“You sound certain.”
“Trust me, if one of my cousins did this, I would know.”
“It seems like a lot of work,” Atticus mused as they turned to walk back to the truck.
“Probably, but it’s about the shock value.”
“If nobody notices it’s gone, where’s the shock in it?”Atticus asked.
Slade opened the driver’s door, climbed in.“That’ll come when it reappears.”
“Someone’s just gonna put it back?”
“Of course they are.”Slade grinned.“Just won’t be where it’s supposed to be.”
“You sound like you’ve done this before.”
“Not with the mustang,” Slade told him as he started the truck and put it indrive.“My senior year, we relocated the goats from the Ag building.”
“Goats?”
“Yep.”
“Where’d you put them?”
“In the common area.”Slade laughed.“Then we opened the doors so they could come in and roam the halls.It took them hours to find where they’d all gone.”
“Interesting.”
“What about you?What did you do for your senior prank?”
Atticus glanced his way, then looked down.“I didn’t go to a traditional high school.”
“Where’d you go?”
When Atticus looked back at him, Slade knew the answer wasn’t easy for Atticus to say.
“Mental hospital.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”Atticus gestured toward the empty space.“Got any ideas on where to look first?”
“I say we start by checking to see if any students have parents who own or work at a heavy equipment company.Or maybe someone who has access to a tow truck.”
“Good idea.Know anyone who might have that information?”
Slade glanced back at the school and grinned.“I think I do.”
“Who?”
He chuckled.“I call her Mama.”
Chapter Eighteen
JJ sat in the rocking chair, cuddlingher daughter, unable to stop smiling.
They had allowed her and Baz to visit the babies in the NICU for short periods.This was her third visit of the day and unfortunately the last until tomorrow morning.If it were up to her, she would live in there with them until they were strong enough to go home.On a positive note, the doctors informed her they’d seen a marked improvement in such a short time.
