Hide & Seek - Nicole Edwards Page 0,20
straight. “Tanner never has school supplies or lunch money. He’s been wearing the same tattered clothing for the past two years. We’ve got other students like him and we do our best to provide as much as we can.”
Brantley remembered how Tanner’s mother had been playing on her tablet, his father perched in front of the TV with an Xbox controller in his hand. If either of them had a job, or even bothered to look for one, he’d be shocked.
“Does he have any friends? Anyone I could talk to?” he suggested.
She nodded. “He’s got a few friends he hangs out with regularly, but you should speak with Reggie. Reggie Dunbar. They’re inseparable when they’re not in class. He’s the only person I know Tanner to really talk to.”
“Would you mind callin’ Reggie in? I’m hopin’ he might know something.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Who are you with again?”
“OTB,” he said, trying the name on for size. “My task force assists law enforcement on missing persons cases. Detective Gallegos called us in to consult.”
Her eyes softened with recognition when he mentioned the detective. She nodded, then picked up her phone, relayed a message, he assumed to the woman in the main office, to pull Reggie out of class so they could speak to him.
When she offered Brantley something to drink, he politely declined and waited patiently for Tanner’s friend to arrive. He hoped like hell they got a lead from the kid. It would make his day a hell of a lot better. If not, they’d be back at Tanner’s house, knocking on his neighbor’s doors.
He hoped that was a last resort.
***
“You know if you do your business out here, we’re gonna be the laughin’ stock of the school,” Reese told Tesha as they wandered the grassy area on the far side of the parking lot. “But hey, you do your thang; I’ll worry about anyone who picks on us.”
Yeah, Reese was aware he was talking to the dog as though they’d known each other for longer than a minute. Probably helped that Tesha was looking up at him with those big brown eyes. There was something in those eyes, something that reminded him a lot of when he looked into Brantley’s eyes. Or his own in the mirror. The three of them had been through a lot, and most of what they’d endured they kept to themselves. It seemed safer that way, Reese knew. All the trauma was better left scarring the inside rather than an open, gaping wound on the outside.
“We’re survivors, the three of us,” he said softly. “Stronger together.”
His attention shifted to the school and he wondered if Brantley was making any progress. He’d been inside for nearly an hour. Hopefully he’d learned something that might give them an idea of where Tanner might be. He prayed like hell the boy had simply run away from home, found someone who gave two shits about him. God knew his parents weren’t winning any awards. Not unless there was one for chain smoking and beer chugging.
“I should probably feel bad that I stole you outta their yard,” he told Tesha. “I don’t. Not even a little. Fuck them. They can hardly take care of themselves.”
Tesha bumped against his leg as they walked, as though she wanted to keep close.
“Yeah. We’re gonna get you all cleaned up, checked out by the doc. You’ll like her. Nice woman.” He peered down. “Safe to say, you’ll be spoiled. Just wait till JJ gets a look at you. You’ll like her, too.”
They continued to walk.
“However, I won’t be cookin’ your dinner every night. And those burgers you scarfed … only on special occasions.”
Someone cleared their throat and Reese looked up to see Brantley standing a few feet away.
He felt his ears flame from embarrassment, but he shoved it down, cleared his throat, and said, “You find out anything?”
Brantley grinned, nodding. “Yeah. That you like talkin’ to the dog.”
Reese canted his head to the side. “About the kid.”
“Right.” Brantley fell into step with them as they made their way back to the Tahoe. “Chatted it up with Tanner’s friend Reggie. Turns out, there really is a girl. The name she’s got online is fake, which explains why Gallegos couldn’t find her.”
“She go to his school?”
“Nope. Private school. Little Catholic girl. Reggie said she hangs out in that online group for their school.”
“You gotta watch out for those private-school girls,” Reese said, feeling a bit lighter. “And?”
“I called JJ. I gave her what to look for