Read Online Vanishing Act by Liz Johnson - Free Book Online

But his job wasn’t to help pretty mechanics, so he made his way to a seat at the back of the class as Danielle squared her shoulders, shook her head—as if dispelling any worries—and turned to face the class.
    â€œSorry we’re getting started a little late. We’ll have to move quickly to get through the material today, so if you have any questions please be sure to ask. Everyone open your books to page 204.”
    He followed along with the instruction, but frequently had to force his mind back to the classroom at hand. It wasn’t as if he needed the college credit, and now that he had time to sit back and look around the room, his brain wanted to think about how any of the people in the room could be related to his case.
    Ridley sat straight on his stool, as though it would take a bulldozer to send him sprawling on the floor. Arms restingon the table in front of him, he watched Danielle’s movements like a panther watching its prey.
    Was he a ladies’ man, used to having easy conquests, who’d set his sights on Danielle? Or was he real trouble for her?
    Suddenly the guy sitting next to Ridley raised his hand. Kirk Banner. For every clean-pressed line that Ridley sported, Kirk offered a wrinkle and a stain. His low-slung jeans were nearly shredded and his dark yellow shirt showed off what looked to have been a pretty hideous bleach accident. Was he trying too hard to fit in with the younger students?
    â€œYes, Kirk?” Danielle called from the front of the room.
    He ran a hand through his greasy blond hair. “Is this going to be graded?”
    Danielle’s sigh was silent, but Nate could see her shoulders rise and fall from all the way across the room. “As I mentioned in the last class, I’ll be grading you on participation and will be passing along my thoughts to Andy when he gets back. He’ll be grading your assignments, the ones you’ve already turned in and the ones that are coming up.”
    Kirk sagged a little but didn’t look any more attentive than he had before he asked the question.
    Just then Nate’s pocket vibrated. He surreptitiously pulled out his phone and pressed the button to open the waiting text message from Heather:
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    Roth says S is in place. Target nearly confirmed.
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    He and the Shadow were in the same city, and Nate was at least two steps behind. He had to find Nora ASAP.
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    â€œAll right. Let’s head over to the work area, and I’ll show you what actual brake pads and shoes look like and where they’re located.” As stools scraped on the floor and students made their way to the garage side of the room, Danielle turned to the large metal cabinet behind her. Her hands were steady for the first time since the beginning of class. Hunting through Andy’s enormous ring of keys, she found the one labeled Cabinet. But just as she moved to press it into the lock, she noticed that the door stood slightly ajar, and the silver lock was covered in scratches. It had been jimmied.
    Quickly looking around at her students, she wondered who would be looking for something in there. It was used only to store auto parts, and a quick glance showed that nothing seemed to be missing. She tried to think of who had been early to class. But the truth was everyone had been earlier than her, except Ridley and Nate.
    Kirk yelled from the far side of the old car they were using for teaching. “Is this going to take all night? Some of us have social lives!”
    What had his knot wound so tight tonight? She refrained from rolling her eyes at him and instead grabbed the brake pads and shoes for demonstration.
    When she rejoined the group, she wedged herself between Ivey and a traditional student with sleek good looks.
    Glancing around the semicircle, she spied Nate standing directly across from her. He looked somber and deep in thought when she caught his eye. But then his nostrils flared and eyes crinkled like he was