Free All Good Deeds by Stacy Green

wouldn’t be the first cop to choose loyalty.
    “I thought his partner was handling Justin.”
    “Yeah, but Todd doesn’t want his little brother to go back to prison. You don’t think he might try to cover up evidence? What if he thinks he needs to convince Justin to let her go and take off or something? Anything would be better than another round of prison.”
    “I don’t know, Lucy. Todd’s been pretty decent to you so far, and he’s got a really good reputation.”
    “Which is on the line because he vouched for his brother and promised to keep an eye on him. Did you find out anything else?”
    Kelly cleared her throat. “Yeah. One other thing, and it’s worst of all.”
    I braced myself, pushing my feet into the car’s floorboards. “Hit me.”
    “Justin Beckett started working at A&M Sanitation three weeks ago.” I swallowed back the shock. Justin had access to dumpsters all over the city. The perfect place to drop little Kailey’s used body.
    My head bounced against the back of the seat. “God Almighty.”
    With ten minutes until dismissal, parents were already lining up to pick up kids. A whiteboard at the main entrance–the only one unlocked–announced a strict sign-in policy. I didn’t expect to get past the office, but I just needed an excuse to be milling around when the kids came out. If I were lucky, I’d manage to talk to some parents.
    Although one of the older buildings in the district, Kipling Elementary had the standard security cameras on all the doors, with a second set of alarmed interior doors acting as a barrier for unwanted visitors. The inside of the school showed its wear, scuff marks decorating the tile in long streaks. Yellow, textured walls boasted scratches, and I envisioned kids trying to claw their way out of their imagined prisons.
    Inside the office, a grim-faced secretary greeted me. “May I help you?”
    I plastered a smile on my face and hoped I didn’t look like a hyena.
    I leaned against the tall counter, which was cluttered with various signup forms and pens with ugly flowers taped to the ends. “I’m Lucy Kendall, and my husband and I are looking at a house in the area. I’d like to check out the school.”
    The secretary, whose nametag announced her as Mrs. Harris, was unfazed. “We don’t give random tours. It’s a matter of student safety, which I’m sure you can understand.”
    “Of course. I just thought I could maybe talk to the principal, get a feel for the place.”
    “He doesn’t take walk-ins unless your children actually attend Kipling,” Mrs. Harris said. “And he’s in a meeting right now. But I can certainly schedule you an appointment.”
    I cleared my throat and checked my watch. “I’m not sure I can schedule that right now. I took today off work to check out the area. I’ll have to look at our calendars and call for an appointment. Sorry to have bothered you.”
    Turning up the collar of my coat, I headed out of the office and into the hall. Outside, uniforms milled around, watching for someone suspicious. With Jenna’s permission to look for Kailey, I had every right to be here. But I knew Todd wouldn’t appreciate it.
    Near the entrance, a janitor with a jingling key ring fiddled with the latch on a worn-looking display case. I gave him a wide berth, not wanting to disrupt his work.
    “Ouch.” He cursed under his breath and dropped his screwdriver. The tip of his index finger was red from being pinched in the uncooperative latch.
    I quickly bent down and grabbed the screwdriver. “Here you go.”
    “Thanks.” He shot me a cursory glance, and then he froze, the tool clutched in his hands. His face was cherubic, although his expression distinctly hostile. Beneath a shock of blond hair was fair skin that looked like it hadn’t seen the sun for a while. Sallow came to mind, ravaged with the dark shadows of either drug use or insomnia. Darkness flashed through his eyes, and his fist clenched. I swear he started to step