Schooled In Lies (10 page)

Before I gathered up my stuff to head home, I checked my e-mail to see if I had a response from vengence1986. No such luck. My e-mail had been returned as undeliverable. The vengence1986 e-mail account had been cancelled. Disappointed, I headed out of the library. I was at the bottom of the library’s wide front steps, rifling through my tote bag for my car keys, when I heard a loud voice yell, “Look out!” I looked up to see a large stone planter hurtling down towards my head. I dove out of the way as the planter landed mere inches from me, showering me with dirt and debris. Several people ran over to see if I was okay. One knee was scraped and I had a tiny cut on my cheek from the flying debris, but I was okay. I had to fill out an accident report with the campus police before they’d let me go home.

I was still shaking when I walked into my apartment. I was so rattled over almost being killed that I didn’t notice that my living room window was broken until I turned on the lights and saw the broken glass. Lying amongst the glass on my living room floor was a large rock. I carefully picked it up. There was writing on it. Of course, I already knew what it said. The message was written in bright red magic marker and screamed, “You Will Pay For What You Did.”

Chapter Seven

DETECTIVE TRISH HARMON WAS in a meeting when I arrived at the Willow Police Department the next morning. I had to wait almost an hour on a hard wooden bench in the hallway before she could see me. When I was finally able to go back to her cubicle, I could tell by her cynical expression that she was waiting for me to waste her time yet again with my overactive imagination. Trish Harmon doesn’t like me. I can think of a few reasons for her dislike, namely me getting myself involved in some of her murder investigations, but mostly I think it’s because she thinks in a straight line and has little or no use for the detours I try to put in her path. She only sees situations in black and white, while I can distinguish the shades of gray. Whatever the reason, her dislike of me was very much reciprocated.

I placed the rock on her desk and told her all about the strange near fatal accidents that me and the other reunion committee members had had. She tucked a loose strand of graying hair behind her ear before picking the rock up and reading it. She’d been letting her short hair grow out since the last time I’d seen her and it was now past her ears and made her look a little younger. To her credit, she actually listened intently to what I had to say, and I had hope that for once she wouldn’t dismiss my concerns. When she finally spoke, I was surprised that she agreed with me…sort of.

“I have to admit that if all of these incidents are connected, then this does sound pretty strange,” she said making me sit up excitedly in my chair. “Although, I have to wonder why you seem to be the only one who has reported these so-called accidents and threatening messages,” she concluded with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

I sighed and sat back in my chair. If we ever actually saw eye-to-eye it would most likely be because our foreheads were superglued together. But at least she agreed that something weird was going on and for her that was saying something.

“I can’t speak for the others. I don’t know why they haven’t reported what happened to them. All I want is for you to look into this before someone gets hurt or killed.”

“And why do you think this is about something that happened back in nineteen eighty-six?”

I wasn’t going to tell her about vengence1986 because then I’d have to admit to snooping through Gerald Tate’s e-mail. I felt a little tongue-tied. “Uh, well, since members of the reunion committee are involved, I thought maybe someone is holding the class of eighty-six responsible for something—” My voice trailed off as I realized I had no idea why anyone would be targeting us.

Eleven years was a long time to hold a grudge for something that happened back in high school. I’d gotten my fair share of grief from Audrey and her crew back in the day and, yes, I’d wanted to cause them bodily harm back then. Now, I could at least look back on my high school days without cringing and like Audrey said, she was a different person back then. Weren’t we all?

Skepticism clouded Harmon’s face before it went blank with disinterest. I watched her put the rock into a plastic bag from her desk drawer. “I’ve already gotten your statement. The other committee members will need to come to me personally and report what happened to them. However, my guess is that no one else but you sees this as anything more than series of a coincidences.”

She was back to talking like the Harmon I knew and loathed. I wasn’t going to waste more time trying to convince her. I’d reported what had had happened to me and for now that was the best I could do.

I called into work to let them know I’d be a little late and headed over to Springmont High to talk to the one person I’d yet to discuss all this madness with, Ms. Flack. She’d suffered an accident too. In the times that I’d seen her afterwards, she hadn’t mentioned receiving a threatening note. But why would she?

The parking lot was only partially full when I arrived. Summer school was in session and I could see a few students socializing at the tables near the gym’s outside entrance. I went inside and headed to the office. Ms. Flack’s secretary, Mavis Green, who’d been the school’s secretary back when I was in high school, was filing papers in one of the office’s large filing cabinets and turned to greet me as I walked in. Mavis hadn’t changed much in the eleven years since I’d attended Springmont High. She still exuded the same nervous energy that had always unnerved me back then. With her prissy looking ruffled blouses, perfectly styled fluffy white hair, and manicured nails, she’d always reminded me of a high strung show poodle.

“Can I help you?” She eagerly rushed over to the counter. It suddenly hit me that I didn’t think I ever remembered seeing Mavis sitting down. She was always up doing something.

“Is Ms. Flack in?” I looked past her at the principal’s closed office door.

“Is she expecting you?” Mavis leaned forward and whispered, “She’s been in her office all morning and asked me not to disturb her. I don’t want to bother her unless I have to.”

I started to ask if I could leave her a message when the door of Ms. Flack’s office opened and she stuck out her head.

“Mavis,” she began, then stopped when she saw me. I could see that her eyes were red-rimmed. It could have been from allergies, but she looked like she’d been crying. It also looked like she wasn’t up for company. “Kendra?” She opened her door all the way.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I know you’re probably busy. I just needed to talk to you about something.” I walked around the counter assuming she was going to invite me into her office. She didn’t.

“This is kind of a bad time right now. Is it very important?”

I looked past her into her office and saw that her desk was piled with books and magazines. She noticed me looking and stepped outside her office and pulled the door partially shut behind her. Is that what she’d been doing all morning, reading? Hell, even I could do that for sixty grand a year.

“Actually, it is important,” I replied. We stared at each other until she finally sighed and looked away.

“I’m in the middle of something. How about we meet later for lunch?”

I could tell it was an effort for her to be pleasant and decided not to push my luck. I agreed and she told me she’d meet me at Frisch’s at noon.

On the way back to my car, my cell phone rang. It was Carl. I didn’t answer. I was still upset over our argument and wasn’t ready to talk to him. By the time I got into my car, my cell phone beeped indicating that he’d left me a voice mail message. I got in my car and listened to his message.

“
Kendra, I’m really sorry about what I said yesterday. Please let me make it up to you. I hate it when we fight. This isn’t like us at all. Please give me a call, okay.”

I listened to the message two more times before erasing it. But I didn’t call him back because while I was sitting in my car, Ms. Flack came rushing out of the building and hurried across the parking lot. She was in such a rush she didn’t even notice me sitting in my car a few spaces down from where she was parked. I sat and watched her as she fumbled around in her purse. I figured she was hunting for her car keys. Instead, she pulled out a crumbled sheet of paper. She sagged against the driver’s side door of her car, unfolded it, and read it. Then she angrily ripped the paper in half, stuffed it in her purse, hopped in her car, and drove away.

What in the world had that been about? Had she gotten one of the threatening messages claiming “You Will Pay For What You Did”? I looked over at the empty space where Ms. Flack’s car had been parked and saw something white on the ground. It looked like part of the paper she’d ripped in half. I quickly got out to go pick it up but someone else beat me to it. It was the custodian, Lewis Watts. I almost didn’t recognize him without his usual attire, which consisted of a three-piece suit in some bright rainbow color with shoes and a hat dyed to match. When he saw me he grinned like a Cheshire cat.

He was shorter than me, and I should have been able to grab the paper from him. But he was holding it behind his back and kept jumping back every time I reached for it.

“Come on, Lewis. I don’t have time for this. I need that paper. It’s important,” I pleaded.

“Yeah, I know. It’s always important. You always want ole’ Lewis to help you out but there ain’t never nothin’ in it for me,” he pouted. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Okay, I get it. You want money, right?” I reached into my purse and pulled out a five-dollar bill. Lewis turned his nose up in disgust.

“I ain’t never taken a dime from no woman ‘cept my mama in all my life,” he said indignantly with his head held high. “But there’s something else you could give me that would make me real happy.” He was leering at my breasts.

I hit him over the head with my purse. He dropped the paper on the ground behind him. We both lunged for it. Lewis shoved me out of the way and got to it first…again. He started dancing around the parking lot waving it in the air while I chased him. The little booger was quick and as slippery as a greased pig. Finally, I resorted to the one thing that seemed to work on men every time. I started to cry. I leaned against my car and started sobbing.

“Oh come on now, Kelly. I was just playin’ wit you, girl.” He was still panting from his romp around the lot.

“Then give me that paper and my name is Kendra!” I wailed.

“Look, girl, I need this job. If Ms. Flack finds out I done gave somethin’ a hers to somebody else, she’ll fire ole’ Lewis. You gonna support my ass when she boots me outta here?”

“She doesn’t even realize she dropped it, so how’s she going to know you gave it to me?”

He thought for a moment and then grinned at me slyly. “Okay, I’ll give it to ya. But you got to do somethin’ for me in return, baby doll.”

I raised my purse again and he flinched. “Naw, it ain’t nothin’ like that. See, you got a filthy mind, Kelly.”

“What is it you want?” I said through gritted teeth.

“There’s an annual ball in Dayton next weekend. I go every year. I was gonna take my lady, ‘till she left me. I wanna go but I cain’t show up alone. Not ole’ Lewis, Mr. Playa Playa himself. How ‘bout I give you this paper, and you be my date to the ball.”

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. This was not happening. I really needed to see what had upset Ms. Flack so much. I sure wasn’t planning on having to make a deal with the devil to do it.
Damn
! Lewis started to walk away with the paper and I panicked.

“All right, whatever! Just give me that paper.” I followed him. He turned and grinned at me before shoving the paper in my hand.

“It’s a deal then. And don’t try and hide from me, girl. I know where ya live. I’ll be pickin’ you up a week from this Saturday at seven thirty sharp.” I turned my back on him and headed for my car.

“Oh, and Kelly,” he called out before I could get to my car.

“What!” I screamed in frustration.

“You ain’t exactly lookin’ real fly right now. I hope you can get it togetha by next weekend. Ole’ Lewis has standards, ya know.” He looked me up and down. I did a slow burn as I watched him walk into the building whistling without a care in the world. I didn’t know what I was more freaked out about, the fact that I had a date with Lewis Watts, or that he knew where I lived. Eew!

I got in my car and smoothed out the paper. It was torn right down the middle. I had the right half of the letter. It turned out to be from a Department of Corrections. The picture of the state of Ohio on the seal on the half I had told me it must be the Ohio Department of Corrections. From what I could make out, the letter was informing someone that somebody by the last name of Vermillion was going to be released from prison. The date of the release, the inmate’s first name, and the name of the person the letter was addressed to must be on the other half of the letter that Ms. Flack had. I wondered who this Vermillion person was and couldn’t wait until I met Ms. Flack for lunch so I could try and pry it out of her.