Page 76 of Dying Truth

‘But he’s on his way here right now,’ she said.

So that was how the woman had been able to pluck the information from nowhere.

‘For what?’ Bryant asked.

‘A welfare check,’ Thorpe answered. ‘All of the boys in Shaun’s class are being checked on. It’s traumatic for all the boys.’

‘How long ago did you send for him?’ Kim asked.

‘About five or ten minutes,’ the woman answered.

‘Which is it, five or ten? How long should it take for him to get here?’

She shrugged. ‘Not very long but I don’t understand—’

‘Come on, Bryant,’ Kim said, sprinting out of the office.

* * *

‘I know where the physics class is,’ Bryant said, leading the way. ‘You have to pass it to get coffee.’

They sprinted along the corridors for a full two minutes before Bryant stopped and pointed across the hallway.

‘That’s it,’ he said.

Kim thrust open the door to the surprise of a middle-aged woman who turned to her and frowned at the sudden intrusion.

‘Christian Fellows?’ she asked.

The woman shook her head. ‘He’s with the principal right—’

‘Damn it,’ Kim said, closing the door. They had just taken the route he would have followed, and they hadn’t met him on the way.

‘Okay, back we go,’ Kim said. ‘Sweeping every room.’

The kid had to be somewhere.

Bryant’s eyes widened. ‘Do you know how many rooms there are between—’

The door she’d just closed suddenly opened. ‘May I help you with something, officer?’

‘Christian isn’t with the principal, and we need to speak to him urgently,’ Kim said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

‘Well, he can’t have gone far,’ she replied. ‘I’m sure he’s just been dawdling along somewhere.’

Kim prayed to God she was right.

‘Boys,’ she called, and twenty young bodies appeared in the hallway. ‘Teams of two, full search of all areas between here and the admin block. Go.’

The boys began running in all directions.

‘Thank you. We’ll head back to the office to see if he’s turned up there yet,’ Kim said.

‘I’ll alert the next classroom and get more children searching.’

Kim thanked her before she and Bryant began the sprint back to the principal’s office.

‘Damn it, Bryant, where the hell is…’