it, I’ll tell you that. She was getting used to me being home early those nights.”
“Sorry man. I’d relieve you if I could without getting suspended.”
“You’re not kidding. The headmistress is strung pretty tight with all the happenings this semester. Word is, some of the parents have requested she beef up security even further. Motion detector lasers. Interior security cameras. The works.”
Ricardo nods. “Look, I feel bad. Why don’t you take a quick break and call your wife? I’ll watch the feeds for you.”
Freddie looks from Ricardo to me and back, wheels turning in his head. A smile spreading across his features. “Looking for some alone time, eh? Wish I could, but I’d lose my job for sure if anyone found out I left you alone in here after last week. No, thank you.”
Ricardo winks at him. “Had to try. You know how it is.”
The man guffaws. “Yeah, I sure do.”
The level of machismo in this room right now is making me want to gag, but I suppress the urge. A flicker of movement on one of the surveillance feeds snags in the corner of my eye. Ignoring the laughter among my boyfriend and the guard, I focus on the feeds. My body goes rigid. There it is again.
Outside in the dusk, someone is prowling around the academy parking lot. Eyes widening, I point. “Do you see that? There’s someone in the parking lot. What if they’re here to hurt someone else?” My voice rises to an ear-splitting pitch.
“What?” Freddie swivels to stare at the screen just as someone skulks between two cars. The figure is dressed all in black, and is careful to keep their face away from the cameras. Whoever it is, they’re a pro.
The guard radios his partners and shoves out of his seat. “You two stay right here,” he says, waving his phone at us. “Don’t move until I get back. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Ricardo says, putting an arm around me and pulling me into his chest. “We’ll stay right here.”
The man runs down the hall, yelling into his phone as he goes.
“Everything okay in here?” Bodyguard Steve says, standing in the doorway.
“We’re fine, thanks,” I say, schooling my voice and smoothing my features despite the pounding of blood in my ears and the skittering of nerves up my spine. I shove the fear away. I can’t think about what’s happening in the parking lot right now. I have to focus on what’s right in front of me.
Bodyguard Steve recedes into the hallway.
“Quick,” I whisper once Ricardo and I are alone again. “You’ve only got a minute or two.”
Plunking himself down into the chair, Ricardo rolls up to the desk and starts typing quickly on the abandoned keyboard. Pulling up several video files, he emails them to himself before wiping down the keyboard and repositioning the mouse where Freddie left it in his haste to get to the parking lot.
The files upload slowly, and beads of cold sweat roll down my spine. I don’t even want to think about what will happen if anyone catches us in here stealing security footage. But we have to get it. The person Ricardo saw lurking around over break is our only lead, and even that’s a thin one.
Footsteps approach along the hall.
“Hurry,” I whisper louder, putting pressure on Ricardo’s shoulder. “Someone’s coming.”
“Almost uploaded,” he says.
We stare at the progress bar, willing it to tick by more quickly.
The approaching footsteps are almost upon us.
The bar reaches 100% and the email sends just as the security guard jogs into the office.
Ricardo jumps out of the chair. “Just checking my email,” he says, inching toward me.
Freddie wipes the sweat off his forehead with his arm as he retakes his seat. “Clear out, both of you. I have to look back at that footage to see if we can get an ID on the prowler.”
“He got away?” My words are laced with panic. “Is it safe here tonight?”
The guard glances up at me, worry written all over his face. “Yes, of course it’s safe. But the faster we work, the better chance we have…” He trails off, already lost in the replay of the footage of the figure slinking through the parking lot.
“We’ll leave you to it, Freddie.” Ricardo puts an arm around me and leads me out of the office.
My heart is pounding as we walk back upstairs to the dormitory, Bodyguard Steve on our heels. I can’t help but peer out each window as we pass, looking for signs of campus security