Page 6 of Duplicity

No snipers or building fires.

Absolutely no assassins.

Principal Cruise said, “He’s here to gather intel for an ongoing investigation. He’ll be recording license plate numbers of cars that pick students up and information on anyone hanging around too much, then sending that information back to his office. He’ll run traces for a certain kind of phone the police can’t access—” She waved at Cat, then continued, “Untraceable phones that aren’t connected to the regular network.”

That, at least, Cat had heard about. Though only a brief mention. She should ask her brother about it. “One of the kids has an untraceable phone?”

“Evidently.” The principal nodded.

“Why not just get a warrant and confiscate the phone?”

That’s what a police investigation would entail. Not spying and reporting in. The police did solid work that held up in acourt of law. Where people were given a fair chance to defend themselves.

Principal Cruise shrugged. “That’s all the information I have, but I felt it important to keep you in the loop.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

What shewantedto say was, “How much did Vanguard donate to the school?” Instead, she kept her mouth closed.

Who was Vanguard targeting here? Maybe they didn’t know which kid had the phone.

Principal Cruise said, “Great. I appreciate your support.”

She trailed out and left the door open. Catalina stared at the hall outside. Something was going on in her school? She needed all the information, not just what Vanguard wanted to trickle down—just enough to satisfy the questions, but not enough to invite curiosity.

That might have satisfied Principal Cruise, but not her.

Cat sent in her report and grabbed her coffee, locking her computer so no one could access it without knowing her password. Which only made her think…what if the Vanguard agent did? He surely had the tech to hack whatever he wanted. Maybe they’d already read her files.

He would know all about her investigation into Sergeant Ellis’s death. How she’d never let go of the question of who the teen had been that pulled the trigger. And why she didn’t truly believe it was the action of the kid who’d confessed, been tried as an adult, and sent to prison.

She might not be a good cop. Everyone in her life had told her not to apply after Romeo was nearly killed in an explosion. Then, they told her to quit after she was shot. But she was a good School Resource Officer. She knew kids, and the one who was convicted of shooting herwasn’tthe person who’d killed her partner.

There was something not right about all of it.

Cat sipped her coffee as she walked a circuit of the school, outside to in. Sometimes, she did it in reverse. Then, there was the figure-eight loop on days when she was bored of choosing between left and right. Making sure her movements couldn’t be predicted. There was always something to check on in a high school. Especially in summer, when troublemakers thought no one was here.

She prayed as she walked, asking for protection over the school. For wisdom to spot issues before they arose so she would be the kind of person who saw the signs and stepped in.

She prayed for the kid in prison, serving time for a crime she was certain he hadn’t committed. For justice to be brought down on the real shooter, a man who had changed her life forever and destroyed a family. Ellis’s kids had to grow up without a father, and his wife had to live with a hole in her heart.

She prayed for the Vanguard agent.

Up ahead, a teen swept out of the bathroom, grinning and flushed red. Definitely, a troublemaker.

“Saraya. How are you today?”

The girl only snorted and sauntered past Catalina, back to class.

Cat sipped her coffee and hung around in the hall outside the bathroom. A minute or so later, another girl left, swiping her sleeve under her eyes. She spotted Cat and realized she was busted. “How are you, Taylor? Everything okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine, Cat. Thanks.” Some of the kids called her Officer Alvarez, but the ones she got to know called her Cat.

They’d talked a few times before, after the teacher reported indications that Taylor had been cutting herself. The meeting with Taylor and her mother had been a cry fest, and the girl had improved after that. Taylor was seeing a counselor outside of school. There was reason to be optimistic.

“My door is always open, you know that.”

“K, thanks.” Taylor ducked her head and went back to class.

---