Page 4 of Breaking Rules
“Thank you, lass,” Alec said, drawing my attention back to him as the cop walked away. “I was going mad. What happened?”
Before I could answer, someone called my name. A few feet away, Soleil Artz ducked around an angry woman who seemed to be threatening a cop if he didn’t let her cut through the school parking lot to get to where her car was parked rather than having to walk around the block. I suddenly remembered that Soleil had called me right before I’d heard the gunshots.
“I need to go,” I said to Alec.
He didn’t answer, but I understood. Evanne was foremost on his mind at the moment, and I wouldn’t have cared so much about him if his daughter hadn’t been his priority. He’d reach out once Evanne was settled, and we knew more about what had happened.
I stayed on my side of the police tape but moved down the line until Soleil was directly across from me. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard someone had a gun.” Soleil shuffled her feet, her hazel eyes refusing to meet mine. “I was curious.”
“‘Curious?’” I raised an eyebrow. “It’s okay to say you were worried. If I heard there’d been a shooting at your school, I’d be worried for you.”
She shrugged, not giving an inch.
“You called me but didn’t leave a message.”
“You didn’t answer.”
Was that what had prompted Soleil coming here, wanting to know why I hadn’t picked up? “I couldn’t get to my phone in time, but I was getting ready to call you back when the shooting started. Are you okay?”
Her mouth quirked up at the corners, but only for a moment. “I’m fine.”
I reached across the police tape and lightly touched Soleil’s arm. She looked at me. “You called me on a school day, and now you’re here instead of in school. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
The stubborn set of her jaw told me I wouldn’t get much of anything else from her. Still, I wasn’t about to just let her walk off because the conversation was finished. Something was on her mind, and despite what had just happened at my place of work, whatever was going on with her was important enough to take precedence. My students were all safe. There was nothing more I could do here.
“Wait right here,” I instructed. “I’m going to check with the principal about what we’re supposed to do next. If I have to stay, you can stay with me, and either way, we’ll take a Lyft back to the house before I go home.”
Soleil opened her mouth to protest, but I held up a finger and shook my head. I waited until she grumbled an unhappyokaybefore leaving her there. The anxiety and fear that had been coursing through me from the moment I’d recognized the gunshots for what they were receded. I had a purpose, and that would help me keep my emotions under control until I was alone.
It was easy to find Principal McKenna. Half a dozen other teachers and aides were already crowded around him. Vice Principal Cornelius Harvey, fortunately, was nowhere to be seen. The last thing I needed right now was to have to deal with his lechery. As I stepped in between the kindergarten aide and the art teacher, I found that at least a couple of the questions I had were being answered.
“…so, no, we’re not sure what happened. We do know that no one was hurt, other than a few bumps and bruises. Until a full investigation is completed, the school will be closed. Once you’ve confirmed attendance, please send an aide to me with your attendance sheet, and then we can begin releasing students. Once your class is released, please find an officer and give them your statement. They’ve been instructed that all student statements are to be taken at the discretion of that student’s guardian.”
I waited until the others moved off to do their necessary tasks before speaking up. “Principal McKenna, I have a young woman who I’m sort of a big sister to. She’s only fourteen. May I bring her inside the police tape to wait until I’m able to take her home?”
For a moment, I thought he’d refuse, but then he nodded. “Just make sure the police know and don’t let her wander.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.” I headed back toward where Soleil was waiting. I supposed I could have just gotten her a ride alone, but if I made her wait until we could both go, it’d give me more time to figure out what was going on with her.
* * *
Havingextra time with Soleil only helped when she actually talked, which meant by the time the car pulled up in front of the group home where I’d once lived, I’d spent an additional hour with her and still hadn’t learned anything about what had caused her to call me in the middle of the day, or why she’d been out of school. In fact, she’d barely said a word at all, though she had asked if I was okay after I’d given my statement to one of the harried-looking cops standing inside the marked off area.
“Do you need me to come talk to Brie?” I asked as the driver put the car into park. “Let her know where you’ve been?”
Soleil shook her head. “She’s not home. Kim had some sort of all-day thing. Brie had to go with her.”
“Is it something serious?”
“I don’t think so.” She opened the door. “Thanks.”
The door was closed before I could say anything else. I asked the driver to wait until she went inside, though, before I had him go. The ride back to my place was quiet, but at least I wasn’t alone. I hadn’t been alone since it’d happened, and for the first time, I was glad my budget hadn’t yet allowed for a car. I wasn’t sure I would’ve been safe to drive myself after what’d happened. As it was, I struggled to keep my thoughts from straying back to those horrible moments.
“I didn’t want to ask you when that girl was in the car, but were you guys at the school when that shooting happened?” The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting mine for a second before going back to the road. “I heard something about it on the news.”