Argo walked over and ran his hand through the clutter, visibly agitated. “Gone,” he announced. “Do you know what happened to it?”

  “Nope. I don’t pay much attention to what he does with his stuff.”

  “When was the last time you saw Matthias using it?”

  Jordan shrugged. “Yesterday, maybe, before we went over to Mrs. Benedict’s house.”

  “And when you came back, was it on the desk?”

  “I didn’t notice. After we got home, I talked to Graham and Ozzy in their room for a while. Then I came back here and went to sleep. No reason for me to check.”

  “Did Matthias been back to the room since last night?”

  “If he did, I didn’t see him. Could have come in and out while I was sleeping, I guess. This morning, when I went to the dining commons for breakfast, his bed hadn’t been slept in. Maybe he came back afterward and left again. I don’t know.”

  Sensing Argo’s growing frustration, Darian jumped in. “I don’t suppose you know where Matthias is right now?”

  “I thought he was with you.” Jordan turned to Argo. “Didn’t you put him in jail last night?”

  “He’s not under arrest at the moment, no. We do need to talk to him, though.” Argo gave Jordan one of his cards. “Will you call me if you see or hear from Matthias? I’m not going to hurt him. But it is important.”

  “Okay.” Jordan tucked the card between the pages of his chemistry textbook.

  “Mr. Winter and I plan to look around the room for the laptop in case Matthias stashed it somewhere. You can stay if you like. I’m just going to ask you to stand in front of the door and don’t touch anything until we’re done. Don’t worry, we’ll be quick.”

  Irritation flashed across Jordan’s face. “Fine.” Getting up from his desk, he positioned himself in the spot Argo indicated and watched with a sour expression while Darian and Argo checked in and under the beds, closets, bureaus, and desks. They opened every drawer, shook out every piece of clothing, and rummaged through trunks, backpacks, and suitcases. In the back of Matthias’s closet, Argo found a few discarded boxes and puffy envelopes bearing the label of an online retailer. Inside some of them were packing slips and gift receipts, along with some snacks and other treats Matthias had apparently ordered.

  “I bungled this one, for sure,” he grumbled as they walked to Jeanette’s office. He carried the packing materials in a plastic bag. Finding the computer would have been better, but Darian had a terrible suspicion that most of the paperwork would trace back to money and gift cards Chet had ponied up. “I should have kept him in a cell last night.”

  “You didn’t have all the information then.”

  “I admit I was inclined to be lenient because of his age and because he was one of your students. I worried that my actions might somehow reflect badly on you. Not that I blame you for my lousy judgment. The truth is, I let Kim guilt trip me. I should have held my ground.”

  Darian winced. If Matthias really had sneaked off campus, it seemed likely he would contact not one his peers, but his counselor. Darian had no doubt that Kim would do anything to help a student she perceived as being wrongly accused and detained. While he and Vaughan were having breakfast, could Kim have met Matthias somewhere and helped him escape? Had she encouraged Vaughan to set up that distraction?

  “Argo, I still need to tell you something I found out about Kim,” he said as they entered the admin building, eerily quiet on a weekend morning. The clanging of the front door echoed in the empty, high-ceilinged lobby.

  “Tell me after we talk to these kids.” Argo walked briskly toward the stairs leading to Jeanette’s spacious office. “Hopefully by then I’ll have a clearer picture of how all these threads twist together.”

  Graham and Ozzy were already waiting in Jeanette’s private conference room, seated at one end of the huge mahogany table in leather-upholstered chairs. Darian had a momentary vision of the two of them ten years in the future, meeting in similar boardrooms as powerful young captains of industry. Nearby, Jeanette and Chief Davis looked on, both of them standing.

  “We’ll wait outside until you’ve finished,” Jeanette told Argo. She motioned to Davis, and the two stepped through the connecting door that led to her office.

  Argo and Darian took seats across from the boys. Argo took out his notebook and pen. “Do you know why you’re here?” Argo asked.

  Graham spoke first. “I assume it’s about last night. I mean, I haven’t been to any other parties where one of the guests was hauled out by cops.”

  He grinned at Argo, who didn’t smile back. “I can’t spare a lot of time, guys, so I’m just going to lay it on the line. Matthias is missing, and I need to find him fast. Do either of you know where he is? Tell me right now and it goes no further than this room.”

  “Of course we don’t know anything,” said Ozzy. “Why would we? We were barely even friends with him.”

  “Oh?” Argo glanced at Darian. “That wasn’t the impression I got. You two, Jordan, and Matthias formed a tight little group from what I heard.”

  Ozzy blushed. “It might have seemed that way because Mrs. Benedict kept throwing us all together for her husband’s stupid band practice. She wanted us to accept him. It wasn’t working, though. Jordan’s okay, but Matthias...well, he wasn’t someone I would normally hang out with.”

  Argo wrote the information in his notebook.

  “What about you, Graham?” Darian asked. “Do you feel the same about spending time with Matthias?”

  Graham’s confident smile, which had faltered when he failed to charm Argo, returned. “I thought Matthias was okay. You know I try not to be a snob, right, Mr. Winter? I’m willing to give anyone a chance. It was more like Matthias didn’t want anything to do with us. He saw us as the enemy for some reason.”

  “He had a reason,” Ozzy said. “He was crazy. I mean, the kid was out there. It was obvious to me, anyway.”

  “He was a little strange,” Graham agreed. “Not necessarily in a bad way. It takes all kinds, right?”

  “All right,” Argo jotted that down, too. “So you two and Matthias weren’t as close as some people might have believed. How about Matthias and Jordan? How did they get along?”

  “Jordan tolerated him better than I did. But then, they had to live together.” Ozzy snorted out an unpleasant laugh. “I warned him to keep an eye on his stuff, though. Matthias always had some pretty impressive bling for someone who was on scholarship. And did you know his mother was in prison for offing a guy?”

  “You knew about her?” Darian asked.

  “Yeah, we knew,” Graham answered. “Matthias told us about it. He seemed to think it was kind of cool. Like it made him some kind of badass. We just went along with it.”

  “We weren’t sure whether to believe it or not,” Ozzy added.

  “Okay. So Matthias kept to himself. Did he have other friends…for example, people he met online?”

  The boys exchanged nervous glances. Darian recognized that expression from class. They clearly knew more than they were willing to admit.

  “Maybe people who were…older?” Argo prompted. “Let’s cut to the chase. I’ve examined his cell phone, so you won’t shock me if you tell the truth. This your only chance.”

  “Okay,” Graham admitted. “We have no reason to hide anything from you. Matthias told us he was doing some shady stuff. He said he was pretending to be a gay soldier overseas and getting some old guy to send him presents. We didn’t totally believe that, either, so he showed us what he bought online with the money. Then we laughed about it.”

  So it was just as Argo thought after all. Darian winced.

  “Did he give you any details about this so-called old guy? Did Matthias tell you who he was?”

  “No,” Graham said, while Ozzy simply shook his head. “He didn’t say, and we didn’t ask. Who cares? It was some broken-down loser out in cyberspace. Whoever he was, he got what he deserved, lusting after some fake pictures of a dude half his age.”

  Again Argo noted the information without comment. “I have one more question, and I want you to think about this carefully before you answer. Do you think there’s any chance Matthias and his online contact might have met up in person? Did Matthias ever say anything about going off campus to hook up with him, or maybe luring the guy to meet him somewhere?”

  “No,” the two said in unison.

  “Why would he?” Ozzy elaborated. “The whole point was to get the money over the internet. That way no one could trace it. At least, that’s what Matthias said.”

  “Plus he used phony pictures he downloaded off some random social media profile. If they met up, the guy wouldn’t recognize him.”

  Darian saw Argo’s forehead crinkle. He could almost hear what he was thinking—maybe that was the idea.

  At that point, a commotion outside the conference room interrupted their meeting. Darian heard Jeanette raising her voice, and Chief Davis telling someone to be patient. A moment later, Kim flung open the door and charged in. Jeanette and Davis followed, both agitated.

  “Jeanette just told me what’s going on. What happened to Matthias?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Darian told her.

  “We don’t know anything,” Ozzy piped up. “We’re telling the truth, Mrs. Wexler. Graham and I haven’t seen him since he left in the police car last night.”

  “We’re done here for the moment,” Argo said, rising. “Graham, and Ozzy, thanks for your help. I’m going to give each of you my card. If you remember something useful, or if Matthias contacts you, I want you to call me immediately. And Mrs. Wexler, of course. You’re free to go.”

  “Chief Davis will accompany you back to your dorm,” Jeanette said. “Please remain in your room and keep this information to yourselves until further notice.”

  For the first time, the two looked genuinely worried. “Yes, Headmistress,” Graham said. “I promise not to say anything to anyone. And that goes for Ozzy, too.”

  “Good man,” Davis said as he escorted them out.

  “I’ve ordered a campus-wide lockdown, effective immediately,” Jeanette said. “Security will perform a physical inspection of all school facilities. That way, if Matthias is hiding on the grounds, we should be able to spot him.”

  “That sounds like a solid plan,” Argo said, but Kim began talking over him before he’d finished his sentence.

  “Why are you interrogating these boys without allowing me or Jeanette to be present? And don’t tell me Darian was here to represent the school’s interests! He’s hardly an impartial participant.”

  “Darian is here at my request,” Jeanette snapped, quieting Kim for the moment. “And no one is being interrogated. The sheriff is doing his best to locate Matthias. I would hope all of us support him in those efforts.”

  “To answer your earlier question, it would appear Matthias bolted.” Argo addressed Kim calmly, as though nothing outside of the bounds of ordinary conversation had taken place. Not for the first time, Darian admired his self-control and his ease at taking command of a situation. He could have done wonders if he’d turned to classroom teaching instead of law enforcement. “I don’t suppose you have any idea where he’s gone?”

  “You’re asking me? How would I? You saw for yourself that I just got here.”

  Not a flat-out denial, Darian noticed. Argo did, too.

  “So you haven’t seen or heard from him since you dropped him off at the infirmary last night?”

  “What exactly are you accusing me of, Sheriff?” She managed to make the last word sound like an insult. Argo could play that game, too, as his response implied suspicion without getting into specifics.

  “Nothing. I thought he might have reached out to you. You know, since you’re his counselor and take an obvious interest in his well-being.”

  “It makes sense,” Darian added. “Matthias trusts you. If he were in trouble, you’re the one he’d turn to.”

  “And he’s in serious trouble this time—is that what you’re saying?”

  “I can’t comment on an open case,” Argo informed her firmly, “but I do need to speak to him. I’m only going to ask you this once more, Kim, and it would be in your best interests to be forthcoming. Do you know anything about his disappearance? Any names of people he might run to? People who might help him hide?”

  “Absolutely not. And he definitely didn’t contact me. Do I require an alibi since last night? Darian picked up his car from my house after we left Matthias at the infirmary. Then I was with my husband until this morning. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for where I was after he left—he decided to eat breakfast out.”

  Darian’s pulse quickened slightly. Did she know Vaughan had been at his house? Was he imagining the crafty look on her face? Maybe so. Argo didn’t seem to notice, or at least he didn’t say anything or react. Instead, Jeanette took control.

  “All right, Sheriff, Kim has answered your questions, and so have the students. Let’s move on to a more productive course of action. Once we’ve cleared the downtown area and the campus, I suggest we expand our search to the woods behind the pond. We’ll get everyone involved—students, faculty, and staff, along with anyone else who’d like to help.”

  “Okay,” Argo said. “That could work, though I’d require all students to stay in their dorm rooms while a grid search is progressing. It will just make things easier in terms of safety. My department can supervise if you can provide adult volunteers, though.”

  “Very well. I’ll get in touch with the local news media,” Jeanette said. “No doubt they’ll be willing to do what they can. At this point, we’ll say no more than a student left the premises without permission and may be in a state of distress. All other students will be required to remain inside for the time being. They’ll have to be fed, of course, but we can make sure they go to the dining room in supervised cohorts. I honestly think the parents would prefer that, anyway.”

  “Let’s keep the event low-key,” said Argo. “We can’t afford to scare him into doing something rash. And if he is hiding nearby, we don’t want him to take off ahead of us. That will make it harder to catch up.”

  Darian considered this a reasonable approach, but he should have guessed Kim would form other ideas.

  “This is an outrage,” she said. “You’re persecuting this poor kid because he has a record! And don’t act like you didn’t know about that, Argo. I’m well aware of how you cops work. Sealed juvie files mean nothing to you and your cronies. Now that you know his background, you’ll pin anything you can on him just to clear some unsolved cases.”

  Darian saw Argo’s jaw tighten. He’d had his fill of Kim and she certainly wasn’t endearing herself to him. He recalled her suggestion of a foursome involving Argo and almost laughed out loud. Argo probably wouldn’t even have dinner with her again, never mind a group bedroom romp. He couldn’t imagine anything more ludicrous.

  “I don’t think that even deserves a response,” Argo finally said through gritted teeth. “I’ll let it go for now, because I understand you’re upset and worried about Matthias. But I’ll thank you not to make an allegation like that again, Mrs. Benedict.”

  “I tell the truth as I see it,” Kim shot back.

  “If it would help, I’ll stay on campus and help with the search of the grounds.” Darian directed his comment to Jeanette, but Argo’s eyes softened with gratitude.

  “That would help a lot.”

  “Yes, it would,” Jeanette said. “Thank you, Darian. Why don’t I get started on the press release? We have a communications director, so I’ll contact her right now. Hopefully she’s at home.” Her tone said it all—I wish we were all at home, too. Darian couldn’t agree more. “I’ll call a public assembly about this matter as soon as everything is in place. Assuming Matthias hasn’t turned up by then, we can begin our wider search at once.”

  “I’ll stick around, too,” Kim announced. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. Maybe I can find out some information the kids wouldn’t share with just anybody. And I’ll definitely call my husband and ask him to join us. He knows Matthias, and he’ll want to help.”

  The group split up, with Kim and Jeanette going in different directions and Darian and Argo walking back to Argo’s SUV.

  “This should work,” Darian said hopefully. “No way he can elude this many people looking for him.”

  “You’re assuming he’s still nearby. Don’t forget, he’s got a few hours on us. If he hitched a ride, no telling where he could be by now.” Argo tapped his notebook, which he had not put back into his pocket, against his thigh as he walked. “Two missing people in three days. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

  “I’m sure we’ll find Matthias.” Deep down, though, Darian wasn’t as confident as he tried to sound. And he had no idea what to believe about Chet. Learning that the cases were connected twisted everything out of focus. What if Matthias had panicked that his scam was about to implode, killed Chet, and took off once Argo started closing in on him?

  “Yeah,” Argo said. “At some point, we’ll find them both—unfortunately.”

  Chapter 10

  The volunteer searchers assembled in the same space that had hosted Timothy Pryor’s memorial service. That seemed years ago now, though in reality it was only a little over six months earlier. Almost every member of Birchwood’s faculty and staff filled the seats, along with a good many spouses and concerned citizens, all jostling and whispering to each other. Darian wanted to think they had shown up out of concern for either Matthias or Birchwood and not just curiosity, though he sensed a mix of both. Whatever yielded results, he supposed.

  Like last time, Argo stood on the stage with Jeanette. A few reporters hovered at the edge of the stage, taking notes and recording footage to be spliced into local news shows along with an appeal for information from the public. Darian was still skeptical that Matthias would show himself, especially once he realized his likeness had been broadcast, but Argo insisted that tips came in from strange places. A lot turned out to be nothing, but if even one useful bit of intel came in, the whole effort would be worthwhile.