motioned him toward her door.
Her prim tone did the trick. Freda hurried back to her desk. Franklin Turner was right about one thing: Keely knew how to run a taut ship. Which meant Nick could be in for it. Burke entered her office, across from the one where Nick sat, and waited for her to close the door behind them. Watching her take her place behind the desk distracted him. Focus on business. He sat. "Are you sure Nicky is the one responsible?"
She sighed, sounding fatigued. "Yes, he didn't even attempt to hide what he was doing. A teacher on the second floor looked out and watched him go from car to car, uncapping tire stems and unscrewing valves."
What did Nick hope to accomplish with this stunt? "Why didn't the teacher report it right away?" Burke complained. Lax discipline here wouldn't help him turn Nick around.
"The teacher did, but by the time a student got to me with the note, your nephew had finished one row of cars and started on the next. He was supposed to be in his first class too." She sounded as if she were trying to give Nick the benefit of the doubt. But Nick had forced her hand.
His hand too. Cocky kid. Wanted to be caught, I bet. Had Nick done this just to embarrass Burke, the new deputy? Did a seventeen-year-old kid think like that? I'm out of my league here.
Then what had happened here last night rushed through him once again. Seeing Keely face down on the floor had affected him. In the big city, victims were usually strangers. He could see now that keeping the law in a small town would be different. He'd know more of the victims and lawbreakers as people.
"Burke?"
"So he was skipping class and vandalizing cars?" Burke repeated dryly.
"Yes, that's it unfortunately. But no property was destroyed and no one was hurt."
He nodded, frowning. Compared to the possibility that Nick might have shot out her windows last night, this wasn't as serious. But he couldn't let Nick get away with this just because it looked so innocent by comparison. Another situation made sitting here uncomfortable. Grady was a suspect in last night's incident too. The fact that both their relatives were suspects in the same case made the whole situation ...sticky. "What's the punishment for this type of prank?"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "A one-day suspension—after he gets an air pump and reinflates all the tires he flattened."
"Is that all?" He slid forward on his chair. "Sounds like—"
"Let the punishment fit the crime. I'll save the big guns for ...well, if I need them in the future. But let's hope this will be enough to prevent a further incident."
"Okay." He moved to stand.
She stopped him with a raised hand. "Before you leave, I'd like to ask—what do you think your nephew was trying to accomplish today? I need some hint of how to handle him if the staff and I are going to help him get settled in here."
Discussing how to handle Nick only emphasized how out in left field Burke felt. He hated to have to bare his nephew's problems to someone else—since his neglect had contributed to Nick's difficulties. Burke had put duty to the MPD before his family, and now Nick might pay the price. Burke gripped the wooden arms of the chair and then met her eyes. "I don't usually deal in rehabilitation. But I suppose you need to."
She smiled with sympathy and moved from behind her desk, settling herself on its edge. "Yes, I do because I'm in the business of helping teens mature so that you won't have to deal with them later."
Her nearness distracted him. He wished she'd stayed behind her desk. But he admired her for offering him help with Nick. Her whole handling of this prank impressed him. Though his nephew might not recognize it, he'd lucked out with this new principal. Still, this thought didn't ease Burke's feeling of shirking his responsibility.
"Okay," he started grudgingly, "my nephew didn't want to come with me to Steadfast. But my family—especially my father—thought Nicky needed a strong male
Her prim tone did the trick. Freda hurried back to her desk. Franklin Turner was right about one thing: Keely knew how to run a taut ship. Which meant Nick could be in for it. Burke entered her office, across from the one where Nick sat, and waited for her to close the door behind them. Watching her take her place behind the desk distracted him. Focus on business. He sat. "Are you sure Nicky is the one responsible?"
She sighed, sounding fatigued. "Yes, he didn't even attempt to hide what he was doing. A teacher on the second floor looked out and watched him go from car to car, uncapping tire stems and unscrewing valves."
What did Nick hope to accomplish with this stunt? "Why didn't the teacher report it right away?" Burke complained. Lax discipline here wouldn't help him turn Nick around.
"The teacher did, but by the time a student got to me with the note, your nephew had finished one row of cars and started on the next. He was supposed to be in his first class too." She sounded as if she were trying to give Nick the benefit of the doubt. But Nick had forced her hand.
His hand too. Cocky kid. Wanted to be caught, I bet. Had Nick done this just to embarrass Burke, the new deputy? Did a seventeen-year-old kid think like that? I'm out of my league here.
Then what had happened here last night rushed through him once again. Seeing Keely face down on the floor had affected him. In the big city, victims were usually strangers. He could see now that keeping the law in a small town would be different. He'd know more of the victims and lawbreakers as people.
"Burke?"
"So he was skipping class and vandalizing cars?" Burke repeated dryly.
"Yes, that's it unfortunately. But no property was destroyed and no one was hurt."
He nodded, frowning. Compared to the possibility that Nick might have shot out her windows last night, this wasn't as serious. But he couldn't let Nick get away with this just because it looked so innocent by comparison. Another situation made sitting here uncomfortable. Grady was a suspect in last night's incident too. The fact that both their relatives were suspects in the same case made the whole situation ...sticky. "What's the punishment for this type of prank?"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "A one-day suspension—after he gets an air pump and reinflates all the tires he flattened."
"Is that all?" He slid forward on his chair. "Sounds like—"
"Let the punishment fit the crime. I'll save the big guns for ...well, if I need them in the future. But let's hope this will be enough to prevent a further incident."
"Okay." He moved to stand.
She stopped him with a raised hand. "Before you leave, I'd like to ask—what do you think your nephew was trying to accomplish today? I need some hint of how to handle him if the staff and I are going to help him get settled in here."
Discussing how to handle Nick only emphasized how out in left field Burke felt. He hated to have to bare his nephew's problems to someone else—since his neglect had contributed to Nick's difficulties. Burke had put duty to the MPD before his family, and now Nick might pay the price. Burke gripped the wooden arms of the chair and then met her eyes. "I don't usually deal in rehabilitation. But I suppose you need to."
She smiled with sympathy and moved from behind her desk, settling herself on its edge. "Yes, I do because I'm in the business of helping teens mature so that you won't have to deal with them later."
Her nearness distracted him. He wished she'd stayed behind her desk. But he admired her for offering him help with Nick. Her whole handling of this prank impressed him. Though his nephew might not recognize it, he'd lucked out with this new principal. Still, this thought didn't ease Burke's feeling of shirking his responsibility.
"Okay," he started grudgingly, "my nephew didn't want to come with me to Steadfast. But my family—especially my father—thought Nicky needed a strong male
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