so many secrets by Vicki Hinze

Author:Vicki Hinze [Hinze, Vicki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magnolia Leaf Press
Published: 2018-10-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Wade Travis and Kristina crossed paths, leaving and entering Dana’s office.

He’d just settled into the chair, clutching the laptop, when Pam stepped in. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Travis.” She pivoted her gaze to Dana. “Dr. Perkins, I need a moment, please.”

Pam had that look in her eye, and Dana’s stomach clenched. She’d found something in his personal files. “Excuse me a second, Mr. Travis.”

He didn’t respond.

Dana stepped out, and Pam shut the door to ensure their privacy. “You’re not going to like this,” Pam said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “I feel like I need to bleach my eyeballs.”

“What is it?”

“Porn. Lots and lots of porn.”

The fool had put porn on his school laptop. Dana’s heart rocketed and sank. “Students?”

“No, thank God. Grown women, but…very explicit.” Pam visibly shuddered.

Dana closed her eyes, steeled herself. “Okay. Okay, not a word to anyone.”

Pam nodded then returned to her desk, her legs a little wobbly.

That told Dana more than her assistant’s words. Pam didn’t wobble easily. But this had shaken her. With a deep breath, Dana turned the knob and opened the door, then stepped back into her office, closing the door softly behind her.

Without a word, she extended her hand for the laptop. When Mr. Travis passed it to her, she fought the feeling of holding slime. “When I look at the files on this piece of school property, what am I going to find, Mr. Travis?”

He slumped and the blood drained from his face. “Oh, God.”

Dana’s jaw clamped tight. “I sincerely doubt God has anything to do with this.”

He regrouped and let out a cackle. “It’s nothing, Dr. Perkins.”

That infuriated her. When she thought she had control of her voice, she set the laptop down on the credenza behind her desk. “Oh, I disagree,” she said. “This is something. You’re a teacher at my school, interacting with my students, Mr. Travis. That makes this nothing a big something.”

“You know.” The caginess in his eyes dimmed and went flat.

“I know.”

He lifted a hand. “I have never touched a kid in my life. I swear it. Never. That’s vile and disgusting.” He caught himself and lowered his elevated voice. “I love my students, Dr. Perkins. I would never—“

“Save it,” Dana interrupted. “Why do you do it? You know what you’re risking.”

“It’s an addiction,” he said without regret. “It’s vile and disgusting to me, so I can imagine how it seems to you. I swear every time I’m going to quit. It’s the last time. But…it never is.” He dragged a shaky hand over his bald pate. “I don’t know why.”

A puzzle piece clicked into place in Dana’s mind. “Sylvia Cole knew.”

“What?” He drew back, growled. “No.”

Dana didn’t believe him. “Yes. Sylvia knew and that’s why you’ve been so upset since her murder.”

No answer.

Dana glared at him in total silence.

Finally, he broke. “Okay, she knew.” He shook his head, “We were supposed to meet the night she was killed. But she didn’t show up.”

“You’ve told the police this, I assume?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

He darted his gaze across the ceiling.

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