Page 37 of Be A Detective, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said

“Sure, Mrs. Jefferson.” The old janitor began to walk away, but then he stopped. “Hey, is everything all right with you ladies? Anything I can help with?”

I smiled at him. “No, Mr. Yannis. But thank you. Go enjoy your Sunday.”

Both he and Cooper made their way out of the school, pushing open the double doors and heading into the cold morning.

We all looked at each other in total silence.

“She was looking for evidence,” Marty murmured.

Nina’s phone chirped then. Tottington’s familiar ringtone, “My Guy,” squawking in her back pocket. Dragging her cell from her hoodie, she read the text. “Holy shit!” She used her fingers to enlarge a pic he’d sent. “Welp, the factory did have a basement. That must be what Wings meant. The basement is here. The only trouble is, they damn well covered it up. It’s right beneath our feet.”

Gasping, Marty looked at the picture. “Holy cats,” she mumbled. “That has to be it! But how does that pertain to the missing children and, for that matter, missing supplies? You can’t get to the basement from up here. It’s under thousands of pounds of concrete.”

I looked at them. “There’s only one way to find out. Supply closet?”

Nina’s finger shot up in the air. “Hold on one fucking second, Wanda. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but you don’t know what you did in that supply closet that landed you where you ended up. What if you or any of us can’t get back here because the same thing happens to us?”

I felt my fear and my anger shoot straight toward the sky. “What if there’s a child who needs us and we’re busy fiddling around with what-ifs?”

Marty stomped her foot, the heel of her boot slapping the floor, leaving an echo in my ears. “Wanda, we need to understand what happened to you and make sure it’s safe to go find this child you say you heard. I’m with Nina on this. We’re no good to anyone if we end up missing, too!”

“So who do we call to investigate this, ladies? Ghostbusters? The Supply Closet Police?” I began to walk away from them, on fire with the need to go back to the supply closet.

That had to be the key here.

“Aw, c’mon, Wanda!” Nina called after me. “Don’t be like that. We’re just lookin’ out. You’d do the same.”

Whirling around, even though I knew she was right, I shook a finger at them. “I almost don’t know you two right now! Since when have we ever been afraid to walk into a dangerous situation? Since when? I know these children are somehow connected to Neerie’s disappearance. I know I heard a child cry out for help. I’m not going to avoid going to the big bad supply closet just because it’s scary!” I yelled.

Marty trailed after me. I heard the restraint in her voice as she tried to keep her tone even and calming. “It has nothing to do with it being scary, Wanda. It has to do with maybe ending up somewhere we can’t get back from—which helps no one. We need a plan. A better one than just rushing into the abyss of the unknown.”

I said something then, something borne out of fear and exhaustion and acute frustration. Something I regret deeply.

“As I live and breathe, I never thought I’d see the day when you both think we should wait to save a child! You’re both monsters!”

Nina was in front of me in a flash, her fangs elongated, her eyes afire. “Goddammit, Wanda, I’d punch you in your perfect face right now if I didn’t know you just said that because you’re tired and bitchy! You know me as well as anybody, and you fucking know there’s no way I’d ever let a kid suffer on purpose—and neither would Marty! What a shitty thing to say to us.”

But in the moment, I was so angry at what I perceived as their lack of bravery, I walked around Nina and made my way down the hall, head held high.

“Wanda!” Marty shouted, her voice bouncing off the lockers. All restraint gone. “Do not go to that supply closet or I’ll take you out myself!”

I stopped at the end of the hall and pivoted, my eyes narrowed so they’d know there was no doubt I was angry. “I’m going to use the ladies’ room, if you don’t mind. I mean, the kids can wait, right?”

“I’m gonna kill her, Marty!” Nina bellowed as I entered the girls’ bathroom, letting the door cut off Nina’s threats.

I gripped the sink’s edge, my head throbbing, my thoughts a swirling mess.

I shouldn’t have said that to Nina. I know how much she loves children, how she’d lay her own life down for one. I was cruel in my frustration and I won’t excuse it. I owed her an apology.

I flipped on the tap to splash some cool water on my face and adjust my attitude when a text came in that made me smile. It was from Principal Mathers. Sam’s test results had come in from the board of the council members here at the school, and as I read them, it was no surprise to me to learn he was in the top one percent of all paranormals tested.

He’d be so pleased, and I could really use the good news right now. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell him. There’d be no living with him, but I wanted him to stay excited about learning and if giving him more challenging work was the key, I say unlock that door.

Washing my hands, letting the cool water cascade over my heated skin, I was taking some deep, cleansing breaths when my phone rang.

I smiled again because it was my husband, who always made me smile. I rushed to dry off and clicked the answer button.

“Hi, honey! How’s your day going?”

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