Page 21 of Little Child Gone (Nikki Hunt #10)

In 1993, Nikki’s freshman class had been among the first kids to attend the newly built high school. Since then, the school had continued to grow into the sprawling campus it was today. If she hadn’t been with Holly, she probably would have gotten lost.

“Things change fast,” Holly answered when Nikki told her she couldn’t recognize a single part of the building. “I’ve been here six years, and I’m amazed at how much certain things change every year. Usually technology.” She laughed. “It moves way too fast for me to keep up with.”

“Me too.”

As they walked Nikki asked about Eli Robertson.

“As I told Principal Carlson, we haven’t seen anything linking Taylor to Eli’s disappearance.

But I’m not involved in Eli’s case, so I don’t have many details to compare.

Do you know Eli?” With a student body of more than two thousand, she likely didn’t know half the students’ names.

But given their limited knowledge about Eli’s case, Nikki felt it was worth asking the question.

“I do,” Holly answered. “I volunteered to help with the fall play. It was The Outsiders , and Eli played Randy, one of the rich kids. He was so good. Our last show was four days before he disappeared.”

“What can you tell me about him?”

“He seemed to be well-liked,” Holly answered. “Seemed to be friends with everyone. Or at least friendly.”

“Did he have issues with anyone at school?” Nikki asked.

“Not at all,” Holly answered. “He’s close with his family, and his parents are both high achievers.”

“He was walking home from school?” Nikki wanted to see if the information matched what Chen had told her yesterday.

“No, he was at the Jaycee Ball Fields, from what I’ve heard.

They found his phone, but no sign of him.

” She put her hand over her heart. “A parent’s worst nightmare.

I don’t know how you recover from the death of a child.

I know he might still be alive, but it’s been weeks now.

After Scott Williams, I’m just terrified it’s going to happen again. ”

Scott had also been a freshman when he disappeared and should have been a sophomore this year. Nikki had spoken with a lot of school staff during the initial days after Scott’s disappearance, but Holly hadn’t been one of them. “Did you know Scott?”

“No, and I’m selfishly happy that I didn’t.” Holly scanned her ID card to access the music department. Nikki heard the horns as soon as the doors opened.

Both the band and choir had been excellent during Nikki’s time, and their successes at the state and national level over the years had led to a much larger space.

Memories flooded back as she neared the band room.

She’d played clarinet in high school until her parents’ murders, and she’d dropped everything but school.

She’d enjoyed band, but Nikki was never serious enough about it to practice at home very often, so the clarinet was always stored in the instrument rooms.

She still had nightmares about not being able to find her clarinet in the sea of black cases.

“Was Principal Carlson going to call down and let him know we’re coming?”

“I doubt it,” Holly said as they neared the band room, the rich sound filling the corridor. “The music secretary doesn’t come in for another hour, and Mr. Cohen ignores the phone during practice.”

Holly stopped at the band room entrance. Definitely a larger room than she remembered, with several rows of tiered risers. Holly knocked hard on the open door several times before the band director finally signaled to stop.

“Can I help you?” His slim hands froze in midair, the conductor’s baton in his right hand.

“Could we speak to you privately, Mr. Cohen?”

He scowled. “We’re still in the middle of practice.

” Cohen raised the baton again, but Nikki cleared her throat, holding up her badge.

High schools were breeding grounds for rumors, and they had to talk to the students, so it was only a matter of time before they all knew about Taylor. “Mr. Cohen, it’s urgent.”

The entire band stared at Nikki for a moment before the whispering started. Cohen put the baton on the music stand and stepped down from the podium. His baby-blue sweater looked itchy, and his fair skin had splotches of red. Sweat lined the brow of his sandy-blond hair.

“You’re an FBI agent? What’s this about? Eli Robertson was in theatre, not band.”

“My name is Nikki Hunt. I’m sorry to interrupt practice, but Taylor Hall is missing.

I need to talk to the band together, as well as privately with his closest friends.

” Nikki’s announcement sucked the air out of the room.

She scanned the sea of faces, searching for any unusual reaction to the news.

As much as Nikki hated coming in like this, time was of the absolute essence in these cases.

If Taylor hadn’t gone off on his own, they needed to find him in the first twenty-four hours.

Their chances of finding him alive dropped substantially after that.

“Missing?” Cohen pushed his floppy hair off his forehead. “How could he be missing? I assumed he was sick like Logan.”

Nikki checked her mental notes from earlier. “He’s one of Taylor’s close friends?”

Cohen nodded. “He left a message saying he had the flu. Are you sure Taylor isn’t with him?”

“His parents called there first,” Nikki said. “We’ll be heading to speak with Logan, but right now, I need to speak with anyone in Taylor’s orbit. Would you mind telling the kids?”

“Aren’t you going to do that?” Cohen asked.

“I can,” Nikki answered. “But I thought you might want to make the initial announcement since they have a relationship with you. Ms. Black is here to act as guardian while I talk to the kids since they’re all minors. We’ll need somewhere more private.”

Cohen’s red cheeks paled. He turned on his heel, motioning for her to follow him to the podium.

He stepped onto the podium, the baton visibly shaking.

“I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news.

” His Adam’s apple stuck out of his thin throat as he spoke.

“As Agent Hunt said, Taylor Hall has disappeared.” He paused as the entire band gasped.

“He’s probably fine, but of course law enforcement has to take his disappearance seriously. Agent Hunt is going to tell you more.”

He stepped down and offered her the podium.

Nikki felt foolish standing on it, but she wanted to see the back of the room, where the drumline stood in shock.

“Thanks, Mr. Cohen.” She looked out at the sea of eyes, holding her badge for everyone to see.

“My name is Nikki Hunt, and I’m a Special Agent with the FBI.

As Mr. Cohen said, Taylor Hall hasn’t been heard from since he left school yesterday afternoon to walk to his job at Menards.

He didn’t show up to work and wasn’t there when his mom came at the end of his shift.

” She scanned the shocked faces in front of her.

“Right now, we still think it’s possible Taylor went somewhere on his own.

That’s why we need to talk with his friends.

No one is in trouble or being accused of anything.

I’m just trying to piece together Taylor’s day yesterday. Who’s closest with Taylor?”

Half the drumline’s hands raised. “Okay, I’d like to talk to each one of you privately. Mr. Cohen, is there somewhere quiet we could go?”

“The smaller practice rooms are just down the hall,” he said. “They should be unlocked.”

Nikki pointed to the dark-haired girl standing next to the bass drum—the only female bass drummer.

“You’re Neena, right?” She smiled, trying to set her at ease.

“The Halls spoke highly of you.” Nikki knew how quickly certain types of kids could turn Nikki’s focus on Neena into a weapon. “Why don’t we talk first?

“Ms. Black is sitting in because you’re a minor,” Nikki told Neena when they reached the practice room. “She understands that everything you tell me stays here since it’s an active case.” Nikki glanced at the paraeducator to make sure she got the message.

Holly smiled encouragingly at Neena. “Absolutely. I can leave if you prefer?—”

“I’d like you to stay,” Nikki said. “Interviewing minors without a parent or another adult isn’t ethical. And it’s scary, I’m sure.” She smiled at Neena, who’d yet to speak a word.

Her dark eyes met Nikki’s. “I’ve seen you on crime shows on ID. If you’re here, he’s not just missing. This is bad.” Her lower lip quivered.

Nikki wanted to give her a hug. “How long have you known Taylor?”

“Since band camp last August.”

“Tell me more about him,” Nikki encouraged.

“He’s a really good drummer,” Neena said. “We both played quads for marching band and ended up next to each other. I don’t know how familiar you are with school bands,” Neena said. “But band camp is really intense. You learn the routine for the fall, and it’s worse for freshmen.”

“I actually played clarinet my first couple of years in high school,” Nikki said. “Please tell me the band uniforms aren’t wool anymore. My sophomore year, it was really hot for the first home football game. Something like ten degrees above average, even at night. My friend nearly passed out.”

“They’re still wool,” Neena said. “Itchy and awful.”

“Seriously?”

“You can get uniforms in Dac Wool, which is a blend of wool and polyester, or even a hundred percent polyester. Wool’s the most expensive and the material breathes better.” Neena shrugged. “If we were in the south, I’m sure we’d go polyester. But those October games can be frigid.”

“Fair point,” Nikki replied. “I love drumlines. How many quads do you have?”

“Six during marching band season,” she answered. “Taylor and I had to try out, and the rest are older kids. I think that’s part of the reason we bonded. Freshmen aren’t usually good enough for marching band drumline.”

“Did you and Taylor get flack for that?”

“Not really,” she said. “The older kids have been pretty cool.”