Yes, he thought, staring intently at the picture. Angel should keep this one as long as possible. His gaze idly shifted to the date of birth field. He paused, blinked and refocused his gaze. According to this, Angel and he were the same age!
He shook his head. After class, they were going to have a talk. Maybe after he got through chewing her out for having a fake ID, he’d ask her about the picture. Maybe find out if that kid was any relation to Tony.
Jake picked up the picture and studied it more closely. He flipped it over. In childish scrawl written across the back in purple pen, were the words Me and Tony, along with the year.
Jake took a deep breath and willed his heart to slow. It didn’t make sense. Why was Angel at Woodland Hills High, pretending to be eighteen when she was really twenty-six?
He started to shove the license and picture into the bag’s pocket, then stopped and carefully placed them along with the money exactly as he’d found them. He then did the same with the books, until they were all back in place.
Now he had two mysteries on his hands—Angel and Tony D’Fusco.
“There’s no one on this staff that would be involved in drug dealing.” The words he’d spoken to the police officers when they’d interviewed him came rushing back.
He’d never thought about the substitute staff. Tony had been a regular all last semester, but Jake hadn’t seen him since before Christmas.
Jake sat up straight. Tony had quit filling in right around the time the police had placed the first undercover cop. It seemed almost too coincidental.
But if Tony was involved, wouldn’t that mean Angel was, too? Of course, she could just as easily be an undercover cop. Although he couldn’t imagine the diminutive Angel in a police uniform with a gun strapped to her side. Deep in his heart, he couldn’t believe she was a drug dealer, either. He shook his head. What was there about him that made him believe the best of people? He’d always been a soft touch.
Just like my brother.
The thought twisted inside him. Jim had trusted his students and lost his life because of that misplaced trust. Jake wouldn’t be so foolish. He’d get to the bottom of this mystery before he made any judgments. Tony D’Fusco was the key.
After school today, he’d make a few calls. He hoped he’d be able to talk to Tony and find out his connection to Angel. Then he’d know for sure which side of the law Angel was on.
He couldn’t deny that he was relieved Angel wasn’t eighteen. Amanda had been right when she’d hinted he had more than a teacherly interest in the girl, er, woman.
Still, despite all that, if she was involved in an illegal activity—Angel Morelli was going to be one sorry angel.
He’d see to it.
Angel sucked the last of her chocolate shake through the straw, using the time to gather her thoughts.
“So, what do you think?” Crow leaned over the gray Formica countertop that separated them, clearly impatient.
Part of what made him edgy, Angel knew, was where they’d been seated. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room might not bother most people, but she and Crow, like most cops, didn’t like to have their backs exposed. They’d chosen this out-of-the-way place because of its location. How were they to know this ramshackle building with its peeling white paint and weathered sign proclaiming Burger and Fries—CHEAP was a favorite of laborers from a nearby construction site?
Now it was too late to go anywhere else. She was already missing most of her afternoon classes.
“What do I think?” Angel leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Mike’s definitely dealing. There might be a few other athletes involved, as well.”
Crow’s dark eyes gleamed. “Finally we’re getting somewhere. What about Weston?”
“Jake?” Angel pushed the plate that still held most of a double cheeseburger to one side. “I’m not sure.”
“Right now he’s our prime suspect.”
“I know that, Crow.” Her voice came out sharper than she intended. “I’m not stupid.”
The knowing look he gave her sent her blood pressure soaring. She’d spent the past few years proving to her colleagues on the force that she was as good as they were, and she resented Crow acting as if she was letting her emotions get in the way of her doing her job.
Angel took a deep breath and forced a reasonable tone. “I’m moving as fast as I can. But remember, he’s a teacher and he thinks I’m a student.”
Crow’s harsh bark of a laugh took her by surprise. “Get real. He’s a guy and he’s got it bad for you, student or not.”
Although Crow’s words should have pleased her, Angel was disturbed. She found Jake Weston attractive, and because she knew she wasn’t an eighteen-year-old high school student she had no problem trying to establish a relationship with him. But he was a teacher and he thought she was a teen. If he did respond, her respect for him would plummet.
“Okay, I’ll step up my efforts. If he’s involved, I’ll find out.”
“You’re doing a good job, Angel,” Crow said. “I’d never guess, if I didn’t know, that this is your first time undercover.”
His comment pleased her. Crow wasn’t one to offer undeserved praise. “I’m just glad my cousin is no longer subbing at Woodland. He’d blow my cover in seconds.”
Crow took a sip of coffee so dark that it gave new meaning to the word black. “Where is he now?”
“Italy. He’s teaching English at an international school over there.”
The waitress came over, and to Angel’s surprise, Crow accepted a refill. It wasn’t often he sat and talked after they’d concluded their business.
“I don’t even know any of my cousins,” Crow mused.
Angel understood. With the breakdown of the nuclear family, very few of the teens she’d counseled had much contact with any of their extended family.
“I lived with my aunt and uncle for a while when I was fifteen.” Angel shook her head. “You should have seen my cousin and me back then. We made quite a pair. I looked like I ran around the streets, and Tony…well, he looked a lot like you do now.” The minute the words left Angel’s lips, she wished she could snatch them back.
Crow laughed. “That bad?”
“I have this photo I should show you.” She stuck her hand in the pocket of her jeans before she remembered she’d left it, along with her driver’s license, tucked safely inside her backpack.
“What’s the matter? Change your mind?”
“No, I didn’t change my mind.” Angel laughed. The picture was bad, but not that bad. “I left it in my bag. I’ll show you when we get back to the car.”
Crow’s brow furrowed. “Your bag isn’t in my car.”
“Sure, it is,” Angel said promptly. “I had it with me when you picked me up at the school.”
“No.” Crow spoke slowly and deliberately. “You didn’t.”
An icy chill gripped Angel’s heart. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” His gaze sharpened. “What did you have in it?”
She forced herself to breathe normally and to think logically. “I stopped by my locker after my last class. I know I had it then. But I can’t remember if I took the bag into the bathroom with me.”