‘Mr…, I mean, Agent Harrison?”
Lucky checked the phone screen. Unknown number. “Who is this?”
“It’s me, Kenny, remember? You know. I work at Food Mart.”
Damn, Lucky hadn’t yet followed up on his promise. “I’m still arranging your ride.”
“That’s not what I’m calling about.”
Really? “What’s up?” Lucky eyed the clock on the wall. He really didn’t have time for this.
“I… I… I told a few people that my dad was going to kill me if I didn’t get into Auburn.”
Kenny stayed quiet for so long Lucky checked to see if the call disconnected. “And?”
“And yesterday I found a note in my locker, telling me to leave forty-five dollars in an empty locker, and expect to pay the other forty-five when I got the pills.”
Oh, shit. Lucky never intended for a civilian to make drug buys, especially one barely legal to vote. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
“I did!” Kenny’s pride came through loud and clear.
Lucky palmed his face. No, no, no, no.
“I got the pills today, and paid the other forty-five.”
“And still no idea who put them there.”
“Sure do. What’s your cell number?”
Did Lucky really want a give a pimply-faced kid his cell phone number, even if it was only his work phone? “Okay.” He recited the number and hung up. A moment later, a photo came through text, showing a well-dressed young woman with her hand on a locker door. This couldn’t be a student.
His phone chimed again. “That’s my first period English teacher.”
Da fuck? For the second time in twenty-four hours, Lucky headed for the school, to refund Kenny’s money, and warn him never to play hero again. The woman being a teacher didn’t make her any less dangerous than other drug dealers.
He texted the photo to his two undercover rookies, who’d been outdone by a grocery checker.
***
For the rest of the day Lucky waited for a call or text, pulling his phone out of his pocket every now and then to double check for missed messages. Why the hell was he so worried about a near stranger and her child? She wasn’t the first poor soul he’d met in the line of duty who deserved better than the shit life handed her.
Or was Bo who he really worried about?
Nothing. Not a word.
Better get his mind off his personal life and more on the job, like figuring out the connection between drug dealers and Ty’s high school. He’d seen on the news about a recent scandal, parents paying university personnel to get their kids in.
Some folks would do anything to give their kids an advantage.
Surely there weren’t many in this school district with that kind of money.
“Rett.” Lucky spun his chair toward the desk formerly occupied by Bo. He’d never get used to being apart from his lover, but with so little office space, he’d gladly share with her rather than anyone else. “Why would a school resort to drugs to increase students’ test scores?”
She didn’t look up from her computer, nor did her fingers slow on the keyboard. Yep, she’d just volunteered to write all future reports. “How long have they been under suspicion?”
“Why?”
For several seconds she continued to type, moving her nose closer to the screen. With a final flourish she stilled her hands and deigned to face him. “If they got a bad reputation, they’d risk losing their best students. Parents may yank ‘em if the school is failing. No one wants their kid going to a sub-standard school. Once the mass exodus starts, it’s like a rock rollin’ downhill.”
