day. And to do that, she’d need to be outside.
It was just an educated guess, which was as much as I had to work with. I didn’t actually expect to be right.
But as it turned out, I was.
CHAPTER 34
BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL has no campus to speak of. It’s just one huge building in the middle of the city, with alleys and parking on either side. The Fens was only a few blocks away and a likely spot for stoners, given all the woods, paths, bridges, and other good hiding places over there. I figured I’d start with a quick lap around the school and work my way out from there, dependingon what I saw, then maybe head to the park after that, if nobody found Nigella in the meantime.
I headed up the north alley first, scanning every nook and cranny along the way. From there, I moved down Palace Road behind the school and back up the other side. I was almost all the way around and had pretty much written this off when, sure enough and to my own surprise, I got a whiff of marijuana.
It didn’t take long after that to hone in on Nigella’s little smoking party. There were four of them, two boys and two girls, passing a vape pen around. Nigella was wearing a huge pair of sunglasses, but I recognized the blond dreads right away.
They had a pretty decent hideout, too. It was a three-walledalcove in the parking lot, meant to shield two dumpsters from view. Anyone inside the schoolwouldn’t have been able to spot them. But from there in the alley, I had a clear sight line.
I stepped back and radioed Keats.
“This is Hoot,” I said. “I found her. She’s with some friends in the parking area on the south side of the building.”
Some part of me felt bad for busting them. That’s not what I was there for. But they definitely had a serious buzzkill headed their way.
“Keep an eyeon her, but do not approach,” Keats came back. “I’ll be right out.”
“Got it,” I said, trying to sound calm. I’d been wishing to get thrown back into the pool, and now here I was, swimming alone in the deep end. I wasn’t afraid of high schoolers, but by the same token, I hadn’t been left to my own devices like this before. Not with the stakes as high as these were.
A second later, Nigella’s groupwas on the move. One of the boys chirped open a RAV4 with his clicker and they headed toward it.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Keats, where are you?” I radioed.
“On our way,” he said.
There was no time. And no way I was going to be the rookie who found and lost this person of interest before Keats could catch up to her.
“Nigella!” I called out before I could even consider it either way.
All four ofthe kids turned to look at me. The other girl let out a little half scream, followed by a nervous laugh. I had to remind myself that I was the grown-up here. It still wasn’t intuitive for me.
“Hold up a second,” I said, hurrying over.
Nigella lowered her shades to give me a raised eyebrow as I approached. “Do I know you?” she asked. Her lipstick was bright red, but her clothes were all downscalefunk. Old army jacket, Rolling Stones tee, and hand-ripped leggings over oxblood combat boots.
“I’m Angela Hoot,” I said, “and—”
“Hoot?”
one of the boys said, and they all cracked up at once. Clearly, they’d had enough to smoke. Not that I hadn’t been mocked for my last name pretty much all my life.
“Listen,” I said. “I’m with the FBI—”
“Yeah. Sure you are,” Nigella said. “Do you have somekind of badge or something?”
“I don’t have my credentials on me,” I said, which was embarrassingly true. I’d left everything in the car. “My supervisor will be here in a second—”
“Bridget? Get this on your phone, ’kay?” Nigella said, still eyeballing me.
“Annnd we’re rolling,” Bridget said, pointing her iPhone our way.
“You’ve got the wrong idea,” I told them. “This is for your protection,Nigella.”
“Sure,” she sniped. “Because the cops are so good at
It was just an educated guess, which was as much as I had to work with. I didn’t actually expect to be right.
But as it turned out, I was.
CHAPTER 34
BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL has no campus to speak of. It’s just one huge building in the middle of the city, with alleys and parking on either side. The Fens was only a few blocks away and a likely spot for stoners, given all the woods, paths, bridges, and other good hiding places over there. I figured I’d start with a quick lap around the school and work my way out from there, dependingon what I saw, then maybe head to the park after that, if nobody found Nigella in the meantime.
I headed up the north alley first, scanning every nook and cranny along the way. From there, I moved down Palace Road behind the school and back up the other side. I was almost all the way around and had pretty much written this off when, sure enough and to my own surprise, I got a whiff of marijuana.
It didn’t take long after that to hone in on Nigella’s little smoking party. There were four of them, two boys and two girls, passing a vape pen around. Nigella was wearing a huge pair of sunglasses, but I recognized the blond dreads right away.
They had a pretty decent hideout, too. It was a three-walledalcove in the parking lot, meant to shield two dumpsters from view. Anyone inside the schoolwouldn’t have been able to spot them. But from there in the alley, I had a clear sight line.
I stepped back and radioed Keats.
“This is Hoot,” I said. “I found her. She’s with some friends in the parking area on the south side of the building.”
Some part of me felt bad for busting them. That’s not what I was there for. But they definitely had a serious buzzkill headed their way.
“Keep an eyeon her, but do not approach,” Keats came back. “I’ll be right out.”
“Got it,” I said, trying to sound calm. I’d been wishing to get thrown back into the pool, and now here I was, swimming alone in the deep end. I wasn’t afraid of high schoolers, but by the same token, I hadn’t been left to my own devices like this before. Not with the stakes as high as these were.
A second later, Nigella’s groupwas on the move. One of the boys chirped open a RAV4 with his clicker and they headed toward it.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Keats, where are you?” I radioed.
“On our way,” he said.
There was no time. And no way I was going to be the rookie who found and lost this person of interest before Keats could catch up to her.
“Nigella!” I called out before I could even consider it either way.
All four ofthe kids turned to look at me. The other girl let out a little half scream, followed by a nervous laugh. I had to remind myself that I was the grown-up here. It still wasn’t intuitive for me.
“Hold up a second,” I said, hurrying over.
Nigella lowered her shades to give me a raised eyebrow as I approached. “Do I know you?” she asked. Her lipstick was bright red, but her clothes were all downscalefunk. Old army jacket, Rolling Stones tee, and hand-ripped leggings over oxblood combat boots.
“I’m Angela Hoot,” I said, “and—”
“Hoot?”
one of the boys said, and they all cracked up at once. Clearly, they’d had enough to smoke. Not that I hadn’t been mocked for my last name pretty much all my life.
“Listen,” I said. “I’m with the FBI—”
“Yeah. Sure you are,” Nigella said. “Do you have somekind of badge or something?”
“I don’t have my credentials on me,” I said, which was embarrassingly true. I’d left everything in the car. “My supervisor will be here in a second—”
“Bridget? Get this on your phone, ’kay?” Nigella said, still eyeballing me.
“Annnd we’re rolling,” Bridget said, pointing her iPhone our way.
“You’ve got the wrong idea,” I told them. “This is for your protection,Nigella.”
“Sure,” she sniped. “Because the cops are so good at
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