Chapter 27 The Ezra Effect
THE EZRA EFFECT
LUCAS
Leaving the bedroom and closing the door behind him, he nearly stepped on a football lying in the middle of the hallway.
Ah. That’s what hit the door with a thump.
So, he probably noticed the car in the driveway and threw the ball from downstairs.
He probably hadn’t really heard anything. It was a warning of, “Hey, I’m home!”
When he got downstairs, Ezra was sitting at the kitchen table working on some slides on his computer.
He didn’t say anything other than “Good morning” as he worked.
When Elyxandre came downstairs, he packed all of his schoolwork into his backpack and hung it on the chair, then started to set the table.
Lucas watched her hesitate on the periphery of the room, but when she saw Ezra setting three places, and again saying nothing other than “Good morning,” she seemed to relax a little.
His kid was the best.
When they sat down to eat, he asked about the study zoo—who was there, when people arrived, when they left—and he did it seamlessly so it didn’t sound like he was interrogating.
Hopefully, it helped Elyxandre with her part in the investigation.
She, in turn, asked about the dance, the other students, and who got along with whom.
Lucas could tell she was trying to see the relationship nuances in case anyone there might possibly know something or be involved.
Eventually, she had to leave to go home and change for work.
Lucas grabbed her vest and his gym bag filled with her clothes, then walked her to the door.
A quick kiss goodbye, a promise to see her later, and a reminder about coming to stay with them, at least until her door was fixed, and he returned to the kitchen.
While he waited for the sink to fill with warm water, he also waited for Ezra to move in for the kill.
They had a dishwasher, but when they needed to talk, the other one always knew because one of them filled the sink and did the dishes by hand.
It forced them to stand next to each other, but not necessarily look at one another, and made difficult conversations easier.
His son didn’t disappoint, although he did wait for his father to be elbow deep in the dishwater before he picked up a towel and moved to his side.
Ezra turned on the radio, the music so low it could barely be heard. Lucas handed him the first clean plate to dry.
“Soooo… now I see why you left the dance early.”
“Wipe that grin off your face, mister.” Lucas flicked soap bubbles at him. “She was the reason, but not so we could hook up.”
They went back to the task at hand.
“Are you happy?” Ezra asked.
“More than.”
“Good. You deserve it. And I will refrain from saying, ‘I told you so.’”
He shoulder-checked the boy who was grinning like a loon.
However, the smile dropped quickly. “I promise not to say anything to anyone, even if directly asked. But after the subtle attempt at questioning this morning, and the muddy state of her vest and SUV, I’m guessing her spending the night is not what we need to chat about. ”
“No, it’s not.” He washed several dishes before he spoke again. “How are the students reacting to Thursday?”
“Some are still scared. A few are angry that some jackass messed with our homecoming week, and they’re mad because you and the police couldn’t catch them. Most are already past it.”
“If you heard rumors, you’d tell me, right? I mean, I don’t want you snitching with every single thing you hear, but if it was really important?”
“Of course I would.”
“Even if it wasn’t about me? Say, another teacher?”
“Dad. You mean Officer Hookstead.”
“Well, this morning, yeah, but another teacher or staff member in general.”
“Yes, I would. And no, I haven’t heard of anyone really pissed off at any of the faculty or staff. Other than Ryker, that is. But he’s always pissed about something lately.”
“Has he said anything specific about Elyxandre? I mean, Officer Hookstead?”
Ezra stopped drying the plate in his hand and stared out the window. “I was going to say no, but on Thursday, he did say something odd. It wasn’t a threat. It was something to the effect of ‘Now we get to see how she responds.’ It was such a weird thing to say.”
“Why do you think it’s weird?”
“Well, why would he care how she responded to a threat? I mean, yeah, I guess there’s a natural curiosity about how that gets handled, but when we were waiting at Riverbend for the buses, he seemed overly interested in any bit of information he could collect.”
“He’s in your AP Computer Science class, right? Is he any good?”
“Not as good as me, but he’s good.” All dishwashing came to a stop. “You think he did the hoax, don’t you?”
“He’s pretty mad about his consequences for the school raid. I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t at the top of my suspect list.”
Nodding, the boy looked down into the sink, as if somehow he was going to find truths in it. “He definitely blames Officer Hookstead for that, which is weird because you’re the one who gave him the consequence.”
“He’s pretty smart, yes?”
Ezra hesitated. “His ranking is a few off from mine.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question. What aren’t you saying?”
“He… Look, I don’t know anything for a fact, but the rumor is, he takes shortcuts.”
“You mean he cheats.”
“I guess it depends on what you define as cheating. A couple of years ago, I would have said it would never have crossed his mind. You caught him last year using AI to write his essay.” He shook his head. “Honestly, that I would not have expected.”
Both returned to finishing the dishes. When they were done, he stopped Ezra from leaving the kitchen to get ready for school. “Ez… there’s something else.”
“I wondered if maybe there was.”
“You’re too smart for your own good. You know that, right?”
His son shrugged and smirked. “It’s hereditary.”
“Nice suck-up attempt. This is serious though. Things have been happening at Officer Hookstead’s house. Vandalism-type stuff. That’s part of why she was here last night.”
Ezra cocked his head with a “Really, Dad?” look on his face.
“I said part. Her house isn’t safe right now. Someone took the vandalism to a new level and broke in. Trashed the place.”
The look disappeared, replaced with concern. “Geez. You think it was Ryker?”
“I don’t know. Maybe? But there’s something else as well. I need you not to tell anyone that you know, but it won’t be long before everyone does. Kennedy Dixon went missing Saturday night.”
Eyes wide, his skin paling, Ezra’s mouth fell open like a fish out of water. “What?”
“Elyxandre was searching for her all day. All they found was her phone.”
“That’s why you guys were quizzing me about the study zoo. To see if anyone knew anything or left at all.”
“Exactly.”
Ezra shook his head. “She never showed. Gemma went to her house to pick her up. Or tried to. She can’t always sneak out, so we weren’t sure if she’d get there or not. She said the house was dark, but her car wasn’t in the driveway, so she didn’t even bother to try her window.”
“Did she say what time she was at the house?”
“No, but it would have been just before the dance broke up because Gemma forgot her laptop and ran home to get it.”
Lucas noticed the fretful look on his son’s face.
He put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him in a side hug.
“Don’t worry about it, Ez. There’s nothing you can do except worry, and that won’t help her.
The police will find her.” He gave his son a playful shove.
“Go on and get ready for school. We’ll order in tonight when you get home.
And hey… Elyxandre’s going to stay with us for a few days, so try not to embarrass her, all right? ”
With a smile, the teen headed to the stairs. “I’ll do my best. I want her to stick around, not scare her off.”
“That makes two of us.”
Twenty minutes later, they were heading out the door for school.
The drive was quiet, but when they got to the building, Lucas stopped him from getting out of the car.
“Ez… keep your ears open, okay? Maybe I’m paranoid, but I don’t like what’s been happening to Elyxandre, to Kennedy, at school.
You hear anything, and I mean anything, you tell me immediately.
Text me if you have to. I promise to keep you out of it if I have to do something with the information, but I’m worried. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Ezra nodded. “You got it, Dad.”
He ruffled the boy’s head, much as he’d done when he was little. “Learn stuff. Be safe. Don’t suck. Love ya, champ.”
“Love you too, Dad.”