Relative Danger (11 page)

Satisfaction soothed my tensed muscles. “Sorry, I was in my stupid state when I told you yes,” I’d tell Hannah. “But tomorrow I absolutely will
not
cross your school’s doorstep.” I smirked, waiting for someone to pick up the ringing telephone. Surely people were still in that office. I had seen many staff members roaming through that area. Custodians must still be cleaning. I’d tell anyone.
Let an administrator know I won’t be there.

Hours seemed to pass while I waited. I closed the phone, cursing everyone who worked at Sidmore High. No one could have murdered Grant Labruzzo after school hours. Nobody stayed at school that long.

I calmed my breathing and created new plans. All I really had to do was make certain Kat continued to attend. It was time to talk to her.

I climbed into my mail truck, wondering why I needed to determine how a stranger died. I wasn’t a detective. I hadn’t needed to sort out such things last month, when I trekked through jungles with men who wore skins and spoke Swahili. The only death I worried about then was mine, if those lions we’d viewed from afar decided to visit while we slept in hot tents.

Parking in front of Roger’s house, I recalled the last time I saw Kat, when she ran out on me from the restroom. I climbed the steps, rang the bell, and she opened the door.

Kat’s cheeks colored. Her gaze swung away from my eyes. She was expecting chastisement.

“Hi sweetie,” I said, kissing her cheek and trotting in without invitation. I faced her in the dark living room. “Come riding with me, Kat.”

“Where would we go?”

Wherever it takes to get you to talk
. “I need your help with shopping.”

Her lips formed a half grin. “What do you need to get?”

“School clothes. Maybe a denim dress with a little schoolhouse.”

Kat made a real smile. “I can’t imagine you wearing anything like that, Gram. And why would you want a dress that resembles school?”

Thickness formed in my throat. “Tomorrow I’m going back to Sidmore High,” I said with a shudder, hating to urge Kat to return. Some people in that place gave off horrible vibes.

She said, “Oh,” and a quiet moment passed. “I heard that more teachers would be out. They often are, on a Friday or Monday.”

“Why Fridays and Mondays?”

“Listen, Gram, I’ve—”

“You ignored me today. I didn’t like that.”

She fell silent. What was it about teens? Did you have to tug every response out of some and stare down others to make them shut up? When God decided to create teenagers, He’d surely grinned, presenting us adults with major puzzles. I had to figure out this one.

“Kat, I met Miss Hernandez.”

Her shoulders drooped. “That’s why I didn’t talk to you in the bathroom. You would have asked me about her. And I probably would’ve cried.”

I wrapped my arms around Kat, and she held on, her back trembling. Pain for her squeezed through my heart. Too much distress inside this young person. I yearned to pull it all out and toss it away. Why would a question have caused her such pain? Had she become too sensitive, or too attached to that teacher? We let each other go, and I sat beside Kat on the sofa, with Nancy’s face surrounding us. “Did something happen between you and Miss Hernandez today?” I asked.

Distress remained in Kat’s face. “I didn’t see her, but I couldn’t concentrate in my classes. Somebody passed me a note. It said the police were arresting her.”

I clutched Kat’s hand. “Was it true?”

“I don’t know.”

“I met Miss Hernandez right after noon recess. When did you get the note?”

“During the period after that. Later on, I asked some friends, but none of them had an afternoon class in her hall. Nobody saw her.”

I grabbed my cell phone, called Information, and connected with the police station. “Can you tell me if Marisa Hernandez was arrested today?” I asked the friendly sounding man who answered.

“Sorry, I can’t give out that information.”

“But it’s important. My granddaughter’s her best friend.”

Kat made a weak grin, and the man repeated that he couldn’t help me. I hung up, told Kat what he’d said, and watched her grin wilt. “Is there anybody else I could call?” I asked. “An administrator? Another teacher?”

“No. If it’s not true, I don’t want to start another rumor.”

“But who’d start a rumor like that?”

She folded her hands on her lap. “The boy I broke up with was in that class.”

“John Winston? I met him.”

“You meet everybody, Gram.” She almost smiled.

“Would John make up a lie just to taunt you?”

“He wasn’t very happy when I quit dating him.”

“Can’t blame him for that,” I said, tweaking Kat’s nose. “So we probably won’t know the truth about Miss Hernandez until tomorrow. I’ll be at school to find out if she shows up. Will you?”

Kat stood. “Let’s get something to drink.”

We walked to the kitchen, and I said, “Your dad’s late. Any chance he went out with the guys after work?”

Kat smirked. She poured glasses of iced tea and we sat sipping our beverages, staring out the bay window, watching evening descend on Roger’s flowers.

“Do you know a boy called Sledge?” I said. “He and I butted heads today.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“And I spoke to Roxy. She seems dangerous.” I looked at Kat. “Are you smoking?”

She grinned and shook her head. “Why would you think that?”

“You came into the girls’ restroom with Roxy. She only came in there to smoke.”

“I was just walking behind her. But you’re right. Roxy could be dangerous.”

I mentally patted my back. I knew killers when I saw them. I’d seen many on television.

“Roxy hasn’t been at our school long,” Kat said. “I don’t remember where she came from. But the first time I saw her, I walked in the bathroom and it was really crowded. Somebody shoved me in a corner. It was Roxy, drawing a knife on me.”

My heart jumped to my throat. “A knife?”

“Just a tiny pocketknife.”

“A knife is a knife, no matter how big. Knives cut. They can kill.”

“I know. When Roxy did that, I tried to shove my spine into the wall.”

“And then what happened?” I asked, pulse racing.

Kat sipped her tea. “Nothing. Roxy closed the knife, put out her hand, and introduced herself. I shook her hand and she left. Ever since then, we’ve been cool.”

I was cool. Students said it. But my relationship with people didn’t involve knives. “How cool are you with her now?”

“We’re not close friends, not enemies. We usually grin at each other.”

Having Roxy grin at Kat didn’t console me much. Another fearful thought came. “You wouldn’t happen to have a class with Miss Gird? A tiny woman, follows a coach, face gets all red when she’s mad.”

“Yes, I know. And I do.”

Uh-oh
. “Did you ever see her hurt anyone?”

Kat laughed. “Only a boy that she heard yelling filthy stuff in the hall one day. Miss Gird slammed him against a locker.”

I knew it. More ideas popped up. “Kat, why does it seem that so few people at the school miss Grant Labruzzo?”

She shrugged. “He hadn’t worked there long, so most people probably didn’t even know him.”

I mulled on these new insights. Another previous worry returned. “Did you know a substitute teacher named Jayne Ackers?”

Kat moved off to the refrigerator. “She’s tall and blond, looks kind of like Miss Hernandez. Gram, I have to fix dinner. You can stay, but please let’s quit talking about school.”

Obviously she didn’t know Jayne Ackers had been shot. And since Kat had enough concerns, I chose not to tell her now. “I ate.”

“Already? Where?”

“At Cajun Delights.”

Kat’s face brightened. “Oh, with Mr. Gil.”

“The food was good.”

Kat eyed me, her grin suggesting she didn’t believe I’d only enjoyed the meal. I quickly changed topics. “I’ll really need somebody to pick out things that I could give a special young lady as a graduation gift.”

“Gram…”

“And then I could hide them. The graduate could pretend to be surprised at what’s inside all the gift wrap.”

“Graduation gifts are for people who graduate.”

“Yes.”

Kat narrowed her eyes. “Don’t push me.”

I wanted to push. I wanted life normal, and this child happily finishing high school. She and I exchanged a brief kiss at the front door. I drove away wanting to dash back in there and pin Kat down. Would she come back to Sidmore High? If I had to be there, then she should be. She was the reason I’d be putting myself in that position, even knowing what I currently knew about students.

A picture flashed into mind. I was holding Nancy’s cool hand, giving the assurance that I’d take her place. All of the worry wrinkles on Nancy’s forehead smoothed out.

Deathbed promises. Were they all so difficult to keep?

In the condo I kicked off my pumps and listened to my feet plat-platting across the floor. I strode through rooms, reminding myself of a caged tiger I’d once watched in a zoo. The majestic creature’s space was so small that I’d wanted to set him free. Not a good idea with a ferocious animal, I’d determined. I left his area when golden fur from his shoulder rubbed off against the bars.

I was starting to feel as he must have. Too many concerns. Too little space in which to take care of them. And alone, just like that tiger? I didn’t have to be. My decision.

To remind myself of choices, I walked to the stove, grabbed a towel, and buffed. “There,” I said to nearby Minnie, but really to me. “I can still cook on one of these. Or not.” In the den I ran the towel across an end table. “And I can keep dusting furniture like I used to.” I crumpled the towel. “Or let someone else earn a living doing it.” I draped back across the leather recliner’s arms and stared at the chandelier, its teardrops glistening. Kat could probably be salutatorian of her class if she tried. And she might get offered a nice scholarship to a major university. But her bright future and her worries tugged at each other. On which side would she fall?

Kat’s future could include her becoming a top graduate. Or she could avoid school and fail exams, which would make her grades drop. She could choose not to attend her high school graduation. But Nancy had lived her whole life with a sense of failure, only because she hadn’t pressed on to receive that one piece of paper—a diploma—in her hand.

I slammed down my fists and drew myself up. Kat would
not
fail!

I envisioned all those mean students from Sidmore High School and knew—tomorrow I’d be the teacher from hell.

Chapter 9

I strutted through my den feeling newly empowered. I knew what to expect from high school students now. And I knew what I’d do with them.

I needed to calm down. The clock rang early on school days. By now the police had my information about Sledge and were probably discovering what happened between him and the dead man. Maybe the brute was already behind bars. Then Marisa Hernandez would no longer be a suspect. Kat could resume life as before, attending final classes, confiding in her mentor.

I relaxed. I wanted to read something that would put me to sleep, which excluded my latest Kinsey newsletter. In the kitchen I told Minnie hi and opened the dishwasher. The bottom shelf, holding my multicolored cookbooks, rolled out. Since I never planned to bother these appliances with lots of soiled dishes, I’d found the dishwasher a perfect place for storing my books. And a kitchen pantry shelf, without tons of food and often located near the back door, usually became a great space on which to place boxes of my shoes.

I fingered the orange cookbook from Georgia, the tan one from Toledo, the white one from Denver. I selected
The Best Dishes of Montana
. Whatever people ate in Montana might not let me stay awake long.

Lying in bed, I read their recipes for hors d’oeuvres. The first six doused me with sleep.

Morning brought me into my closet, where I picked through widely spaced items. A few women teachers at Sidmore High had worn knitted droopy pants and matching tops with pictures. I didn’t want to wear that and had nothing resembling it anyway. Pushing aside my already wrinkled pantsuit, I bypassed my slut clothes and considered an ecru linen jacket with off-white slacks and a silk blouse. My mind’s eye embroidered the outfit Marisa Hernandez wore, the classic knit dress with no bra. I envisioned the tailored suits worn by Hannah Hendrick and Anne Little and then decided on a compromise.

After a brisk shower I blew my hair dry, noting its roots wanting of more natural burnt sienna. Today I didn’t have time to find a hairdresser. I brushed my waves and strode through the condo, sans clothing. Gil had taught me to feel comfortable in the skin God gave me, even if much of it now pimpled with cellulite, and other parts sagged toward my waist.

Yesterday’s dinner at Gil’s restaurant had been early, my growling belly reminded me. I swallowed cranberry juice and spied Minnie’s head drooping. If this juice drenched humans with vitamins, how much better must it be for plants? Pleased with my inventiveness, I coated Minnie’s soil with the wine-colored liquid. “You should feel perkier within minutes,” I said and tossed my cup in the trash, smiling as I considered what the cafeteria might serve. Today I could find it. And today I knew how little time there would be for eating. I’d get to those pans of food in time for my noon feeding.

My outfit consisted of a suit. Navy—a no-nonsense, power color. Pads built up my shoulders. Epaulettes with gold buttons gave me the air of belonging to the military. I straightened, enjoying the authority I saw in the mirror.

Since I also liked Marisa Hernandez’s idea of having no underwear even when standing before those bloodthirsty people, I wore no panties. Instead, I drew on sheer pantyhose. Beneath them I normally wore briefs. Not today. “You have a great day,” I told Minnie, “because I will. I’ll make those teens sorry they ever messed with me.” Minnie didn’t look stronger, but maybe that would take a few hours. I grabbed my navy pumps from the pantry and slipped them on. I was ready.

A thought made a jolt of concern strike my stomach. Had Kat avoided school because she was scared to attend? After all, a man had died there. Sidmore High must have been a frightening place even before his death. Someone had keyed my Lexus the first time I went, when nobody there even knew me. Now Sledge and a few others must hate me. And some, like Roxy, knew Kat was my grandchild. I needed to make certain Miss Hernandez was at school. But suppose she had spent the night and morning in jail?