Reunion Mission. Virginia Vaughan

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СКАЧАТЬ his hand to shake Preston’s. “Nice to meet you.”

      Preston reluctantly took the hand he offered.

      “Whoever grabbed Claire got away before I could stop him. The body is in Claire’s classroom. It’s the fourth—”

      “I know where her classroom is.” Preston turned back to Claire. “Stay here. I’ll need to ask you some questions after I see the crime scene.”

      She nodded, expecting it would be the same questions Matt had asked her. And she would have the same answers she’d given him. She didn’t know who’d killed Luke and she hadn’t seen her attacker’s face.

      “I’ve already secured the scene,” Matt assured him.

      Preston shot him a cautious smile. “You don’t mind if we double-check that, do you?”

      She sensed a simmering dislike between the two men. It was more than their cautious smiles and easygoing manners. Beneath the surface, there seemed to be a palpable desire in both of them to strike out against the other. Matt’s folded arms as he informed Preston about the details of the case. Preston’s defensive stance.

      She was glad when they both walked out. She wasn’t surprised that Preston was leery of Matt. After all, she’d cried on his shoulder numerous times through the years about her ordeal.

      But what possible reason could Matt have against Preston?

      * * *

      He didn’t like it. Nope, he didn’t like it one bit.

      Who was this guy who’d claimed Claire as his own with one call of her name?

      A feeling of satisfaction had washed over him as he reached out to shake Preston’s hand. Claire had called him a friend and everyone knew what that meant—platonic, non-boyfriend friend. And Preston’s grip as they shook was firmer than it needed to be, an obvious acknowledgment of territory. His stance was clear—back off! Apparently, he hadn’t caught on to Claire’s reference to him as her “friend.” He was still clinging hopelessly to the delusion that they could one day be more.

      It wouldn’t happen. If Matt knew one thing about Claire, it was that she believed love should be passionate and overwhelming...the way they’d once been. If there was no passion, in her mind, there was no romance.

      “Claire said you were DEA. May I ask what you were doing here? Is the DEA performing an investigation we need to know about?”

      “Luke was a DEA informant. We were hoping he could give us information that would break up a drug ring working out of the school.”

      “What kind of drug ring?”

      “It’s a new drug called Trixie. It’s a stimulant that—”

      “I know it. High-priced. Very dangerous.”

      “And popular with the kids. Our intel says there’s a major business working out of Lakeshore High. We were just starting our investigation.” They stepped into the classroom and Matt saw Luke on the floor, his throat slit and blood everywhere. His gut clenched. Luke had been his key to unlocking the drug ring operating in his hometown. Now, instead of an informant, he was a murder victim.

      And Claire had somehow stumbled into the middle of his investigation and onto the radar of a killer.

      “You shouldn’t be in here.”

      “Relax,” Matt said. “This isn’t my first crime scene. I know how to be careful.”

      “I don’t care how many crime scenes you say you’ve been to, this one is mine and I say you need to leave. This isn’t a DEA investigation anymore. This is a murder, and homicide is my jurisdiction.”

      Matt turned to look at him, the territorial protective vibe going again. This was his investigation. Claire was his friend. It was all about him, wasn’t it? “Luke was a DEA informant, and I’m still investigating a drug ring operating out of this school. I would like to be kept involved.” He could tell the detective wasn’t happy about his role and he wasn’t surprised, but he was also sure it had less to do with him being DEA than with him being Claire’s ex.

      “Look, I’m not just some guy off the street. I’m an old friend of Claire’s and I don’t want to see anything happen to her.”

      “Oh, I know exactly who you are,” Preston countered, turning to stare right into Matt’s face. “You’re the scumbag who wrapped his car around a telephone pole on prom night, then left Claire battered and brokenhearted while you took off to join the army.”

      Matt shouldered his tirade. It wasn’t exactly correct. He hadn’t left Claire in the car. It had been weeks later that he’d left town when his prayers to God for her recovery went unanswered. He hadn’t been on speaking terms with the Almighty since. But Preston got the gist of the story correct, and who was Matt to squabble over details. He’d caused the wreck, then had left her when his guilt got too heavy to bear.

      But that didn’t change today’s situation. Claire was in danger, and he wasn’t stepping aside this time.

      “That was a long time ago.”

      “That’s right, it was. Your connection to Claire ended the moment you walked out on her.” Preston turned and knelt to examine the body.

      Enough talk. Matt got serious. “You are aware that Luke was dead long before he supposedly sent Claire that text message?”

      “We haven’t even determined time of death yet.”

      “I’ve seen my share of bodies. That boy has been dead at least four hours. Claire said she received the text an hour ago. Someone wanted her to come here, possibly just to find Luke, but maybe for more than that. Her life is in danger, and if you think I’m going to leave until I know she’s safe, then you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

      Matt walked out, leaving him to process the crime scene. He focused on trying to calm down, but it was a daunting task given the surge of adrenaline that had pulsed through his veins from the moment he’d heard that first scream, and reinforced from the realization that the woman on top of him had once been the love of his life. It had taken all his strength to pull away from her and lead her to a chair in the school’s office, but his instincts had kicked in, reminding him that his priority had to be preserving the scene and that meant getting Claire out of the area as soon as possible.

      Preston’s men would go over every detail of that room and the body, but Matt didn’t need an autopsy report to tell him what he already knew.

      The killer had lured Claire into that classroom.

      * * *

      It didn’t take long from the time the police arrived for a crowd to form outside the school. Onlookers appeared along with the television news teams.

      Claire peeked out the window and saw the three local news channels all setting up in front of the school. She noticed many of the students and the worry on their faces. When she turned on the television in the office, the news channels were reporting a body was found at the high school, but they had not identified it as a student.

      What would happen to those kids СКАЧАТЬ