Page 65 of S.O.S. Perk

“Maybe,” Smalley cautioned. “Itcouldbe she who’s manipulating Jeremy, but it might also be her husband, the teacher, or hell, all of them working together.”

Perk nodded. “So I need to keep my eyes open when I’m at the Nelsin house; try to interact with the parents; see if I can gain their trust as someone who wants to wholly participate intheir scheme if they’re the ones. And when I’m back at school tomorrow, I need to get transferred into Mr. Shultz’s class.”

“Yes to both of those things. But there is one additional problem.” Tertia walked over with a cup of coffee cradled in her hands, blowing across the top of it.

“What’s that?” Perk asked, leaning back in his chair.

“We’ve been tracking Jeremy and his mother’s movements all week since our surveillance team set up the van outside, but there’s been no sign of the father,” she told him.

“A business trip?” Perk questioned.

“Maybe,” Smalley chimed in. “But we haven’t been able to dig up any plane tickets purchased in his name since last February, so that’s not likely, and he hasn’t been seen anywhere since we’ve started our surveillance.”

“Exactly. So the questions are, where is the man, now? What has he been getting up to?” Tertia posited.

“Or where has hedisappearedto?” Perk amended. “We already know that whoever is in charge of this operation isn’t afraid to take people out of the equation, i.e. Kaelyn Jefferson. You think Felix Nelsin might have been rocking the boat in some way, and they had to neutralize him?”

“It’s highly possible,” Smalley confirmed. “We’re attempting to go back in time and track his movements and his vehicle. We’ve got nothing yet, but we’ll let you know.”

“We just want you to be extra careful not to do anything in that house that will ruffle feathers. The last thing we need is for you to become a target,” Tertia added.

“Don’t worry about me,” Perk said, getting to his feet. “I’m just a dumb kid, remember? I’m going to make myself as clueless, agreeable, and compliant as possible.”

Perk hoped that didn’t include getting too close to Mrs. Nelsin. She was too weirdly menacing for words. Like a spidercrawling softly over your skin before it delivered its poisonous bite.

“And now it’s time for me to go,” Perk added as he walked over and grabbed his coat from the closet.

“Call if you need help,” Smalley reminded him. “Our team in the van is surveillance only, so if you run into a problem, they’re not equipped with any firepower.”

“Good to know.” Perk wasn’t worried. He could take care of himself.

****

Twenty minutes later he pulled into the circular driveway, parking his Volvo behind Jeremy’s Range Rover.

Right.Because most kids have one of those high-end rides.

The big front door opened as Perk got out of his car.

“You’re late,” Jeremy complained.

“Ten minutes,” Perk barked. “Eat me.” He snorted. “You want me to leave?”

“No. I just… My mother wants to meet with you, and she doesn’t like being kept waiting.”

Boo-hoo, Perk thought to himself, but outwardly he managed to look sheepish. “Sorry, man,” he apologized, trotting up to the door. “What does she want to see me for?”

“Just get your ass in here,” Jeremy glowered.

“Okay,” Perk said, jogging into the front hall. “But are you going to tell me why?”

“She’s…interested in hearing your story. Who you are, and where you’re from originally. She, uh, doesn’t like me having people in the house who she doesn’t know.”

“Not gonna lie, man, that’s kind of creepy. But,” Perk shrugged and rolled his eyes, “whatever. Where do I go?”

“Her office is through there and on the right.” Jeremy pointed through a set of open doors that—if Perk was correct—looked heavier duty than most interior portals. If Perk hadthe time to examine them, he’d almost say they were steel reinforced, but he couldn’t let on that he was suspicious, so he turned his attention back to his intended destination. “That one?” Perk pointed to a regular looking closed door a few feet down from the ones that looked almost industrial.

“Yeah. Now go.”

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