Chapter Twenty-Five
Nathan
"After the park, don't you think I should go in by myself?" Bree asked.
We were following the signs toward Norman Academy. I gripped the steering wheel and tried to stay under the speed limit though I was anxious to get there as fast as possible.
"Did you forget you totally froze?" I asked Bree.
She shot me a look. "All I'm saying is that I'm better at actually smiling at people. You spent most of your time at the park looking like you were going to punch a tree or something."
"Fine. What's your cover story?" I asked.
Bree blinked. "Cover story?"
"Yes. You can't just walk in there and tell them the truth," I pointed out.
She ran both hands through her hair. "All right, fine. I'll tell them that I'm interested in sending my daughter there."
I followed the next sign and pulled into a parallel parking spot on the avenue leading up to the charter school. "So, you'll go on a tour. How's that going to help us figure out if Maggie is there?"
"Nathan, what are we going to do if Maggie is there?" Bree asked. "We don't know anything about her or how you got the photograph."
I strangled the steering wheel while I thought. "I'll have to go in, too. Maybe you can distract the front office secretary, and I can try to find a yearbook or a directory or something. We need to know more than Maggie's first name."
Bree nodded. "Okay. Who goes first?"
We decided that Bree should go first and start distracting the secretary with questions about a tour. I gave her a head start up the school's driveway, waited a minute, and then followed her.
Bree was stuck on the front steps of Norman Academy having a panic attack.
"Just distract them," I hissed as I opened the door for her. Then I raised my voice to a normal level and asked Bree, "Are you feeling well, miss?"
She stumbled in the door, shaking her head. "Maybe I just need to sit down."
The secretary popped out from behind her desk and ushered Bree to a seat near the windows. The entryway was more like the formal foyer of a mansion than the lobby of a school. High windows arched over Bree's chair and a crystal chandelier twinkled above her head. The polished parquet floor was covered by a thick Berber rug. The secretary knelt on it as she worried over Bree.
"Are you okay, miss?" she asked.
"I'll be fine. This nice man can go first. I just need a minute," Bree said breathlessly.
The secretary stood up and marched back to her desk before giving me a suspicious look. "How can I help you, sir?"
"Nice place you've got here." I tried a conversational tone but the secretary's shoulders went rigid. "I'm wondering if you have a lost and found. I've got a backpack that I think belongs to one of your students."
The school secretary gave a pointed look at my empty hands. "If you don't have a student here, sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave."
I held up both hands. "I'm just trying to do the right thing and return a missing backpack. I think the student's name is Maggie."
The secretary popped out from behind her desk and tried to shoo me toward the front doors. "You need to leave, sir. Now."
"What about Maggie?" I asked. "I bet she's missing her stuff."
"Leave now, sir, or I'll be forced to call security." The secretary reached out one delicate hand and hovered it over her desk phone.
"Security? I thought this was a regional charter school. Did something happen?" I asked.
"If you don't have a student at this school, you need to leave right now. I've been instructed to call security and the police if necessary," the secretary said.
Bree let out a little moan.
"You okay, miss?" I asked Bree.
She looked dead pale as she struggled to her feet. "I was going to ask about a tour but I should have called first."
The secretary rushed over. "No, miss, I'm sorry. I didn't mean you. I'd love to give you some of our brochures and maybe schedule a time for a tour."
"But I have to leave?" I asked.
Both women shot me looks for different reasons. The secretary had clearly pegged me as someone to worry about, while Bree was trying to send the message for me to keep my mouth closed.
I held up both hands again and backed toward the front desk. "Fine, fine. I'll just be going."
The secretary wheeled around and pointed toward the door. "Thank you for cooperating, sir."
Behind the secretary's back, Bree winked at me and then let out a worried squeak. She swayed and caught at the secretary's wrist. I rushed forward as Bree collapsed onto the Berber rug but the secretary waved me back.
"Oh, miss! Are you okay? She fainted! Call security!" The secretary knelt next to Bree.
A teacher appeared out of the first doorway, dropped a thick textbook, and rushed over to help. "Her eyes are fluttering. Is she having a seizure?"
I sprang out of the way as a heavy-set man in a navy-blue uniform shoved past me. "Here's security," I called.
The trio around Bree ignored me completely. I paused as her legs and arms began a very believable shaking. Bree writhed around on the floor, her grip hard on the secretary's wrist, and I was torn. Either Bree was a very good actress or she was really sick.
Her eyes flashed wildly at me as the teacher caught her head and tried to calm her down.
I took my chance and slipped around the secretary's desk. A small door was open behind it, and I dodged inside before shutting it quietly behind me. I could still hear the trio arguing about the best way to help a seizure but I knew I didn't have very long.
The top shelf of the little office was lined with yearbooks but I didn't have time to flip through the pages. Luckily, there was a computer on the counter and it buzzed to life when I tapped the keyboard. It didn't take long for me to find the directory window.
"Thank god," I muttered when the password screen was already filled in.
I punched 'go' and the search screen appeared. There were a dozen boxes to fill in but I only knew the student's first name. If she actually was a student there.
I heard more worried voices join the trio in the front lobby. I skipped guessing Maggie's age and hit send.
Nothing happened. Then a red alert appeared. No results.
I smacked my forehead and frantically deleted her first name. Then I typed in Margaret and hit 'send.'
There were three Margarets, one already graduated, one a senior, and one young enough to be the girl in the picture.
Her name was Maggie Wheeler.
I wanted to write down all her information. It was all there: her birthdate, last known address, everything. Then I heard Bree's weak voice.
"What happened? How long have I been out?" Bree called.
I erased my search and slipped back out of the small office door just in time to see the group of people helping Bree to her feet. She saw me and stumbled, buying me enough time to slip out the front door and down the school driveway.
Maggie Wheeler. I repeated the name to myself like a mantra while I waited for Bree to get back to our rusted-out car. The little girl's name was Maggie Wheeler.
Bree yanked open the passenger door and jumped in. "Go, quick! I bet those good Samaritans are going to come out any second to check on me."
I swung the car around and sped away from Norman Academy. "What did you tell them?"
Bree smoothed back her tangled hair and smiled. "I told them I had just been prescribed seizure medication but I had left it in my car."
"I gotta say your acting was pretty convincing," I told her.
"Maybe too good. They all but carried me out the door and I practically had to start crying, telling them how embarrassed I was, before they left me alone."
We drove another mile or two while Bree untangled her hair with her fingers. Finally satisfied that she was back to normal, Bree turned to me and gave me a pointed look.
"What?" I asked her finally.
Bree smacked my arm. "Well? What did you find out?"
She was angry, thinking that I was trying to keep information from her again. "Sorry. I was so distracted by your acting."
"Please tell me you found something out. I don't want to know that I rolled around on the floor and embarrassed myself for nothing."
I patted her knee. "I was impressed. That's not for nothing, right?"
Bree swatted my hand away. "Nathan, you promised you wouldn't keep anything from me anymore."
"Her name is Maggie Wheeler," I said. "That's all I got."
Bree turned to look out the car window but not before I saw her disappointed expression. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Well, at least we got another clue."
"One piece of the puzzle at a time," I said.
Bree took another few minutes before she squared her shoulders and decided to be optimistic again. "We know her last name. Good. Now, how about that picnic?"