Latent Danger (On the Line #2)(8)

She fixed on the campus, now, as they entered the grounds of Elmhurst Academy. Anything was better than focusing on the man in the passenger seat. Zach Reynolds was one of those men whose presence took over whatever space he was in. Her SUV had been the best car for accommodating her, Ronan, and Zach for the trip to the academy, but despite its size, it wasn’t nearly big enough to offset the feelings he induced whenever he was near her.

Still, there was no way she was going there again with this man. Been there, done that. If there was one thing Shauna wasn’t, it was foolish. She didn’t do things like repeat mistakes of the past. So, instead, she shut out the testosterone coming in waves from the man beside her and looked at the school grounds.

A mile-long paved drive brought them onto the grounds, and a large stone sign announced that they had arrived at Elmhurst Academy. The school was known for catering to Connecticut’s elite. Sure, there were a few spots for scholarship students each year, but the vast majority of the pupils came from families of wealth and a certain standing in the community that would take them places no matter how they performed in school.

Large shade trees dotted the landscape, except for the sports fields off to the right of the drive. Those, of course, were clear of trees. The white goal posts and netting on either end of each field told which sport they were designed to accommodate.

“I assume the campus has been searching for any sign of Carrie?” Shauna asked, keenly aware that this case not only dealt with the dead, but one girl who was still out there.

“Yes,” Ronan answered from the back seat. “By us, and by volunteers. Every stick of wood out there on the grounds and every room in the buildings.”

Up ahead, red brick buildings spread across the property. Somehow, despite sharing the same materials as the brick buildings of most public schools, the architecture screamed prosperity and affluence. Students wandered the grounds and green landscaping ATVs carried groundskeepers as they tended to the immaculate shrubbery and flower beds.

Ronan pointed to a large building to the left as he looked up from his phone. A large white building with columns and a series of three heavy wood double doors spanning the front. “That one is where the head’s office is.”

Zach spoke up. “Andrew Carville is the head of the school. We haven’t met with him directly yet.”

Shauna shot him a look that asked why the hell not.

“Cal Rylan and Jarrod Harmon have been handling things on the campus while we handled the Athill family.” It was how their captain had wanted it. He wanted the family getting lots of face time with detectives. But screw it, Zach was done with that. He needed to be out on the streets working the case, not hamstrung in any way just because the family needed hand holding and their status made the captain want to give it to them.

A man wearing a light-yellow collared shirt and khaki pants exited one of the large wooden doors and stood on the top step, watching as they piled out of the SUV.

“That’s Carville,” Zach murmured under his breath. The photo on the campus page had shown him in a suit and tie instead of the more casual clothes he wore now, but it was the same man.

Carville glanced around before approaching and Shauna realized most of the students had slipped inside the buildings, presumably to get to classes. A few stragglers stopped to stare at them as they spoke to the head of the school.

Following quick introductions, Carville showed them to his office pausing only to introduce them to his secretary and ask that she hold his calls.

“It’s true, then? Adrienne has been murdered?”

“I’m afraid so,” Shauna answered. She knew he’d been called and informed earlier, but this reaction was fairly expected. Everyone always seemed to hold out hope there’d been some kind of error. She never could understand that. Why would the police call to tell you someone at your school, place of business, or wherever had been murdered if they weren’t one hundred percent sure of that fact?

“And Carrie? Have you located Carrie yet?” Carville led them all to a small conference table and waved a hand for them to sit as he took the position at the head of the table. The office was large, taking up at least a third of the first-floor space in the building. Its furnishings had New England charm written all over them and looked like they might be heirlooms of the school.

“No.” Zach sat back in his chair. “Were the two of them close?”

“Yes.” Carville frowned and the lines in his face became more pronounced. Shauna would put his age somewhere in his later fifties or early sixties. “They were very close. When Carrie first went missing, we questioned Adrienne very closely. We thought for sure Carrie had run off and her friends would know where she was staying. That one of them would be hiding her.” He looked to the detectives. “You don’t suppose there’s still a chance Carrie ran away?”

Zach didn’t answer. Shauna didn’t either. For his part, Ronan seemed to be happy observing and taking notes. Shauna wondered if that was typical for Zach and Ronan.

“Who else were the girls close with?” Zach asked instead of speculating on Carrie’s status.

Carville’s face seemed to fall a bit, but he answered readily enough. “Hillary Hunt and Kate Sorino.” He frowned. “Liz Gordon and she are close. Were close.”

“Anyone else?” Ronan prompted.

“She was friends with a lot of people. A popular girl.”