White Space Season 1

can assure you they were both nothing but trouble, always getting into fights.”
    Brady looked down, as if he shouldn’t be discussing their histories with her, then nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I’m rather familiar with them. But I still need to hear both sides.”
    “What are they saying?”
    “Well, Jake is in a coma, so he’s not saying much.”
    “A coma? Oh God,” Liz said.
    The reality slapped Liz in the face. The boy could die, and her son could be charged. A murderer, just like her husband.
    Brady continued, “Ray says some words were exchanged, and your son just went ballistic. Says he even pulled a knife on them.”
    “Bullshit!” Liz said, not giving a damn whether the chief was offended or not. This was her son, for Christ’s sake. She wasn’t gonna sit by while some punk ass kids maligned Alex. “Alex doesn’t even have a knife! And he would never, EVER, ‘go ballistic,’ Chief. They must have provoked him! Hell, maybe they were the ones who messed up my car yesterday!”
    “What do you mean?” Brady asked.
    “I was at the library yesterday and a Paladin guard came in to tell me that someone had spray painted the word ‘murderer’ on my windshield. I just had the window guy out this morning replacing the window.”
    “Did you fill out a police report?” Brady asked.
    “No,” Liz said, now feeling stupid for not documenting the event. “With everything going on, I didn’t want to call attention to it, or wind up on the news, again, or anything.”
    Her eyes met Brady’s, as if conveying the unspoken part of that sentence … you know, what with my husband having gone on a shooting spree.
    “My family is being targeted!” she cried. “They must have attacked him. Alex would never hurt anyone unless he was fighting back. He’s a sweet boy, and he’s never been in trouble.”
    “I’m not judging what did or didn’t happen, Mrs. Heller. That’s why I need to talk to Alex, so I can get his side of the story and start sorting the facts.”
    Brady’s radio beeped. He gave Liz an apology with his eyes, then took the call, “Brady.”
    “It’s Johnson. Katie’s mother hasn’t heard from her, either. Any luck on your end?”
    “No,” Brady said. “Did she give you any other info?”
    “No, sir.”
    “OK, Head back to the girl’s house and see if they’re there,” Brady said. “10-4”
    Brady looked up. “Katie’s mom hasn’t seen them, either. Do you have any idea where they might have gone? Is there any special place they liked to go to to get away from the world, maybe some romantic spot?”
    “I have no idea,” she said.
    “Has he been upset or anything, lately?”
    Liz stared at Brady. “His father just shot his classmates, what do you think?”
    Brady looked at Liz’s WELCOME mat. “Sorry,” he said, and then looked back up to her. “Of course he’s been upset. But do you think he’d run off? Or do you know anywhere he might go if he was afraid to come home? Any friends or relatives on the island? Or off the island, nearby?”
    “Nobody’s talking to him, except Katie. His best friend blames him for what happened, and his other friend is in a coma, and I’m pretty sure nobody else is returning his calls. And no, we don’t have any other family.”
    “OK, Mrs. Heller, I’m heading back to the station now. If Alex calls you or comes home, I need you to get him to come see me, or call me and I’ll get over here immediately.”
    “Are you going to arrest him?”
    “No, Mrs. Heller,” Brady shook his head. “I just want to talk to him, and I want to get out ahead of this before anything else happens.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t know what happened today, but I think it’s a safe bet that people on the island are angry, and I want to make sure nothing else happens to you or your family.”
    “Do you think we’re in danger, Chief Brady?”
    Brady turned his head toward the Paladin guard sitting in the parked SUV, then looked back at Liz. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing you have security outside.”
    Brady reached into his shirt pocket, retrieved a couple of cards, then handed them to her.
    “Here,” he said, putting the cards in her hand. “Call me the minute you hear from Alex or Katie. Or if anything else happens.”
    Liz looked down at the cards, then back up into Brady’s kind eyes. She’d always liked the chief when he’d come into her class to talk with the kids about bullying and drug use and all the other