get done. He needed to find the man who was behind all this. No kid in town was safe until Grant and the guys on the force were able to find and get this guy off the streets.
Marty hurried down the stairs outside and handed him his phone. “Don’t forget this.” Marty kissed him once more. “Be safe.”
“I’ll do my best,” Grant said and reluctantly headed to his car, where he got Dexter in the back and drove home to feed Dexter, shower, and get dressed for work. Then they went to the station. The first thing Grant did was check in with Captain Robards.
“I need to spend the day running things down,” Grant told him. “How did our suspect know that particular door didn’t have a camera? The rest of the common areas did, but not there.”
“Good point,” Captain Robards said. “You think the kidnapper could be an employee?”
“Or a former one. Maybe a volunteer,” he suggested.
The captain got on the phone. “I need to speak to Superintendent Greer,” he said. “Monty, I need some help. I need all of your employee records going back five years. I also need a list of volunteers at Mooreland… yes. This is in relation to the children that have gone missing. We are looking for someone who fits a specific list of criteria.” Grant waited. “Look, all three of these boys have gone missing after they left school. So I’d think the school district would work with us. After all, you want to keep the kids safe just as much as we do.” Grant did not want to be on the other side of the captain’s tone. “Thank you. I’ll send my officer to the administration building, and he can look at the records there.” He hung up.
“I’ll head on over,” Grant said.
“They would only let us look at them at the school administration. We could get a warrant, but this is faster. They also said that their personnel director will be there with you. Make sure they know to keep their mouth shut.”
Grant nodded and left the office, taking Dexter with him as he left, and drove to the school district administration building near the high school. He stepped into the office with Dexter next to him and asked to speak to the superintendent.
The middle-aged man came out with fire in his eyes, but stopped almost immediately when he saw Dexter staring back at him. Grant knew that Dexter had his puppy moments, like when he played with Cameron. But he could be fierce as well, and the man’s eyes flashed with fear.
“I’m Officer Grant Webster.”
“Superintendent Monty Banks,” he said. “Dogs are not allowed in this building.”
“Dexter is a member of the police force. He’s allowed everywhere.” Grant knew how to handle people like this. They were used to being in charge, even when they weren’t. “I’m here to look at your records. Could you please show me to theappropriate person?” He wasn’t going to waste time with small talk or trying to put Monty at ease. Having him in a state of fear was more beneficial.
“Yes.” He turned and led the way to a woman with bright eyes and a big smile.
“You must be Grant. I’m Unity, and I was told to help you search our records,” she said.
“This is my partner, Dexter.” Grant sat in the chair she indicated, and he took Dexter off his leash and gestured for him to check out the space. “He isn’t going to hurt anyone.”
She sat as well, glancing around as Dexter wandered from desk to desk. Eventually he returned and sat next to him, indicating that he found nothing interesting. Unity relaxed and cleared her throat. “What is it you’re looking for?”
He couldn’t go into the details of the situation. “You understand that everything we speak about is confidential, even from the superintendent if he asks, and he will ask.”
She smiled and then chuckled. “Yes.” She seemed pleased. “It’s going to drive him crazy.” That tickled her. “So let’s get started.”
“All right. We’ll start with all staff and volunteers who worked at Mooreland Elementary, because they would know that the entrance to the mechanical room didn’t have a camera.”
She paused with her hand over the keyboard. “None of them have a camera,” she told him. “All the buildings are that way.” She glanced toward the superintendent’s office. “He set it up that way because children don’t use those doors, and he thought he could save money.” She clearly wasn’t a fan.
“Is that something that’s well-known?”
