Page 65 of Rescuer
“Astrid.” She swallowed.
“I am calling on behalf of the school district. It has come to our attention that you are a suspect in the disappearance of several of your students.”
The breath whooshed from her chest. “No! They wanted to know what I could tell them about the students, but I’m not a suspect.”
“Hmm.” Disbelief filled that one elongated note. “We’ll see. Hopefully, you’ll be exonerated. Until then, we have to act to protect the students and the reputation of the district. This evening, we held a vote. You are on leave until further notice. Please come tomorrow morning and collect your belongings.”
“But—”
Astrid plowed on. “A security guard will walk you to your room and wait while you gather your possessions. You are not allowed on district property without an escort.”
A broken sob escaped Mia’s lips.
A dial tone rang in her ears.
That was it. She may as well have lost her job. Mia’s legs refused to hold her. She collapsed on the side of her bed, tears streaming down her face.
Who could she call?
She started to dial Shannon, then stopped. Shannon still worked for the district. She didn’t want to put her in an uncomfortable position, so she dialed Jackson instead. His phone went to voicemail.
She was alone.
With no one to pull her from the abyss, she reached out to the only One who could assist. Closing her eyes, lips trembling, she clasped her hands in her lap.
“Please, God. Please help.”
Fourteen
Jackson walked into the station at six thirty for his seven a.m. shift.
“Doc? You’re here early.” Steven Wylie, a paramedic on the third shift, set down his coffee mug, sympathy in his dark-blue eyes. “You doing all right?”
Jackson ran his hands over his face. Every time he’d closed his eyes last night, he’d seen Dylan in some horrible situation. “I’ll deal. I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I might as well come here and be useful.”
“It’s been a quiet night. I hate to break it to you, but someone drank the last Mountain Dew. Want some coffee?”
Jackson shuddered. “Did you make it?”
“Hey! My coffee is better than Swanny’s.”
“Barely, bro.” Despite the jesting, he headed to the coffeepot and poured a steaming mug. He pulled out his phone, which had died last night, and plugged it into one of the chargers they kept on the counter. He hadn’t even thought to check it the night before, which was unlike him. One more sign of how distressed he was. He needed caffeine, regardless of taste. He’d pick up more Mountain Dew when he had a moment to spare. It wasn’t high on his priority list. Everything took a back seat until he found Dylan and Reggie.
By the time the third shift left and the first-shift paramedics wandered in, he was on his second cup. The station alarm blared to life. Jackson and Swanny both stood from the table and listened to the dispatcher.
“Shouts and a gunshot wound reported…” She rattled off the address. Reggie’s house!
Jackson spilled the last drops of his coffee on his shirt.
“Police are on the way to the scene. One victim, female, age thirty-nine.”
Elaine Dirk. It had to be.
“Team,” Chief hollered. “I want another emergency vehicle on scene, just in case.”
Amber ran toward the bay, Moses on her heels.
“Doc, you coming?” Swanny yelled over his shoulder.
