Concealed Hearts (Hometown Jasper #4) - Nicky James Page 0,51

worse and worse.”

“Well, hopefully we can get it cleaned up fast. It’s summer vacation. The real damage would have come from other kids seeing it.”

“Bad news, Chief.” John tugged his phone out of his pocket. “Julie’s dealt with this kind of thing in Edmonton. Teenage pranks and such. Kids don’t do shit like this unless they can guarantee they have an audience. It took her less than two minutes to find this.” He handed me his phone.

A video played. Someone had filmed the graffiti, panning the area and zooming in on each message. A voice clip had been edited into the background. Whoever spoke had a soft tone with a slight lisp. His words were muffled and hard to make out, but it was definitely a young man who spoke. When the video circled back to the beginning, I held it closer to my ear.

The boy laughed and said, “Maybe later tonight.” There was muffled shuffling and another laugh. It had a musical quality to it and came out like more of a giggle. “You know I love sucking your dick.” A pause. “No, don’t worry, I’m alone … Okay. I can’t wait. What time?” A long pause. “Just don’t get caught.” A groan. “Yeah, I know. I love you too.” More laughter. “Stop it, you’re making my dick hard talking like that. Okay. Bye.”

“It’s been circulating on social media. Julie’s trying to narrow down the original poster. I’m not as tech-savvy.”

“Goddammit. So does this mean it’s everywhere?”

John shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s everywhere, but it’s definitely circling the Jasper high school crowd.”

“Shit.” Exactly what we didn’t need. “Okay, no more messing around. We need to figure out who this Grant kid is. It wasn’t detrimental before, but I don’t like this.” I gestured to the graffiti. “He’s a target.”

“I agree. You said Felix was in communication with him, right? Do you think he’s in on this?”

“No. I got the sense this was the kid Felix was protecting. Now, I might know why.”

“Are you looking for the Grant boy?” Pokey asked, interrupting.

“Yeah, you know of him?” John asked.

“Sure do. Poor kid gets a lot of grief. Grant O’Hara. He’s new. Moved to town about five or six months ago. His father is Nathaniel O’Hara.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” I shifted my gaze from Pokey to John.

“Isn’t he the guy who took over Richardson’s Automotive shop?”

I smacked John on the shoulder. “Yes. Nate O’Hara. Belinda was telling me about him. She mentioned he had two kids, and his wife was hired as a seamstress at that fancy clothing store in town. What’s it called?”

“Silvia Red’s?”

“That’s it. Do you know where they’re living?” I asked Pokey.

“Can’t say I do. I know the poor kid’s had a tough time fitting in. Bad enough relocating cities when you’re his age, but a kid like that…” Pokey shook his head. “He has it harder.”

“Like what? What does that mean?”

“He stands out, you know? He ain’t like the other boys.”

I didn’t know, but I thought it was about time we found out.

“I can find an address,” John said, taking out his notepad and making a few notes. “Do you want me to head over to his place when I do?

“Yeah. I can’t imagine he doesn’t know about this by now. Not with social media and whatnot. I’m going to hunt down Felix and see if I can get him to talk. Maybe he knows something.”

“What do you want me to do about this?” John asked, eyeing the wall.

I scanned the graffiti once more, shaking my head. The sight of it was vile. “We’ll have to get it cleaned off as soon as possible.”

“I got a buddy with a power washer. Should clean it up good,” Pokey said, rubbing his chin and sucking his teeth. “Leave it with me. I’ll take care of it by this afternoon.”

“Appreciated. If you see any kids kicking around back here, you give us a call.”

“Will do, Chief.”

We shook hands, and John and I wandered back around to the front of the school.

“Do you think Felix will talk to you?”

“No idea, but I have a hunch he and this Grant kid might be close.”

John studied my face. “Do you think Felix is the one Grant was talking to on the phone in that video?”

“It’s possible. Felix claimed he was standing up for a kid when he got into those fights. He was pretty tight-lipped about who the kid was.”

A stab of concern told me that if my instinct was correct, Felix