Nightingale

Chapter 13 The Hunt Widens

At the end of a hot day, Riley O'Hare drove his rental, a white Chevy van, into the parking lot at Tuacahn.

The view was stunning: red rock cliffs rising above the school and theater complex, vivid green lawns, a picturesque stream running through the complex to cascade into a large pool.

Something inside him thrilled. He'd checked dozens of hotels over the weekend, and struck out on that front, but he was a hunter by nature, and he felt energized by this virgin territory.

School was still in progress. That would make it hard to interview students. A sign out front said that this was the first day of class. Even if the prey was here, Riley suspected he might be a new student, and so other classmates might not recognize him.

So Riley opted for the most direct approach to the task. He strolled up to the school, opened the glass door, plastered with posters for upcoming plays, and viewed the foyer. Trophies adorned the wall. Most schools would have celebrated their sporting achievements, but these were for dance, theater, music, and art.

Beyond the foyer, he found offices. A secretary sat at a desk, a middle-aged woman with a plump figure. A sign gave her name: Allison Holmes.

Riley glanced around. Allison was alone. He could have taken her head in his hands, read her memories, but the site was too exposed. The glass walls left an open view to the hall. The principal's office loomed at his left. The principal glanced up from his desk curiously.

Riley said, "I'm looking for a student here, Bron Jones."

The secretary looked up from some paperwork, smiled, went to her keyboard and typed in the name.

"What would you like with him?" she asked.

"Mom asked me to stop by and give him a message," Riley said. It seemed like a casual enough lie, likely to produce good results.

The secretary's brow scrunched as if she detected the deception. She peered at the screen for a long moment, and said, "How is that first name spelled?"

"Bron—B.R.O.N."

Riley looked forward to seeing Bron again. It was more than just the thrill of the hunt. He'd liked Bron as a kid. Soon, he hoped to welcome him as a brother, and a colleague.

She shook her head. "We don't have anyone by that name here. Our only Jones is a girl, Sidney. Are you certain you have the right school? Did you try Snow Canyon?"

"I'm sure that he was registered here," Riley said. He leaned to the side, tried to catch a view of the screen, but the secretary hit a button and blanked it.

"I'm sorry, we don't have anyone by that name," the secretary said. "In fact, we don't have many young men here at all."

Riley felt his sizraels surface, the tips of his fingers growing hard and taut. He ached to grab this woman's cranium, draw out her secrets, but the principal stood up in his office, about to stick his head out the door.

"Thank you," Riley said.

He exited, but instead of heading out the way he'd come, he stalked deeper into the school, to a wide atrium. He found some classrooms, but there were no windows to let him peer in.

A student came down the hallway, a young man with long arms and curly hair. His slouching look suggested something criminal, and if Riley had been looking to score, he would have figured that this kid was the go-to dealer at the school.

"Hey," Riley said. "I'm looking for a kid. You know this guy?" Riley held out his cell phone, showed the picture of Bron getting into his car.

The young man reached out for the phone. Riley looked left, right, and then struck. He unsheathed his sizraels, grabbed the boy's skull in one hand, and lightning arced with an audible snap. The young man fell backward, but Riley shoved him against the wall, holding him upright.

The boy's name was Kendall McTiernan. He'd started school here near mid-semester a year ago, and his whole life centered on a pathetic little rock band that he managed. His mind was a mess, filled with terrible longings and remorse. He knew every boy in the school by sight, but had never seen Bron Jones before, had never heard his name.

There was a slim chance that the object of Riley's hunt was a new student, someone that Kendall had never met, but it was a very slim chance.

Riley ripped all memories of the encounter from Kendall's mind, and left him slumping to the floor. He glanced up, peered around. No one had seen.

Riley felt a surge of adrenaline, fought the urge to go find another student. Instead, he strode out the side exit to the school. He stood for a moment in the bright sun, inhaled the clean air, and studied the high cliffs.

A golden eagle screamed and leapt from a precipice, went hunting on steady wings, swooping to the south.

It seemed like a good omen, as if nature encouraged Riley to widen the hunt.