Page 60 of Honorable Sins

Turning, he dries his hands on paper towels that will go into the incinerator right along side Lars. "Anders accepted Kenneth’s offer long enough to send a man here."

"No alliance then."

"No."

"Why did he call you?" I wash my own hands. Twice.

"He figured out that either Kenneth was lying about giving him access to the Whisper gun tech, or he was too stupid to make a good ally."

"Or the intel Lars gathered was enough for him to know he didn't want to make an enemy of our mob and if Kenneth was stupid enough to offer such a valuable resource in exchange for the hit, he wasn't bleedin' likely to win the power struggle."

"He said something to that effect."

"Making him smarter than your feckin' cousin."

"Not smart enough to turn down the alliance in the first place," Brogan says sourly. "He wants to order Vanta 1s from us."

"I'll put him on the waitlist," I say sarcastically.

Chapter fifteen

Emergency School Board Mtg

KARA

Even a week after the incident with Sadie, Fitz and the other boys, my anger fizzes inside me as I take in the familiar setting.

St. Patrick's large library in the main convent building is where PTA meetings and fundraiser committee meetings are held. Except for two tables pushed together to create one long one for the board members to sit behind, the study tables for the students have been removed. The chairs that usually sit around the missing tables have been arranged auditorium style.

Board meetings are usually held in the gymnasium. But since this one was called at the last minute, the board must not have expected a lot of parents to show up.

Oops.

Mick and I take two empty seats in the front row, next to where Áine and Wraith are already sitting. His arm is over the back of her chair and he's giving off don't-come-near-my-wife vibes. I recognize them from Mick's repertoire.

Most of the other chairs in the room are occupied.

I'm not surprised by the full house. I contacted the parents of all of the children impacted by my investigation into the broken and inadequate protocols for handling things like what happened to Sadie Gallagher.

Board members drift into their seats one by one. To their left is the 72" monitor on a stand I arranged for earlier.

Principal Bentley walks in last. His expression carries practiced sympathy. Professional concern. The face of a man expecting difficult parents.

He smiles when he sees me. "Thank you for making the time to be here, Kara."

I don't return his unctuous greeting or smile. This meeting wasn't his idea. In fact, if it were up to him, it wouldn't be happening at all.

His smile drops from his face. "Yes. Well." He sits between JoAnn Young, the Vice Principal and Alice Bryant, the school secretary.

The board chair clears his throat. "Thank you all for being here on such short notice." He sounds anything but grateful so many parents have shown up. "Mrs. Fitzgerald requested this emergency session regarding recent events involving her son at St. Patrick's Preparatory Academy as evidence of a broader concern regarding student safety."

I nod.

One of the other board members looks between me, the principal and then Áine before saying, "We understand your family has concerns regarding what happened to Sadie Gallagher."

I shake my head. "No."

Several brows lift.