by Libby Klein
“That’s because Kristen found the plant. Barbie wouldn’t know a poisonous plant if it bit her on the nose.”
“If Kristen found the plant, then why is the article about Barbie saving those kids?”
“Because Barbie always had to be in the spotlight. She was constantly taking credit for the things we did. This story should have been about Kristen.”
“Why did you all stay friends with her if she was so terrible to you?”
“We were dumb kids and Barbie wielded a lot of power over us. If anyone crossed her, she made them an outcast. Remember Tina Agliono?”
“No.”
“See. She stood up to Barbie once. Now no one even remembers she existed. The one thing Barbie was truly good at was cheerleading. She was the captain of the squad from sophomore year to graduation. But if any one crossed her, she got even. She put Cindy Parlett on top of the pyramid, then persuaded David Eegan that it would be hilarious to drop her. Cindy broke her ankle and was out of cheerleading for the rest of the year. She was that vicious.”
Kelly handed the yearbook back to me.
“You know she was accepted to be a cheerleader for the Eagles after college.”
“Really? What happened?”
“She got pregnant with Tiffany.”
“I didn’t know you could be a professional cheerleader if you were married.”
“She wasn’t married. She knew Robert from her Politics class at Princeton. They had a marriage of convenience. Barbie’s family helped Robert get his seat in Congress, and Robert married Barbie to cover up the pregnancy. There are rumors that Tiffany’s father was Amber’s fiancé, Douglass.”
And that must have been the “incident” between Barbie and Amber.
“Don’t say anything, because Tiffany has no idea.”
That poor girl. My cell phone vibrated and I got a message from Aunt Ginny. Hurry up–we can’t hold them off any longer. They’ve put out an APB for Bessie. LOL.
LOL? I wondered what she thought that stood for?
“I appreciate your help, but I have to run.”
“Sure thing, please keep what we talked about between us. I wouldn’t want it getting out that I use Botox.”
“My lips are sealed.”
Kelly was a dead end. And I couldn’t believe it, but it was looking more and more like Kristen could be the killer. I kept defending her, saying there was no way a pregnant woman was capable of murder. But the evidence was stacking up against her.
Chapter 45
The parking lot at Caper High was mostly empty. There were a smattering of cars from a few teachers working late and a couple of clubs having late meetings, but no cop cars patrolling the area.
I parked Bessie up front in Mr. Wiseman’s spot, put my head down, and fast walked into the building. There was no security this late in the day, so I passed the sign-in desk and went toward the cafeteria looking for the PTA meeting to find Kristen.
As I was passing the nurse’s office I heard what sounded like the air being let out of a stack of tires. “Shhhhhhhh shhhhhhhh hahhhhhhh.”
I craned my head in the doorway and there was Kristen with her feet up against her desk, her knees bent to the ceiling and her hands on her belly.
“Hhhhheeee hhhhheeee hhhhhooooo.”
“What in God’s name are you doing?”
“I’m in labor, you idiot!”
“Why aren’t you at the hospital?”
“Come over here and dig your hand into my back for me.”
“Eww, why?”
“Didn’t you ever help any of your friends when they were in labor?”
“No one ever asked me.” I was nervous as all get-out so I did what I do when I’m panicking. I started rambling.
“I was only pregnant once and I had a miscarriage. I had to have an emergency hysterectomy and then couldn’t get pregnant anymore so people tended to stay away from that subject with me.”
Kristen’s eyes bored into me while I was talking. “Shhhhhhhh shhhhhhhh hahhhhhhh.”
I dug my fist into her back where she showed me. “What’s with all the weird noises?”
“It’s Lamaze breathing. It’s supposed to distract you.” Then she let out a war cry—“AAAAAHHHHH!”
I dug my fist in harder. “Is it working?”
“No!”
“Should I call an ambulance?”
“No! Joel is on his way. What did you want anyway?”
“Ummmm.”
“Spill it! Hhhhheeee hhhhheeee hhhhhooooo.”
With my other hand I opened the yearbook to the Ecology Club page. “What’s going on in this picture?”
Kristen started panting like a dog. “Heh heh heh heh. Barbie is taking credit for someone else’s achievement. Again. AAAAHHHHH!”
“Oh my God. What do I do?”
“Hold my hand!”
I took Kristen’s hand. “Like this? OW THAT HURTS!”
And then Kristen turned into the devil. “DON’T TELL ME WHAT HURTS! Hhhhheeee hhhhheeee hhhhhooooo.”
I was terrified.
“So you found the poisonous lily of the valley and Barbie took the credit for it? And that’s why you look so miserable here?”
“No. Shhhhhhhh shhhhhhhh hahhhhhhh. I didn’t find the plant. Missy did. Missy was the smart one. She was just always number two at everything. Look at the clubs.”
“I’m losing feeling in my arm. That can’t be good.”
A sudden crash splashed to the floor. “What was that?”
“My water just broke.”
“Eww. That’s disgusting. It’s all over my new shoes.”
Kristen twisted my hand. “Do you see what I’m going through here right now?!”
Okay, I’ll just burn them.
“All right, I’m sorry.” I turned the yearbook back a couple of pages. “In just about every club that Barbie was president of, Missy was vice president.”
“Except for Ecology Club. I won that office fair and square.”
“How did that happen?”
“We waited until Missy was absent to do the elections. Hhhhheeee hhhhheeee hhhhhooooo.”
I had been so blind. The pieces did fit together perfectly. Missy was always at the school. She was in Ecology Club and she definitely knew the lily was poisonous. But she was so nice. She kept wanting to help me with the investigation. Could she be the killer? There was only one problem.
“Missy couldn’t have killed Barbie because she was onstage giving out the Lifetime Achievement Award when Barbie died. I heard her.”
“It was prerecorded.”
I felt like all the air was sucked out of my lungs. “What?”
“Missy prerecorded the award video so she could change her clothes into her cheerleading uniform. She introduced the award, then the lights went down, and she slipped offstage and the recording came on. She wasn’t onstage.”
Joel rushed in, eyes wide with panic. “The paramedics are here. They’re coming in the door right now.
Kristen let out a howl. “AAAAHHHHHHEEEEE!”
I thought I felt a bone crack in my hand. I fell to my knees. “Joel, take over.”
Joel looked at the death grip Kristen had on my hand and the look of pain on my face. “Uh-uh. No way.”
Kristen screamed, “Joel!” and Joel rushed to her side.
Kristen let go of my hand when the paramedics helped her onto the stretcher. They wheeled her out of the room with Joel right behind. I was left alone. With something horrifyingly disgusting on my brand-new Josie and the Pussycats shoes.
Missy Sparks? Miss Congeniality? Reunion coordinator. The one person who knew I would be at the reunion outside of my friends. Missy who worked in the school and could use the chem lab and avoid the security cameras. Missy who looked like she hadn’t aged a day since graduation, perhaps from an unhealthy amount of Botox.
I left Kristen’s office and turned left down to the cafeteria. The PTA meeting was over and Missy was packing up her tote bag.
&n
bsp; “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Kristen.”
“I think she’s gone.”
“She is.”
I stared at Missy. She stared back. She looked at my hand and saw the yearbook open to the Ecology Club picture of the lily discovery and her expression changed. The plastered-on smile disappeared and her eyes became cold and hard.
“So, I figure you made the poison in the chem lab after school one day? Sterilized the needle with industrial-strength bleach from the janitor’s closet? Sound about right?”
Missy dropped the binder she was holding onto the table with a loud smack. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think you do. Barbie was top dog around here and you’ve been waiting twenty-five years to finally get some appreciation.”
Missy’s face crumbled. “She deserved to die. You know she did.”
“Is it a fluke that Amber has been targeting me, or did you set me up to take the fall?”
Missy took on a manic look. Her eyes dilated to pinpoints and her speech became a quiet, measured hiss. “It’s nothing personal. I’m sure you’re a very nice person. But Barbie hated you and your little clique. You four were the most obvious to look guilty.”
“How did you know I would have a hypodermic needle in my bag?”
Her laugh was high-pitched and unnatural. “That was luck. I had no idea you’d have a needle. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have had to drag Barbie down the hall to your locker. I knew one of you was bound to get into it with her at the reunion. That’s why I made sure there was an open bar.”
“You thought we would get drunk and cause a scene?”
“I didn’t know about you, but Barbie was a functional alcoholic. I knew she’d hit the booze. And once she was drunk she would pick a fight with one of you. I just had to wait for it to happen.”
“That was a pretty big gamble on your part. I almost stayed home.”
“That’s why I sent you the letters.”
“Those notes from Barbie saying she had to tell us something were from you?”
Missy had her hand inside her tote bag. “You were all supposed to meet in front of your old locker and find the body together. That way one of you would be a suspect. She almost ruined the whole plan with that ridiculous injury she faked. Then Kristen had to go and give her an ice pack. I waited in the janitor’s closet for ten minutes for her to come out. I had to move my timetable up a bit but it worked out. I was able to get her down to Home Ec to change into her uniform. That’s when I finally got her to shut up.”
“You planned all this, because she lied about finding a plant?”
Missy’s nostrils flared. “And saving a daycare full of kids!” She tried to calm herself. “Barbie always had to steal my glory. Barbie married a congressman. My husband left me for another man. Barbie’s daughter gets the best of everything. I have to scrape by just to give Athena the things she needs. Barbie didn’t love this school, yet she bought her way onto every committee just to outdo me. Just like in high school. I should have been club president. I should have been captain!”
There was an eerie tone to Missy’s words, and I knew I wasn’t dealing with a person who was totally inhabiting planet Earth.
Missy pulled something out of her bag and hid it behind her arm. She took a step toward me.
“I’ve made sure there is enough evidence against you that I will never be a suspect. When Amber finds you with the murder weapon, she’ll put you away for good.”
I tried to move away but my back was against a table.
“I want Athena to have everything I had and the things I didn’t. I want her to have the popularity, the glory, the adoration. And someone is always standing in her way, stealing the spotlight. Do you know who that someone is?”
I took a step to the side. I wanted to call for help but my cell phone was in Bessie out front. I was trapped in here with Crazy Mary. “I’m guessing Tiffany.”
“I would do anything for my daughter. Barbie was never going to let Athena on that all-star team and Athena has to get a cheerleading scholarship.”
Missy lunged at me with a hypodermic needle in her hand. I dodged to the side like in Warrior II Pose.
“Athena has to go to a good college to make more out of her life than I did. I settled for the first guy to come along.”
Missy lunged at me again and I ducked down into Chair Pose.
I never thought all that yoga would come in this handy.
“Now I sell used cars in the Villas. The Villas! And I do it for her to have a better life. There is no way I’m going to let you ruin that.”
Missy was right in front of me, but I had nowhere else to go. My back was against the lunch counter. She lunged again and I felt a scrape on my cheek. I grabbed a lunch tray off the stack on the empty lunch line counter. “You know what Athena has that Tiffany doesn’t?”
“What?”
“A mother who wasn’t murdered.”
Her eyes went wild and she stepped back to make a final lunge.
In the half moment she paused I swung the tray as hard as I could and whacked Missy on the side of her head. She crumpled to the floor like a paper lantern.
“Everybody freeze!”
Officer Amber had busted in through the crash bar with two other officers, guns drawn. She took one look from me to Missy and returned her gun to her holster.
“At ease, everyone. Nice job, McAllister. I figured you’d be the one in a pile right now.”
Amber spoke into her radio and called for an ambulance.
“Kristen called us from the delivery room. She figured out that Missy must have murdered Barbie and you would probably stick your nose into it and get yourself killed instead of letting us do our job.”
“So far your job has only been to try to prove my guilt. If you’d been trying to prove my innocence I might have stayed out of it.”
Amber laughed. “Right. Like you stayed out of it at Senior Prom.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Shane Gerraro.”
“Shane?”
“You knew I liked him and you convinced him to go with you instead of asking me.”
“You’re as crazy as Missy, you know that. I went with Shane because my boyfriend had already graduated and had to work. We were in Drama together and the whole club went to prom as a group. We only paired up for the pictures and the corsage. And by the way, he was a real jerk the whole night. Don’t tell me that’s what this has been all about. You’ve been holding a grudge against me because of a guy you liked?”
“No. How petty do you think I am?”
“I don’t know, let’s find out.”
“That. That right there is the problem.”
“What?”
“All through high school you and your little friends made fun of me. You bullied me for not being as smart as you were.”
“Am I in the Twilight Zone? I—bullied you?”
“That’s right. You made fun of me for being a cheerleader. You tricked me into eating grasshoppers. You loved to embarrass me. You always had something smart to say and I never had a comeback because I’m not as quick as you.”
Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the basement floor.
I stared in disbelief. All those years, Barbie and Amber bullied us and made our lives miserable and their perception was that we were the bullies.
A catalog of the gross unrealities here flipped open in my head.
Barbie. The prettiest, most popular girl at school, had no real friends, a loveless marriage, and became an alcoholic who lived in fear of losing her outer beauty.
And Missy. Voted Miss Congeniality, the nicest person in the class. A crazed lunatic who murdered one of her friends so her daughter would have an edge over another kid and she could finally be in charge of a committee.
It was so important for these girls to be popular that they gave a piece of their soul away. They lost all self-r
espect because of their obsession with respectability.
And as far as fears went, I’d been no better. Hiding out from the world, afraid of being judged for not being pretty enough or thin enough or successful enough. Barbie and Missy attacked other people, whereas I’d been attacking myself.
“Amber, I’m sorry if I ever made you feel humiliated, or like you weren’t good enough somehow. Please forgive me.”
Amber looked stunned like she didn’t quite know how to take what I was saying. Then she narrowed her eyes and the wall went back up behind them. “Very funny. Just stay out of my way, McAllister.”
I guess we can’t expect everyone to be ready to change when we are.
Chapter 46
“I’m so glad you finally came to your senses and chose to do the right thing.” Rosalind Carson took a seat at the dining room table and opened her briefcase. “Mrs. Frankowski will get the best care at the Sunset Valley Assisted Living Facility, you can be sure of that.”
I joined her at the table. “You were right. Aunt Ginny can’t be alone or she will hurt herself or someone else. I just don’t want that burden resting on my head.”
“Nor should you.” Ms. Carson gave me a sympathetic nod and took out a stack of papers.
Aunt Ginny sat at the other end of the long mahogany table, looking forlorn and pitiful.
“I’ve taken the liberty of drawing up a contract to sell the house to a buyer for you, to expedite the process.”
Aunt Ginny moaned. “You aren’t selling my house are you, Poppy? You promised I could move back in when I start doing better.”
“Oh, you have to sell it, Mrs. Frankowski. You will need the equity in the house to pay rent on your room. You don’t want to worry about expenses ever again. Let us take the daily concerns of finances off your mind, so you can focus on knitting and television—things people your age like to do.”
The memory of Aunt Ginny salsa dancing flashed into my mind, and I almost laughed out loud. I gave Ms. Carson a pained look. “That is very thoughtful of you. Is it standard procedure for the Department of Youth and Family Services to assist with the sale of the house?”
Ms. Carson hesitated. “Well, no. But I have been so concerned for your dear Aunt Ginny that I went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure she is well taken care of. We only have one room left in the facility, and we need to move quickly if we are going to get Mrs. Frankowski in.”