Page 39 of Duplicity

She tugged him out of the way of students headed toward the doors. A younger male student shoved another, and they nearly both slammed into a locker.

Cat called out to them, “Just head outside. No running or messing around, guys.” She turned to Simon. “We don’t say it, but that’s the announcement that means there has been a bomb threat made against the school.”

She motioned for him to walk with her, and she checked classrooms as she went. Cat would have to show him where to gooutside, and then she needed to do another sweep of the building for students or staff members who might still be inside.

Simon pushed out the double doors where the crowd of students trailed off into the field and gathered in groups. Staff members waved their arms, and Principal Cruise shielded her eyes from the sun. “Quickly now. Everyone to your classes.”

The students moved slowly, grouping themselves in the correct areas.

Cat said, “Head for your math kids.”

Simon whirled around. “What are you going to do?”

“My job. So when you see the fire department or police officers show up, tell them I’m doing my sweep.”

She heard the doors shut behind her, and thankfully, he didn’t follow or argue. He still had to keep up the pretense of doing his job, even though that wasn’t why he was here this summer. Cat headed for her office and lifted her radio from the charging dock. She grabbed the second one, assuming she would run into Romeo. He probably hadn’t left yet. Did he have a radio with him?

She turned on the radio and held down the button on the side. “Alvarez Two-Eight, this is Alvarez Three-One. Come in.”

Romeo stuck his head out of the main office, where the door had been propped open. “I don’t have anything. What’s going on? The secretary said this is a bomb threat.”

Lauren, the secretary, hurried out of the office and down the hall toward the doors.

Romeo looked almost sad to see the young woman go. Cat handed him a radio, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “You take the west halls. Go classroom by classroom. Make sure no one is hanging back. We need everyone out of here.”

Romeo glanced around. “What about closets and such?”

Cat said, “Open every door and check behind it.”

“Copy that.”

They split up and searched the whole building, meeting back at the office. Cat found two students reading books in a quiet corner of the band room and kicked them outside. The rest was clear, and Romeo reported the same thing back to her.

Two firefighters in full turnout gear shoved the doors open and strode in, followed by a third. The one in front had tanned skin and a wide smile. “Romes.”

Cat would never get over all the different versions of a name men came up with.

“Captain Julio Espinoza-Vasquez, this is Catalina Alvarez. My sister.” Her brother added that last part as if it was an important piece of information.

“Officer Alvarez.” She stuck out her hand, and Julio shook with her. “Though, I can see how that would get confusing with the two of us. So you can call me Cat.”

The fire captain grinned. “I’m not confused in the slightest.”

Romeo asked, “Should we go outside if there’s a bomb threat?”

Cat told the fire captain, “We swept the building, and there are no more people inside. I didn’t see any sign of an explosive device anywhere. You?” She glanced at Romeo.

Her brother shook his head.

Captain Espinoza-Vasquez pointed to the door. “Outside is correct. Thank you.”

Since they were being duly dismissed, Cat headed to the door first. Outside, a couple of police cruisers pulled up to the curb. Officers climbed out of one. Two detectives got out of the other, guys she recognized from seeing them in passing. They all strode over.

The bomb squad in Benson was comprised of personnel from different departments. Police, fire, and emergency services. That way, they had people trained in multiple disciplines, including emergency medical response.

Romeo tapped the outside of her arm. Principal Cruise headed down the side of the main building with a clipboard in her hand.

She spotted Cat and raised the clipboard, waving it. “We are still missing one student. Consensus with the ones we have gathered out back is that she likely went home when she heard the announcement. They think she figured nothing would be happening for the rest of the day.”

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