Page 21 of Peak Suspicion
He wasn’t calling his brother. Instead, he punched in Mira’s number. The call went straight to voicemail. She probably kept her phone off while she was teaching. He tried to come up with something to say that wouldn’t sound too pushy, but words failed him.
The door to the office opened and his mother emerged. “I found out what’s going on at the school,” she said.
“What is it?” Carter asked.
“There’s a bomb threat. Can you believe it?”
“Probably some kid who wanted to get out of a math test,” Dalton said.
“What if it’s real?”
Everyone stared at Carter. He shoved the Jeep keys at Dalton. “You take the tour this morning,” he said. “I have to get to the school.”
He didn’t wait for them to protest, or to tell him he had no business interfering. He had to make sure Mira was all right.
Chapter Seven
Mira stood with Shayla and half a dozen other teachers on the sidewalk across the street from the school. Administrators had given up trying to get the students to wait outside in orderly groups, especially after word of the bomb threat spread and their parents began arriving. They had dismissed classes for the day an hour ago. Most of the students had dispersed, leaving the staff to linger in the parking lot while a team called in from a neighboring county searched the building with dogs and electronics designed to detect explosives.
Shayla hugged her arms across her chest. “How much longer is this going to take?” she asked. “I wish I had thought to grab my purse and my keys.”
“Someone said they’re searching all the classrooms, offices and lockers,” Mira said. “I guess that takes a while.”
“If this turns out to be a prank, I hope they find who’s responsible and make him do detention for a year,” Shayla said.
“It must be a prank,” Mira said. “Why would anyone want to blow up the school?”
“Why does anyone do anything awful?” Shayla asked. “Why did someone try to kidnap Bryce Atkinson?”
“Have you heard anything more about that?” Mira asked. “Have they found the kidnapper?”
“I have no idea,” Shayla said.
“I thought maybe Mitch’s dad had heard something on his police scanner.”
“If he has, I haven’t heard.”
Something in her voice made Mira look at her more closely. “Is something wrong? You sound upset.”
Shayla shook her head, eyes downcast. “It’s nothing.”
Mira nudged her. “You sure you don’t want to talk?”
“It’s so silly.” She uncrossed her arms and shook her hands, as if trying to dry them. “I feel like I’m thirteen again.”
Mira laughed. “That sounds like every relationship I’ve ever been in.”
“I tried to work up the courage to ask Mitch out yesterday, but I couldn’t do it,” Shayla said. “And as I was stumbling over my words, he looked at me so oddly. He probably thinks I’m losing my mind.”
“He was probably just distracted,” Mira said. “He was worried about his father.”
Shayla nodded, though she didn’t look convinced.
“Mira!”
They turned to see Carter making his way through the crowd. He stopped in front of them, out of breath.
“What are you doing here?” Mira looked around. “Did someone call search and rescue?”
