Chapter 16

word count 825

The buzz from call waiting was driving him crazy. Didn't the bitch know he was a cop with life and death decisions to make everyday! He was trying to work on a case, a cold-blooded murder, another boy, Adam's age, found in a shallow grave in the park. He'd been missing for three days before being found. Buzz had been talking to his sergeant and the call waiting kept going off! He switched the cell off entirely and slammed it on the car seat. Trudy would have to wait.

Pulling into the parking lot of the elementary school, ironically Adam's school, the thought came to him, too close to home! He paused to check his notes. Charles Roberts...the boy's counselor. That seemed a good place to start. He'd already talked to the boy's parents. They were merely a distraught couple who had no idea how this happened to their boy. And the kid had no outside interests, just went to school and home everyday. On the day he went missing, he failed to come home from school at 4:00.

Mr. Roberts was waiting in his office when the cop arrived.

"Mr. Roberts, I'm Detective Miller."

The teacher extended a hand in greeting which Buzz ignored.

"What can I do for you?" Roberts asked. He was a sheepish man, with brown eyes that retreated quickly. He folded his hands on the desk in a nervous motion.

"I'm here to ask a few questions about Bobby Brown." Buzz stared at the teacher's hands before shifting his gaze to the guy's eyes, capturing them and holding them in place.

Mr. Roberts looked flustered. "You must excuse me, Detective. I find all of this to be unnerving...what happened to the boy, and now you, a homicide detective questioning me. This is a school, a place of learning, we don't normally have to deal with this."

Buzz ignored the remark. "Can you tell me anything about Bobby? What kind of boy was he? Did he get along with kids at school?"

"He was a good boy, a smart boy, although young, only seven years old."

"Did he get along with the other kids?"

"Yes. Yes, of course."

Buzz appeared dissatisfied. "Do you know his parents? Did he get along with his parents? What kind of people are they?"

"I've never met his parents. Usually you meet them at some point, but Bobby's parents never came to see me, not at open house, never. I don't think any of the teachers have met them."

"Did he ever come to you with any problems?"

"Well, we do have a problem with bullying at our school. He did come to me once about being bullied. He wouldn't say who was doing it though. And he didn't come to me on his own. Another teacher who had witnessed the bullying sent him to me. Bobby would not open up about it."

"So you don't know who was bullying him?"

"Well, in his specific case, no. But I can tell you who in our school is known for bullying." He paused. "But isn't that a little strange for a homicide detective? Tracking down bullies in a grade school?" He blushed as though realizing the question was out of line.

Buzz Miller saw red. Who was this ass hole to ask a question like that? He'd like to grab the guy by the scruff and slam him against the wall. But propriety demanded he remain calm. He cleared his throat. "We investigate every possibility."

He stepped closer, pushing his face into Roberts', eye to eye. "That's all the questions I have for you today, Mr. Roberts. But I'll expecting a list of names of those bullies." He stuck a business card in the teacher's shirt pocket. "Good day."

When he was gone, Mr. Roberts pulled a flask from his desk drawer and took a long swig.


Trudy shoved through the double doors to enter the dining area, morphing from a mad woman into a sweet thing in the simple movement from one room to the next. Plastering on a smile, she scanned the tables until she saw John and Elliot. She didn't recognize the other boy, but she didn't know any of Elliot's little friends anyway.

She sidled up and greeted them. "Well, there's my guys!" Bending over, she planted a fat kiss on John's cheek. then stood back to look at the group. "So who is your friend here?" she asked Elliot.

The boy in question was staring at her like she was a circus act. What she didn't put up with in the name of motherhood!

"This is my new friend, Adam Miller!" Elliot said it with pride in his voice. "His Dad is a famous cop!"

"I've heard of him," John broke in. "You must be very proud, Adam! Trudy, did you hear that? Buzz Miller is his dad! Your hero! Hahahahaha."

"Yeah, my hero!" she stammered. "I just love him!"