Page 49 of Deadly Forever

“Huh,” Grady mused, rubbing his chin. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

“No, it can’t,” James agreed. “So Kaspar is a pervert and he’s inviting the boys over to drink at his house. To what end?”

“Do you think he somehow convinced the four boys to rob the mall?” Jake asked. He’d been largely silent while the others conversed. James didn’t miss the fact that he kept regularly checking the door, too.

“I don’t know,” James said. “I am kind of wondering if he had something to do with what happened to Darcy, though. Everyone thinks the guy is a pervert for a reason. I’m fairly certain Darcy said she was at the guidance counselor’s house for the party because he had a son in that high school. I think she also said he wasn’t there, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t supply the drugs and give the kids the idea.”

“Do you want to ask Darcy about it?” Grady asked. “She’ll most likely be with the girls when they come back. Even if she’s not, we could call Mandy and make her ask Darcy.”

“I don’t want to do that yet,” James replied. “It’s bad enough that she knows her classmates were involved. To add fear about an authority figure – especially when we’re not sure about his role in things – isn’t high on my list of things to do.”

“I agree,” Grady said. “We can hold off. What do we know about Kaspar before he started at the high school? Where was he before?”

“See, that’s the part I’m having trouble with,” Maverick said. “His file says he was at Rosa Parks High School in Detroit.”

“Can’t you hack their files?” James asked.

Maverick shook his head. “The school closed down four years ago. There are no files to hack. I went through an old registry I found, though, and Kaspar isn’t listed on it.”

James stilled, his stomach clenching. “Could that be an oversight?”

“Anything is possible,” Maverick said. “I can’t find much of anything on this guy, though. As of three years ago, he didn’t appear to exist on anything other than paper.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning someone fabricated an identity. I have no idea why. All I can find for him is a regular bar tab at a brewery in Royal Oak. He goes every Wednesday, which happens to be tonight.”

James let loose with a weighted sigh when the door to the office opened. Mandy, Ally, and Emma strolled in, their arms laden with packages as they excitedly giggled and chatted away. Darcy wasn’t with them.

“Where is Darcy?”

Mandy lifted her head and beamed when she saw James. “We dropped her off at home. She was tired. I think we wore her out.”

“She had fun, though?” James was happy to hear Darcy was bonding with the women, but he was relieved to have Mandy back with him.

“She had a great time,” Mandy replied. “By the way, we bought her some clothes. If you have a problem with it, I can move money out of the savings account with what’s left of my inheritance to cover it.”

“You know I don’t care about that,” James said, pushing a strand of Mandy’s flaxen hair behind her ear as he studied the angular planes of her face. “What do you want to do tonight?”

As far as conversational shifts go, it wasn’t James’ finest effort.

“I don’t know,” Mandy replied. “I thought we were going to play shark. I found a bathing suit I think you’re going to love for that game, by the way.”

Ally’s eyes lit up at the flirty banter. “Wait until you see the bathing suit, James. You’re going to go off … probably in more ways than one.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing it, although I prefer it when you swim naked, baby,” James said, making his decision on the spot. “I don’t suppose you’d be up for an outing to a Royal Oak brewery before we go home, would you?”

Mandy looked surprised. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

“What are you thinking?” Jake asked.

“I’m thinking I want Mandy and Ally to get dressed up in something … pretty,” James replied, smiling. “Kaspar is a pervert and no one is more likely to entice a pervert than my wife.”

“You should know,” Grady muttered.

“You want to use me as bait to lure the guidance counselor?” Mandy asked, confused. “That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“I’ll be right there,” James said. “I want Ally to go with you in case he prefers brunettes, but I want you guys to find a way to steal his glass when he’s not looking so we can run prints. If he puts a hand on either of you, though, I’ll put my fist through his face and we’ll steal his glass.”