Page 27 of Scorched (Killer #2)

Gerri stared at her raised hand and back at her daughter. Her hand dropped to her side, her shoulders sagging. “I wanted you to have all the things I didn’t.”

“But I don’t want them, Mom. I just want to go to school, graduate and get the hell out of the house. Away from my crazy mother who won’t quit embarrassing me in front of the entire school.”

Gerri’s own eyes glazed as she stared across at her daughter as if for the first time. “But you’re my baby. I love you.”

“Just let me live my life, my way.” Ashley’s face softened. “Come on, Mom. Let’s get out of here.”

“One question before you leave.” Paul stood between them and the doorway. “Did either one of you throw a brick at Ms. Johnson’s car yesterday around four o’clock?”

Ashley and Gerri Finch both blinked.

“I was getting a facial at that time,” Gerri answered.

“I have cheer practice every day after school,” Ashley said. “Someone threw a brick at your car?” The young woman turned to Elise, her forehead creased in a frown. “I might have been mad at you, but not that mad. ”

“It wasn’t them.” A tall Hispanic man with a heavy accent, pushed Caesar Valdez through the door, his hand clenched around the boy’s collar. “Tell them.”

Caesar, his chin tucked into his chest, scuffed his toe on the tile. “I threw the brick, Ms. Johnson. I’m sorry.”

Elise couldn’t stop the gasp, but when Paul tensed beside her, she put out a hand to hold him back. She nodded at Ashley and her mother. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Ashley?”

Ashley’s gaze shot from Caesar to Elise and back. She looked like she wanted to stay for the show.

“You two have a lot to talk about at home.” Elise followed them to the door, ushering them out. “Goodbye, Ashley, Mrs. Finch.” She closed the door and turned to Caesar, her heart pounding against her chest. “Surely you knew that throwing a brick at my car could hurt me, maybe even kill me.”

“I wanted to hurt you.” He threw back his head and glared at her. “I’m tired of school. It’s a waste of time. If I wasn’t stuck in class, I could get out and get a job now.”

“A job paying no more than minimum wage for the rest of your life. You can do better than that. You can do better than me.” The man beside Caesar stuck out his hand. “Raul Valdez. Caesar’s father.”

The man’s large paw engulfed Elise’s small hand, the rough calluses from hard physical labor scraping against her softer skin.

“What Caesar isn’t saying is that he’s having trouble with all of his classes, and he wants to give up,” his father said. “He wants to quit school, so he’s acting up in all his classes, hoping they’ll kick him out.”

Elise stepped forward. “Caesar, you can’t give up.”

“When will I ever use stupid history? How will it help me get a job?”

“There are teachers all over this school who want to help you. All you have to do is be willing to try. We have after-school tutoring for every subject. I have early morning help in my class. Some of my students tutor.”

“I spend enough time in this hellhole. Why would I want to spend more?”

“Because you’re an intelligent young man and you can do anything you set your mind to,” Elise said.

“I’m not. I barely get by in this class and I’m failing in others.”

Elise laid a hand on his arm. “I’ll help you.”

“Why do you want to help me?” He stared at the hand on his arm. “I threw a freakin’ brick at your car.”

“Yes, you did.” Elise’s lips pressed into a line. “And you’ll pay to have it replaced. But to keep me from filing a report to the police, you’ll come to my class early every morning and study with me. Bring whatever subject you’re having difficulties with, and I’ll help.”

Caesar stared into Elise’s eyes, his brown ones brooding and suspicious. “Why?”

“Because, though you might think all teachers are here to torture you, we do care about our students’ futures.” Elise smiled and removed her hand from his arm. “And once upon a time, I didn’t think I could do anything with my life,” she said softly. “But I was wrong.”

All the years of marriage to Stan Klaus. How he’d controlled her life, how he’d insisted on her being a stay-at-home mom. Not so much for the sake of her boys, but because he didn’t want her to be smarter than him. He didn’t want her to go out into the world and be more important than he was.

“I want you to be successful, Caesar. I want you to know you can do better than pushing people around who are smaller than you. But you need to know that I won’t tolerate you threatening me or any other student ever again.”

“I understand if you want to press charges. He deserves it.” Caesar’s father glared at his son. “I also want you to understand that I raised him better, and he will make it up to you if you give him a chance. I’ll see to that.”

Elise raised her hands palms up. “It’s completely up to Caesar. Will you show up every day and work hard without complaint?”

Caesar sucked in a deep breath and let it out, thinking about her offer for a long minute. Finally, he shrugged. “Okay.” His father nudged him hard with his elbow. “Yes, ma’am.”

Caesar’s mouth twisted and he rubbed his ribs. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, then.” Elise grinned. “And Caesar, bring your books. ”

The Valdezes left her room and Elise stared after them.

Paul gripped her shoulders and leaned her against him. “Tough day?”

“You have no idea.” She turned and buried her face in his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist. “I didn’t think it could get more stressful. But it continues to do so.”

“I understand you were under the weather earlier?” He tipped her chin up and studied her face.

Elise could stand there forever, melting into his gaze, warming her body with the heat from his. “I had a gift left in my DVD player.” Before she could fill him in on what had happened earlier that day, a parent arrived at her door.

Elise forced a smile, gave the parent an update on her student and thanked her for coming.

Paul stood in a far corner, staring at a map on the wall, probably trying to be inconspicuous.

It wasn’t working. Paul’s broad shoulders and tough-guy stance made him hard to ignore. Elise’s gaze slipped to him more than she intended.

As soon as the mother left the room, Paul was beside her. “What gift?”

“A video of the news reports filmed two years ago after the Dakota Strangler went missing. ”

Paul’s fingers gripped her arms. “Where is the DVD?”

“I don’t have it. Alex and Kendall hid it before the principal could see it. I haven’t seen them since. And frankly, I’m worried.”

“Can you leave now?”

“I’m supposed to stay until seven o’clock, but I guess I could ask the principal to fill in for me.” She glanced at the clock. “Could you give me a few minutes to put my papers in order?”

“Yes, I have something I want to check on. Promise you won’t step outside this room until I get back?”

Elise smiled. If it had been Stan, he’d have demanded that she do exactly as he instructed. With Paul, he made it sound like she had a choice. “Yes, I promise to stay right here until you get back. Where are you going?”

“Do you know George, the janitor?”

Elise remembered seeing the janitors in the hallway, but she didn’t stick around after school long enough to get to know them. “No, not really, why?”

“Did you know that one of them lives behind you?”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“I think it’s the same George that Luke has been talking to through the fence.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Elise asked.

“I don’t know, but I wanted to check him out while I was here.”

“I think the janitors are here at this time. They usually come in after school gets out. I think the male janitor takes the cafeteria and the woman works the front offices.” She shrugged. “I try not to stay late very often. If I do, the boys are with me.”

Paul nodded. “I’ll be back in a minute. I want to talk to both janitors.”

Elise smiled. “I’ll be here.”

Paul left the room.

A few more parents wandered in. Elise gave them grade reports and talked about their students, while her mind wandered to what Paul was up to.

Could the janitor be the one terrorizing her and the women of Breuer? A janitor? Had Luke told him what their last names used to be? Elise didn’t think he would have remembered.

After what seemed a long time of watching her door, meeting with parents and generally gnashing her teeth, Elise straightened her desk, grabbed her purse and keys and headed for her classroom door. She’d stop by the principal’s office and let Principal Ford know she was leaving early.

As she stepped into the hallway, a loud boom shook the entire school. Elise dropped to the floor and covered her head as a blast of smoke and dust blew through the hallway.