by Jack Parker
Ken chuckled to put her at ease. "Of course not, Mrs. Michaels; I didn't mean to imply that you were. I just thought you might have seen or heard something that could help us determine what happened to your neighbor."
Sandra took a sip of her coffee while she thought. "I did notice a car still parked on the street early, around 2:00 AM. I'd gotten up to, uh…"
"Yes. Was it in front of Ms. Lane's house?"
"I think so," she said, clearly trying to remember. "I wasn't very awake. I wondered if the party was over and when I saw the car I thought maybe it wouldn't start and they'd get it later today. But it wasn't there this morning. It was a light colored car, but that's all I could say."
Privately Ken thought some young girl had probably had a chance to go joy-riding or necking with one of the boys, and retrieved her car later. "So you don't know what time the party was over, right?"
"No, I couldn't say. I'm sorry, I don't feel like I'm much help," she said.
"That's all right," Ken assured her. "You said you checked for a pulse, did you touch or move anything?"
Sandra frowned slightly as she went over events in her mind. "I put my finger on her neck…oh, and I held a tissue in front of her nose to see if she was breathing. And, um, then I grabbed the phone to call 911. Oh! Should I have called from my house? The police shows on TV all say you're not supposed to touch anything at a crime scene."
"No, that's fine. I just wanted to make sure," he assured her.
"Do you think she was murdered?" Sandra asked as the thought suddenly struck her.
"It's too early to say," Ken replied. "I'll lock the house up when I leave, but you might keep an eye on it. Thanks for your time, Mrs. Michaels. Oh, and if you remember anything else, even if it seems insignificant, please let me know." He handed her his card though he didn't expect to hear from her again.
"Brrr, it's cold in here," Emily said. She pulled her hood up over her head, then carefully fluffed her bangs around the edges.
"It's not so bad," Madison said. "They let us use one of the rooms under the stadium so at least we don't have to do this outside." She dumped the contents of a cloth bag onto the tarp spread on the floor. "Ewww, this one's got half a hot dog in it."
"That's why we wear latex gloves," Gracie commented. "Though just for the record this is not my favorite part, either. Bobby, can you drag that trash bin a little closer please?"
Bobby Summers was out of his element and obviously bored. He looked like a classic beach bum with sun-bleached blond hair and blue eyes, but his true love was working on cars. He tried to get into school activities but was uncomfortable talking about movies or music because he knew little about those subjects and always felt like the girls ignored him. Since this recycling project was mostly girls he'd thought he might be useful, if only for brawn. He moved the bin as requested and decided to begin moving the small bags closer so the girls didn't have to get up and get them.
"Great idea, Bobby," Madison said. "We'll get done a lot faster this way."
"I thought more people would be here," he said.
"Me, too," Gracie said. "But it's just a little after 9:00 AM, maybe they're just late. Oh look! There's Amy, now."
Amy ran into the room, looked around for a second, and then said, "I've been in a wreck!"
CHAPTER 4
"Oh my God!" Emily exclaimed, always ready to find drama in any situation even if she wasn't the star. "Are you hurt?"
"No, at least I don't think so," Amy replied. "It all happened so fast!"
"What happened?" Madison asked.
"I was just driving down the street, and this guy comes up beside me real fast and then tries to get in front of me but he hit me instead."
"Did you call the police?" Gracie asked.
"Nah, the jerk just drove off. He didn't hit me very hard, but it scared me. I didn't know what else to do so I just came on over here. It was just down the street, I was coming here, anyway." Amy was beginning to shake now that it was all over and the adrenaline was leaving her body.
Allison stood up and pulled her gloves off as she strode towards Amy. "Come on, you need to sit down," she said with authority. She took Amy's arm and led her to a chair against the wall. "Just sit there and relax for a minute. I'll go get you a soda, some sugar will help."
Bobby went over to stand next to her. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute," she said. She was taking obvious deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.
"How about your car?" he asked. "Is it banged up very bad?"
Amy had to think about that. Her brain was coming out of panic mode and it was an effort to think clearly. "I don't know," she stated. "I didn't even think to look! But it was acting funny."
"What was it doing?" Bobby asked. This was something he knew about, something he could help with. "Was it hard to steer?"
Amy frowned in misunderstanding. "Why would it be hard to steer?"
"If your fender was rubbing the tire the car wouldn't handle well."
"Oh. I don't think so, but I can't quite put my finger on it," she told him. "Something about a light flashing."
Allison bustled back into the room and handed a soda to Amy, who took several big gulps. "Thanks, that helps."
"Let's go take a look at your car," Bobby suggested. "I bet I can figure it out, though I'm not sure I can fix it here."
They left the room and the rest of the group went back to sorting recyclable trash. They separated out soda cans and plastic bottles as those paid more. Besides, any paper items were usually covered with food and thus not eligible. It was a nasty job, so they chatted to help take their minds off it.
"Did everyone have a good time at the party last night?" Tanya Fletcher asked. She'd pulled her light blonde shoulder length hair into a pony tail this morning so she could keep it out of the mess, but found herself occasionally twitching her head as if to flip the hair away from her face. Her green eyes sparkled, letting everyone know she had gossip on her mind.
"I think some people had a better time than others," Madison remarked, though she didn't elaborate.
"Yeah, like Maggie," Serene said, emphasizing the teacher's given name. "She seemed to be really enjoying herself." This morning she had tied her wavy dark brown hair at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the way; it reached half-way down her back.
"It was disgusting the way all the guys fawned over her," put in Britney Clark. Her voice had an acid tone, which was surprising as she was usually the "quiet one".
"It certainly was," Jennifer agreed. "But that didn't mean the rest of us had to pay attention to them. Oh, Britney! Don't lean over like that, I think you just got your hair in that puddle." She flipped her head in a practiced move that tossed her own long blonde hair over her shoulders.
Britney twisted her head to try to see if that was true. "I can't tell, did I? Oh well, I'd planned to take a shower when I got home anyway." She went back to sorting the pile in front of her Jennifer shuddered.
"Look at me," Gracie ordered. She studied Britney for a moment. Her dark hair flipped just above her shoulders with no telltale droop to the curl. "Nope, looks fine to me. Didn't you have a good time at the party?"
Britney's green eyes met Gracie's blue ones. "I'd have had more fun doing my homework," she said.
"But you love doing homework!" Emily teased her.
"And she makes better grades than you do, too," Tanya put in.
"Did you see the spectacle Jake made of himself?" Allison asked, only slightly changing the subject.
"Maggie started it," Serene said.
"Just because she's a slut doesn't mean Jake had to go along with it!" Madison insisted.
"Who knows what was on her finger besides the cheese," Jennifer said with a grimace.
"She acted like she was drunk," Britney said.
"She was!" several girls responded at once.
"Well, I'm not going to another party at her house ever again," Britney declared.
"Not even
if Jake asks you?" Madison asked with a grin.
"By the way, I loved your little slide down the rail," Emily told Madison. "What a great way to metaphorically stick your tongue out at her."
"Only Emily would use the word 'metaphorically'," Serene muttered.
"Not even with Jake," Britney said firmly. "Allison, I can't believe he left you there. I'd have been really mad."
"I was," Allison replied. "But at least he didn't take another girl home. I'd have killed him for that."
"I don't know why we all care, we know he's a player," Madison said.
"He has such a hard time remembering our names. I think that's why he calls us 'hun' all the time," Britney said with irony. She put a gloved finger to her cheek, remembering just in time not to actually touch it, and adopted a posture of deep thought. "Let me see. Who did I come in with this time?"
The girls all laughed, though there was an edge to the sound.
"Oh, gee, I can't remember," Emily mocked.
"Doesn't matter, it'll be another girl tomorrow," Tanya continued the imitation.
"It's because you all let him get away with it," Gracie put in. "You take it too seriously."
"Says the girl who's dated the same guy for six months," Serene said.
"But at least she's smart enough not to date Jake!" Allison came to Gracie's defense.
Britney's face had her accustomed studious look. "I think the poor boy just can't make up his mind!"
"Well at least he spreads himself around," Emily remarked.
"It can't be easy trying to keep you all straight," Gracie said, though she grinned to take any sting out of the remark.
"Yeah, if he takes me out tonight then half of you won't speak to him on Monday and the other half won't speak to me!" Madison said.
"You got a date with Jake tonight?" Allison inquired.
"Nah, it was just an example."
"So what you're saying is that Jake has to figure out who's not speaking to whom before he asks anyone else out, is that right?" Gracie asked.
"Poor boy," Serene said, in a tone that clearly meant the opposite.
"So who is going out with Jake tonight?" Amy asked, having come back in time to hear the end of the conversation.
The girls stopped and looked from one to the other, each one shrugging.
"Must be Andrea – or Meaghan, they're not here to defend themselves," Serene said.
"Or someone new," Allison added.
"How's your car?" Gracie inquired. The girls' comments were bothering her a little so she welcomed the interruption. "Was there something wrong with it?"
"The other guy clipped the front fender, left a big dent, but nothing serious," Bobby explained.
"Didn't you say something about a blinking light?" Madison asked.
"Yeah, but it turns out it was on the dash, don't know why I didn't see it before," Amy said, managing to look sheepish.
"Just needed to replace a fuse," Bobby said. "No problemo."
"I'm glad to hear that," Madison told her.
"We were just talking about the party last night," Tanya said. "Someone was having some fun; I saw 'em outside making out."
"Who was it, do you know?" Emily asked eagerly.
"Couldn't tell for sure; they were hiding in the bushes so I couldn't see," Tanya said coyly. "Kinda thought it was you."
"Me!" Emily cried. "Ewww. It was cold outside and besides, my luck I'd get poison ivy in the bushes."
"Had experience with that, have you?" Serene asked.
"Not like that!" Emily said in her own defense. "But I am really allergic to poison ivy, I got it when I was a kid and it was horrible."
"I just bet it was, and we're gonna hear all about it," someone muttered.
"Good morning, Mrs. Baker!" Serene said as the principal walked into the room. There was an overly sweet tone to her voice. "How are you this morning?"
Several of the girls hastily went back to sorting cans and bottles while others looked up, curious to know why the principal had shown up at an extra-curricular activity. A middle-aged man in a brown suit stood behind her.
"Good morning," Mrs. Baker said. "I'm afraid I'm here to give you some bad news." She wrung her hands as she looked at them, not quite knowing how to handle the situation. "I guess I'll just say it straight out. Mrs. Lane was found dead this morning."
There was a collective gasp from the crowd, comments like "Oh, no!", "You're kidding,", and "How horrible."
"I know most of you were at the party she had last night," Mrs. Baker told them. She watched to see their reaction; some had a guilty look on their faces while others tried to look outraged at the very idea, and failed miserably. "Under the circumstances I'll let that pass; but this gentleman is from the police and he'd like to ask you all some questions."
Ken stepped forward and introduced himself. He caught Gracie's eye but made no overt recognition of her. He'd been the homicide detective investigating her father's death last spring and acknowledged that he'd never have solved it without her help. She was a bright young lady and they'd since become friends; more than once he'd asked her opinion of a case because she was good at seeing how tiny details made a difference.
"Good morning," he said to the group. "First of all, please accept my condolences; I know this is difficult and I'm sure you'll all miss Mrs. Lane a great deal." He let his eyes rove over the group to see how they responded. Most of the girls looked shocked, though there were no tears in evidence. Quite possibly the magnitude of the event hadn't soaked in yet, but he rather got the idea that the woman hadn't been a favorite or well-liked teacher.
"All we know at the moment is that Mrs. Lane's neighbor saw the patio door standing open early this morning and found the body when she went to close it. We don't know exactly what happened yet, but there were no obvious signs of foul play. I'd like you all to tell me about the party. Was Mrs. Lane acting odd in any way?"
Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to say. Britney took a deep breath and said, "I think she'd been drinking." There were mutters of agreement from the rest.
Ken knew he had to handle this carefully; the kids likely wouldn't volunteer that liquor had been available. "I presume she was the only one?"
Most of the girls nodded their heads vigorously in agreement, though he noticed that the redhead wouldn't meet his eye – and was that a very faint negative shake of the head from Gracie?
"She was flirting with all the guys," Emily declared.
"Only the ones that counted," Serene added. "You know, the football team."
"Flirting, how?" he asked.
"They hung around her like little puppy-dogs," Tanya explained. "With their tongues hanging out."
"Did she, ah, disappear with one of the boys?" Ken asked as delicately as possible.
"If she had sex with one of them it was after we all left," Serene said.
"Okay," Ken said tentatively. It always surprised him how open the younger generation was about that subject. Most of them couldn't have had any personal knowledge about sex, but he supposed it was probably better in the long run for them to have the facts before they got to that point. "Did anyone get into a fight?" he asked, to cover his embarrassment as well as to see if that might have been a motive to hurt the teacher.
The group displayed blank faces and shook their heads. Nothing there, he thought. He pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket and consulted it. Actually he knew perfectly well what was written on its pages, but he'd found that people were more comfortable with thinking his memory was poor. And that often led them to say something they thought would go unnoticed. "With so many people at the party there's little point in taking fingerprints, but I did see some black marks on the living room floor. Does anyone know what they were?"
"The killer probably dragged the body across the floor!" Emily said in an excited voice.
Ken favored her with a frown. "We don't know that this wasn't just an accident or even natural causes" he told her.
"No, you do
rk!" Serene said harshly. "That was Madison's heelies, remember?"
"Heelies?" Ken asked in confusion.
"Shoes with wheels," Madison explained. She held a foot up to show him, then popped the wheels out and stood up to demonstrate by sailing around the room.
"Yeah, right," Emily said, disappointed that the explanation was so simple. "Mrs. Lane yelled at you about it."
"Well then, that explains the marks," Ken said. He glanced once more at his notes and dug in his pocket to hold up a plastic bag so they could all see. "We also found this earring in the back yard. Did any of you lose it?"
They all strained forward for a better view.
"Amy, isn't that yours?" asked Gracie.
Amy stood up to take a closer look. "So that's where I lost it," she said. "I went outside to get a little air. Can I have it back or is it evidence now?" Her voice turned uncertain as she asked the question.
Ken handed her the bag. "It only proves you were at the party and I already knew that," he told her. As she sat down he said, "I'll want to talk to you each separately, so you can carry on with your work until it's your turn. Thank you for your time, and of course if you happen to remember anything you think might be significant, please let me know. Mrs. Baker's got my number if you need to get in touch with me. I'd like to start with you, young man." He pointed at Bobby.
Bobby looked startled and blurted out, "But I wasn't at the party."
The girls supported him with comments like, "He's right" and "No, he wasn't".
"All right then. Is there anyone else who didn't attend?" Ken asked.
No one answered so Ken looked at Amy. "Okay, the young lady with the lost earring. We'll just step into the hall; Mrs. Baker will stand here in the doorway so she can keep watch on us. She won't be able to hear anything you might say, but if you feel the least bit uncomfortable please feel free to signal her so she can stop the interview. Let me stress that no one here is under suspicion of anything; I just want to ask questions about Mrs. Lane in the hope that I can find out what happened."