Rebecca Winters: The Texas Ranger's Nanny

He answered after three rings. “Hi, Claire. What’s up?”

“I’m worried about Jeremy.”

“What’s wrong?” Tension crept into Vic’s deep voice.

“I’m here at the school to pick him up, but he never came out. I got here ten minutes before the bell like I always do, but there’s been no sign of him. I’ve checked with his teacher and with the office. They’ve called his name over the intercom, but he hasn’t shown up. The security guard just walked in the door. He’s been looking everywhere for him but he’s shaking his head.”

“I’ll be right there. You drive home. Maybe a friend’s mother dropped him off. Call the list of parents we keep by the phone.”

“Okay, I will.” She hung up and told the principal she was going home to see if Jeremy was there. “Ranger Malone is on his way here.”

“Let’s hope Jeremy made his way home and is waiting for you.”

If he did that, then he’d have left the school through another entrance. Claire hurried out of the building to the car. As she drove to the house, she called out to any kids she could see who were walking home from school. No one had seen Jeremy. Adrenaline caused her heart to pound so hard it was painful.

If anything had happened to Vic’s son...

She shouldn’t go there, but she couldn’t help it. Three years ago Vic had lived through the nightmare of losing his wife and his parents. For him to have to go through his only child’s disappearance seemed unimaginably cruel. But her gut told her something bad had happened to Jeremy.

Vic’s job as a Texas Ranger made him a target for felons he’d put in prison who were out for revenge. His line of work was terribly dangerous. In fact, when he’d hired Claire, he’d warned her she would have to be extra careful at all times, for her own safety, as well as for Jeremy’s.

Jeremy was a very obedient kid. He worshipped his father and told Claire he wanted to be a Texas Ranger like his dad when he grew up. Because of his lively imagination, Jeremy had a spy kit he kept adding to. He’d also come up with a secret password for them to use if either one of them was ever in trouble. Wolverine. It was the name of his favorite action figure.

If someone tried to call him on the phone and pretended to be Claire, they had to give him the password. The same held true if someone pretending to be Jeremy called her. The two of them laughed about it when Jeremy came up with the plan, but she wasn’t laughing now. If that dear boy wasn’t found soon...

Too many negative thoughts ran through her mind as she called the last name on the list of Jeremy’s friends. Her heart sank to learn that his friend Nate had been home from school all day with a cold and had no idea where Jeremy could be.

* * *

VIC RACED TO his boss’s office. “Captain?”

TJ Horton raised his gray head. “What is it, Vic? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“My son is missing. I don’t have a good feeling about this, and I’m headed over to Pinehurst Elementary on Wilson Drive right now. I’m going to treat it as a crime scene and I’ll need backup to meet me there. Put a surveillance crew on my house. Claire could be in danger as we speak.”

The head of the Rangers nodded. “Kit’s in the building. I’ll send him over there, too, and I’ll tell Dino and Carlos to keep an eye on your nanny.”

“Thanks.”

Vic rushed out to his gray Chevy Tahoe in the parking area. On his way to the school, Claire phoned to tell him she was at the house, but Jeremy wasn’t there. She’d called the mothers of all the kids he played with, but no one had seen or heard from him.

“Thanks. You stay put, Claire. I’ll be in touch soon. Just so you know, we’re putting some men outside the house to guard you. They’ll be in a surveillance van, so don’t be worried when you see an unfamiliar vehicle near the house.”

“I won’t.”

Vic’s cold sweat had seeped through his clothes by the time he reached the school. He ran into the main office, where he found the principal telling some other teachers about Jeremy. She turned to him. “Ranger Malone, we’re devastated this has happened.”

“Me, too. I need a list of all personnel working inside and outside the building with addresses and phone numbers.”

“Here’s a copy for you,” the secretary said and handed the sheet to him.

“Thank you.” He turned to the principal again. “Who was on recess duty today? I need to know if there were any strangers on the playground or maintenance workers from the school district.”

“I’ll get all that information for you right now.”

Mrs. Rigby walked over to him. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

“It’s not your fault. I just want to know if Jeremy was acting any different than usual today.”

“No. He’s a good student and always well behaved. They were finishing their math when the bell rang. He’s almost always the first one out of his desk, and today was no exception. That’s all I can tell you.”

“Did you have any visitors in your class? Anything different from the normal routine?”

“No. Nothing.”

“When he first got to school this morning, he didn’t seem upset? It didn’t seem as if there could be anything bothering him?”

“No. Today was a very normal day from beginning to end.”

Vic sucked in his breath. “Okay. Thank you.” He saw his close friend Kit out of the corner of his eye. The other Ranger made a beeline for him. “The crew is already setting up a place in the classroom next door to fingerprint everyone working in the building.”

As they spoke, he could hear the principal over the loudspeaker asking all the teachers and staff to come to the office for a police matter.

“Glad you’re here, Kit. Claire’s phoned all the parents of Jeremy’s friends. No one has seen him. Let’s scour the second grade pod area first. He was in his seat right up until the bell rang. Whatever happened took place immediately after dismissal.”

Directly outside the classroom was a cloakroom where the kids kept their coats and backpacks on hooks and a shelf that ran the length of the wall. With the exception of a Windbreaker on one of the hooks and a baseball cap with a Texas Longhorns logo, neither of which belonged to Jeremy, the cloakroom was empty.

Vic shook his head. “Jeremy wouldn’t have come in here after school since he keeps his backpack with him.”

From the hallway outside the cloakroom there was a short walk past other classrooms to get to the main hallway. At that point, you could either go left to the office or right to an exit that led to the playground area. En route to the exit, they passed a door that said Custodial Staff.

Vic glanced at Kit. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yup. It’s a perfect place to hide or nab a kid walking down the hall.”

Vic pulled a pair of plastic gloves from his back pocket and put them on before turning the knob. The door was locked. “I’ll call the office to send someone down to open it.”

Kit said, “I’ll go outside the building to see where it leads. Be right back.”

In a minute a custodian who looked to be in his fifties showed up. “I’m Oscar Fyans, the head custodian. How can I help?”

Vic asked him how many custodians worked at the school.

“There are three of us.”

“Do you all have your own areas that you’re responsible for?”

“Yes. I have the second floor.”

“Who’s in charge of the first floor?”

“Reba Cowan covers the auditorium, library, the gym, the cafeteria and the grounds. Leroy Bennett covers the first-floor classrooms and bathrooms, but he called in sick this morning, so Reba and I are covering for him.”

“How many years have you worked here?”