The vehicles continued toward the athletic complex.
Inside the gym, Assistant Head of School Margaret Sloan spotted them through the front glass.
“Who are those?”
Daniel Pruitt turned.
His face changed.
He knew the Harrington vehicles because Grant Whitmore had competed with Harrington Logistics on several commercial projects.
“That’s Theodore Harrington.”
Margaret looked at him.
“The logistics Harrington?”
Daniel nodded.
“What is he doing here?”
Nobody knew.
Brooke did not recognize the vehicles.
She was still near the storage corridor when the first SUV stopped outside the glass doors.
Kelsey Monroe did.
Her father worked in corporate law.
“Oh my God.”
Brooke glanced at her.
“What?”
“That’s Harrington.”
“So?”
Kelsey stared.
“Theodore Harrington.”
Brooke shrugged.
The name meant less to her than it did to the adults.
Then the doors opened.
Malcolm entered first.
He did not look threatening.
He did not need to.
Behind him came Theodore Harrington, seventy-three, tall despite a slight stoop, silver-haired, dressed in a charcoal suit with no tie.
He scanned the gym once.
“Where is Avery Coleman?”
The head of school, Dr. Patricia Wexler, stepped forward.
“Avery?”
Theodore looked at her.
“My granddaughter.”
Everything stopped.
Brooke’s face emptied.
Coach Mercer closed his eyes.
Daniel Pruitt whispered something nobody heard.
Theodore’s voice remained level.
“She activated an emergency alarm eight minutes ago.”
Dr. Wexler turned toward the coaches.
“Where is she?”
Silence.
Avery hit the storage-room door again.
The sound came from the hallway.
Malcolm moved first.
They followed it.
Brooke stood directly in the corridor.
Theodore stopped when he saw the mop handle jammed through the door.
His expression changed in a way Brooke would remember for the rest of her life.
Not rage.
Recognition.
Someone had deliberately prevented the door from opening.
Malcolm pulled the handle free.
The storage-room door swung outward.
Avery stood inside.
Dust streaked one knee of her uniform.
Her hands were red from hitting the metal.
Theodore crossed the space between them.
“Are you hurt?”
Avery looked at him.
For the first time since the door closed, her face broke.
“Granddad.”
He wrapped both arms around her.
Nobody in the hallway spoke.
Brooke took one step backward.
Then another.
Theodore did not look at her.
That frightened her more than if he had.
Chapter 4: What the Cameras Saw
Theodore asked Avery three questions.
Was she injured?
Did anyone hit her?
Was she safe standing where she was?
Only after she answered did he ask what happened.
Avery looked toward Brooke.
Brooke immediately spoke.