Page 32 of Missing Pieces (Brantley Walker: Off the Books #12)

He tried to shake it off as he eased into one of the armless chairs facing the principal’s desk. One minute, he’d been walking into the high school to talk about a missing bronze statue, only to find himself agreeing to dinner with Slade’s parents.

How did that happen?

More importantly, what the fuck was he supposed to do now? He’d never met anyone’s parents before. Hell, he’d never officially dated anyone. Not until … well, now .

Voices sounded outside the office, and Atticus tried to pull himself together before Callie Jameson walked into the room.

When she came into view, he checked her out, curious whether she looked like Rose or not. He knew the family tree had many branches, but since he’d yet to ask Slade about it, he wasn’t sure how they were related.

Callie looked nothing like Rose. She was younger.

Probably early- to mid-forties if the lines around her eyes were anything to go by.

She had long, board-straight, white-blonde hair and big blue eyes.

Her makeup was applied with a light touch, and she wore a CRHS sweatshirt and jeans—not at all what he’d expected—making her look more like one of the students rather than the woman in charge of the place.

She must’ve noticed Atticus checking out her attire because she said, “It’s spirit week.”

“Homecoming already?” Slade asked.

“I know. Seems like school just started,” she said, grinning widely. “It’s good to see you, Slade.”

“Likewise.”

“And you must be Atticus,” she said, holding out her hand.

Atticus shook it, surprised that his palm was dry despite the butterflies doing the jitterbug in his chest cavity.

Callie moved around behind the large desk, her gaze shifting between them as she took a seat. “What can I do for you?”

“We’re here to talk about the statue,” Atticus said, wondering why she sounded like she had no idea why they were there.

Her white-blonde eyebrows angled down, her big blue eyes shifting between them. “The statue?”

“The missing one,” he clarified.

Her eyes darted to the door, then back to him. “How’d you hear about that?”

Slade barked a laugh. “You seriously think no one’s noticed the infamous mustang statue missing from in front of the school?”

Infamous? Why did Slade use that adjective? What was up with this statue?

“I was hopin’ they haven’t.”

Okay, so maybe this was something they kept in one of those trophy cases and not the large kind he’d been thinking.

Atticus’s eyebrows lifted. “How big of a statue are we talkin’ about?”

“Big,” Slade stated. “Oh, wait. Hold on.” He got to his feet and leaned over Callie’s desk, grabbing a book off a shelf. “I bet it’s in here.”

Atticus waited while Slade flipped through the pages of a yearbook before stopping on one. He set the book down, pointing toward…

“Holy shi— ishkabob ,” he blurted, barely stopping the curse. “That’s a real statue.”

Callie nodded. “I know.”

“And it’s missing?”

She nodded again.

“How?”

“I think that’s what you’re here for, right?”

Right. But … how? Atticus couldn’t wrap his head around how a bronze statue that weighed at least—

“How much does that thing weigh?”

“Fifteen hundred pounds, probably,” Slade said.

— fifteen hundred pounds had simply disappeared from in front of the school.

“Do you think it’s a prank?” Slade asked Callie.

“It seems a bit extreme, but I can’t think of another reason. It’s not like it’s worth anything.”

“It’s bronze,” Atticus stated. “That’s worth somethin’, right?”

“About two bucks per pound,” Callie said. “But a statue that size is cast hollow. Only the exterior is bronze.”

“Maybe the person who took it didn’t know that?” Atticus wouldn’t have known. Then again, he’d never considered hijacking a statue, bronze or otherwise.

“My guess is it’s a prank. For homecoming,” Callie supplied.

“Your students? Or the rival team?” Slade asked.

Atticus frowned. “Prank?”

“Believe it or not, this is mild compared to some of the things they’ve done,” Callie answered. “My senior year, we relocated this entire office out to the middle of the baseball field. Constructed walls and everything.”

Atticus glanced around the room, trying to imagine.

He couldn’t.

However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense that it was a prank.

Regardless of why, whoever took it would have to be determined because it wouldn’t be light enough to haul away unless someone had a tow truck or a trailer.

Something to load it onto. Not to mention, something to move it with.

“To answer your question, if anyone took it, I’d say it was CRHS students.”

“Who’d you think of first?” Slade asked Callie.

She frowned. “What?”

“When you first noticed it missing, what names came to mind?”

“Leif and Lance Walker,” she said without hesitation.

“Are they here today?” Atticus asked. “Can we talk to them?”

Slade barked a laugh. “I’m pretty sure they’re long past pullin’ pranks at the high school.”

Callie smiled. “I know. But there’s no one better.”

Atticus frowned.

“I think Braydon and Brendon pulled a few stellar ones back in their day.”

Listening raptly to their back and forth, Atticus tried to take mental notes.

“True.”

“But anyone now?”

She shook her head. “Not really, no.”

Damn. They had zero suspects.

“How long’s it been missing?” Atticus asked, trying not to get lost in the conversation.

“It was there on Monday when I left for the day,” she said. “When I came in on Tuesday, it was gone.”

“And you really think no one’s noticed?”

“Of course they noticed,” Callie said. “But I’m tryin’ to keep it quiet. Like I said, it’s Spirit Week, so there’s a lot goin’ on. I need this to stay quiet for as long as possible.”

“And on Friday, when the football team goes out to take the annual picture with it…?” Slade grinned.

Callie frowned.

“What?” Atticus didn’t understand.

Callie looked at him and exhaled. “As soon as people start talkin’, word’s gonna get back to the superintendent.”

Atticus didn’t understand. “You have a problem with … that person?”

“Only that he’s my brother, and I really don’t want him comin’ down here to give me shit about a giant statue walkin’ away on my watch.”

“Understood.” Atticus grinned. “You know we’re gonna have to ask around, right? It’s the only way to find it.”

“I know,” she said solemnly. “Just maybe do it quick so my brother doesn’t have a chance to get on his high horse.”

Slade shook his head. “Still with the puns, huh, Callie?”

Slade followed Atticus out of the school , taking the route to show him where the statue usually stood.

“How hard would it be to steal somethin’ like that?” Atticus asked as they stared at the empty concrete pad where the mustang had resided for as long as Slade could remember.

“Probably not as difficult as you might think.”

“Really?”

Slade gestured toward the concrete pad. “If they have the equipment to lift it, it’s really easy.

Otherwise, the statue sits on a base, so as long as someone has something to jack it up with, they could push something beneath it with wheels.

From there, it’s a matter of pulling it onto a trailer.

Would definitely take a wench to get it up there.

I guess someone determined enough could probably pull it up onto a flatbed truck, provided the bed tilted. ”

At least, that was how Slade saw it playing out.

Atticus was frowning at him. “You’ve given this some thought.”

Laughing, Slade shook his head. “Stealing it was one of the options for our senior prank. We just couldn’t figure out where to put it. Since no one could come up with a way to get it into the courtyard or on top of the school, we went a different route.”

“How were you plannin’ on movin’ it?”

“My cousins own Walker Demolition. They had the tools.”

“Could they have done it?”

“No.”

“Maybe their kids?”

“None of them are old enough.”

“You sound certain.”

“Trust me, if one of my cousins did this, I would know.”

“It seems like a lot of work,” Atticus mused as they turned to walk back to the truck.

“Probably, but it’s about the shock value.”

“If nobody notices it’s gone, where’s the shock in it?” Atticus asked.

Slade opened the driver’s door, climbed in. “That’ll come when it reappears.”

“Someone’s just gonna put it back?”

“Of course they are.” Slade grinned. “Just won’t be where it’s supposed to be.”

“You sound like you’ve done this before.”

“Not with the mustang,” Slade told him as he started the truck and put it in drive . “My senior year, we relocated the goats from the Ag building.”

“Goats?”

“Yep.”

“Where’d you put them?”

“In the common area.” Slade laughed. “Then we opened the doors so they could come in and roam the halls. It took them hours to find where they’d all gone.”

“Interesting.”

“What about you? What did you do for your senior prank?”

Atticus glanced his way, then looked down. “I didn’t go to a traditional high school.”

“Where’d you go?”

When Atticus looked back at him, Slade knew the answer wasn’t easy for Atticus to say.

“Mental hospital.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Atticus gestured toward the empty space. “Got any ideas on where to look first?”

“I say we start by checking to see if any students have parents who own or work at a heavy equipment company. Or maybe someone who has access to a tow truck.”

“Good idea. Know anyone who might have that information?”

Slade glanced back at the school and grinned. “I think I do.”

“Who?”

He chuckled. “I call her Mama.”