The school bus had been locked for nearly two hours when a small hand appeared behind the fogged window.

The rain had turned into a torrential downpour by the time Dana’s cruiser sped toward the administrative headquarters of District 4, located on the top floor of a restored historic building downtown.

Robert Sterling was a man who moved in the highest political circles of the city. Fifty-five years old, silver-haired, impeccably dressed, he was known as a fiscal hawk who had saved the district millions in operational costs over the last decade.

Dana and Martinez bypassed the reception desk, pushing through the double glass doors of the executive suite.

Sterling was standing by his mahogany desk, packing several leather-bound ledgers into an open leather briefcase. A heavy winter coat was thrown across the back of his chair.

He turned as the detectives entered, his face instantly setting into a mask of polite, professional annoyance.

"Detective Brooks," Sterling said, resting his palms on the desk. "I trust you have an explanation for entering my office without an appointment. I was just about to leave for a regional budget conference in Dallas."

"You’re not going to Dallas, Mr. Sterling," Dana said, pulling a folded paper from her coat pocket and setting it on his desk. "This is an arrest warrant for the murder of Clara Turner and the attempted murder of Eli Turner."

Sterling didn't flinch. He didn't run. He merely offered a small, cold smile and leaned against his desk.

"Clara Turner was an unstable woman who abused prescription medication," Sterling said smoothly. "And as for the child on the bus, that is a tragic transportation safety failure that falls entirely under Principal Hale’s jurisdiction."

"We found your prints on the syringe in Clara’s bedroom, Robert," Martinez said, pulling out his handcuffs. "And we just traced the offshore bank account in the Cayman Islands that was receiving the fraudulent state education grants for the last seven years."

Sterling’s smile faded, his eyes narrowing into cold slits.

"You don't understand how this district works, Detective," Sterling said softly. "Nine years ago, Clara Turner came to me. She threatened to expose Andrew’s affair and ruin the district's referendum vote for a forty-million-dollar bond. I handled it. I set up the trust. I created the paper trail that made the boy disappear on paper so the bond would pass."

"And you kept the trust money for yourself," Dana realized. "Two hundred thousand from Andrew, plus three hundred thousand in state funding for a child that didn't exist."

"Andrew Hale was a soft, naive fool who thought he could buy his way out of a mistake," Sterling sneered. "He signed whatever paper I put in front of him. But then Clara got greedy. She wanted more money to keep hiding the boy. When she threatened to go to the police last week, I did what was necessary to protect the district's reputation."

"You put an eleven-year-old boy in a sealed bus with the heater turned to maximum," Dana said, her voice thick with disgust. "You tried to cremate him alive to cover your theft."

"Marcus Vance was supposed to leave the rear door unlocked so the boy would run away into the woods after the yard cleared," Sterling snapped, his voice finally losing its composure. "The fool got nervous, panicked when he saw Ray Collins walk back out, and triggered the remote lock!"

"You're under arrest, Sterling," Dana commanded, stepping forward.

In a flash of desperate speed, Sterling grabbed a heavy brass paperweight from his desk and hurled it directly at Dana’s head.

Dana ducked instinctively. The brass object shattered the glass door behind her.

Sterling bolted toward the private exit behind his desk, but Martinez was faster. He lunged across the desk, tackling Sterling around the waist. The two men crashed onto the hardwood floor, scattering papers and ledgers everywhere.

Sterling thrashed violently, cursing loudly, but Martinez pinned his arms behind his back, snapping the steel cuffs onto his wrists with a heavy CLICK.