Cameron took off, so intent, those little legs just going for it. He and another boy pulled ahead, and it was a close race, but toward the far end, Cameron put on more speed and pulled across the finish line first. Marty bounced as he watched Cameron celebrate with the other kids. It was so exciting, and he was just as proud and happy as he could possibly be.
“That was great,” Grant told him, and Marty turned to smile at him.
“It was,” Marty said, watching as Cameron’s class went on to the next station.
For the next hour, he watched as Cameron competed in the other events. By the end, he had won the foot race and the long jump. He got medals on blue ribbons for each of them. Once the games were over, the kids went back inside, and the parents drifted back to their cars to wait for dismissal.
“I’m going to make another pass around the building,” Grant said. “Someone has been using that stand of trees again. I found additional debris there. I’m going to check it out before the kids are allowed to leave.” He and Dexter left, and Marty found himself alone.
“Is he with you?” the woman who’d been standing next to him for the events asked.
“Yes.” Marty didn’t know what to call their relationship; they had never talked about it. “Grant is my boyfriend.” He was stepping out on a limb a little, but it was the only word he had for what they were.
She smiled. “Lucky,” she told him before fanning herself.
Marty caught movement on the other side of the building. It was Dexter running at full speed across the field. People began getting out of their cars to see what was going on. “Get in your car and lock the doors, now,” he told the woman. “Get inside, lock the doors,” he yelled at the people loitering, and they snapped to, racing to their cars. Marty got to his and closedthe door, locking himself inside as sirens were already drawing closer.
He couldn’t see Grant or Dexter or who was being chased, but he stayed in the vehicle until other police cars arrived and set up a perimeter. Finally, Grant and Dexter returned. He spoke to the other officers, and they began approaching the various vehicles, allowing the buses to pull into the drive.
The bell rang, and soon the kids began exiting the building one class at a time. The parents were told to speak to the teacher, and then the kids were individually allowed to leave. The process took some time, but each child was accounted for and sent home with their parent or gotten to the bus.
“Did someone see the bad man?” Cameron asked after Marty took him by the hand and led him to the car. “Look, I won two times.” Marty loved that his mind shifted so quickly. After all, the medals were much more important than whatever was going on.
“That’s amazing. I watched you win.” He was so damned proud he could burst. “How about we go home, and we can have ice cream with sprinkles to celebrate?” Making Cameron really happy was fun.
“Yay!” Cameron said as he climbed into his booster seat and then fastened the seatbelt. “I beat Billy. I’m faster than him now.” He was so excited.
“Do you like running fast?” Marty asked.
“Yes.” Cameron shook with energy, and Marty reminded himself to look up track and field programs for younger kids. If Cameron liked that sort of thing, then he was going to encourage it.
“All right,” he agreed and started the car, pulled out when it was safe, and took Cameron home.
He didn’t expect to hear from Grant for a while. He would have plenty to do between the incident at the school and thevideo from the historical society. So once they were inside, he got Cameron a bowl of chocolate ice cream, put sprinkles on it, and let him watch cartoons as he ate. It had been a big day for him.
“Is Officer Grant coming over with Dexter?”
“I doubt it. He has a lot of work to do.” And Marty had added to it today, but he hoped what he’d found was helpful and not a distraction. “But that’s okay.” It was too much to hope that they would come over every night. Grant his had own job and his own life, and so did he.
AS HEhad expected, Grant was super busy and worked through the weekend. They didn’t see him until Monday, and when he came over to join them for the picnic, he looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. “You don’t have to come with us if you’d rather just go home and rest. We’ll understand,” Marty told him.
“No. I’ve been running down leads. I finally got to the last people on my earlier list, but none of them match the description we have. I didn’t think anything would come of it, but I needed to finish it so I could check it off the list. We did get results back from the lab, but they didn’t match anyone in the system, which means we’ll have something for comparison when we catch the guy, but that’s all.”
“What about the video?”
“That is showing promise, but there’s quite a bit to go through. I spent time reviewing them and so has Carter, but it’s slow going because their system date was never properly set. But we have to be getting close. And who knows, maybe he decided to wander through the displays. I’ve been told to expect something from the FBI people tomorrow, so maybe between the two, we’ll have a clearer picture of what this guy looks like.”
“Okay. I suppose things take longer than we expect them to.”
“They do, and all I want is a relaxing day out with you and Cameron.” He took a deep breath. “So we can go whenever you’re ready.”
Chapter 16
“ARE YOUready to go?” Marty called up the stairs. Footsteps hurried forward, and Cameron came down carrying the bag of Legos. “You shouldn’t take those to the park.”
“But I wanna make something,” Cameron pleaded.
“I know. But they’ll get lost there. Leave the Legos here, and you can make things when you get home.” He took the bag and placed it on the chair near the door. Grant smiled to himself, relieved that Marty talked him out of bringing the toys. “They’ll be right there when you get back. Now go out to the car with Grant and Dexter. I need to get the cooler and the basket so we can go.” He went into the kitchen and got the things for the picnic. He put them in the back of the SUV while Grant made sure Cameron was strapped in. After a final check of the house, Marty locked up and got in the car. Grant drove them to the park, which was full of people.
