by Jack Parker
"So, a possibility only," Kelly said. "Number eight is Shaun's locker door."
His statement was met by blank stares and heads shaking 'no.'
"Okay, on to number nine. Meaghan's wreck."
"Well, you can add that we now know she was pregnant," Cheryl said.
"And if it was Jake's, that could give him reason to want her out of the way," Kelly said.
"Like we said, he was seen tinkering with her car that afternoon. Maybe he only hoped the wreck would make her lose the baby," Cheryl suggested.
"Seems pretty drastic to me," Shawna said. "Too hard to control, he couldn't know how badly she might be hurt. And besides, too many people saw him messing with her car. Even the cop asked him about it."
"Maybe he did that on purpose so he'd have plenty of witnesses that he didn't really do anything to it," Cheryl said. "Then he did whatever to it later."
"Or maybe he'd done something to it earlier and knocked the battery cable loose in the process," Shawna suggested.
"Except that the battery's in the trunk so anything he might've done to the engine wouldn't have affected the cable," Kelly shot that idea down.
"I just had a thought," Gracie said. "Remember that Kelly and I saw Jake and Meaghan talking outside on the patio at Maggie's house? It looked real serious, they weren't laughing or smiling or anything like that."
Cheryl picked up on Gracie's idea. "Do you think that was when she told him she was pregnant?"
"It could be," Shawna said. "How'd she act after that? Happy or sad?"
"Hmmm," Gracie said as she thought back.
"She seemed pretty happy to me when she left," Kelly said.
"She did act a lot more relaxed," Gracie agreed. "So you'd think that means she was good with whatever Jake said."
"Do you suppose he agreed to marry her?" Shawna asked, clearly not quite believing it even as she spoke.
"Could be," Cheryl said. "Or take care of her in some way at least."
"Then surely he wouldn't turn around and tinker with her car so she'd have a wreck!" Shawna exclaimed.
"Not necessarily," Cheryl said archly. "He could've told her one thing and then decided he didn't want to live up to whatever he promised."
"Okay, Jake's still the prime suspect in the wreck," Kelly said. "What about Gracie and Brittney's bike slides? I remember seeing an empty antifreeze bottle in his truck, but anyone could buy antifreeze."
"It would've had to be a spur-of-the-moment thing if he'd learned about Brittney going to her Grandma's, but the timing's all wrong," Gracie said.
"Next accident is the nails on the street."
Kelly's statement was met with more shrugs and shaken heads. "And that's it. We haven't really gotten much of anywhere."
"No, there's one more!" Cheryl said. "Jennifer put her hand in some acid in chemistry class this morning."
"That's right!" Gracie said. "I hadn't even connected that until you said it. She's one of Jake's girlfriends."
"But the lab's locked up after school," Kelly said. "How could anybody get in there during the evening?"
"Jake could've broken in after practice…" Gracie said, though even to her ears it sounded weak.
"Wouldn't you think it would've eaten through the counter if it'd been there all night?" Shawna asked.
"Maybe they brought their own?" Gracie asked.
"Not too many people have bottles of acid sitting around their house," Kelly said. "I'll admit it fits the pattern, but I think we're missing whatever it is that ties these accidents together.
CHAPTER 21
"Gracie's Gang," Clay repeated with a grin. "Somehow that sounds appropriate."
"Thanks a lot," Shawna said, giving Gracie's step-dad a dirty look.
"Hey, I meant that in a good way," Clay said, laughing. "You guys are always hanging out together and it's got a nice alliterative ring to it."
"We're a crime-fighting gang," Cheryl said lightly.
"Oh, ho! And what dastardly crimes are you fighting today?" Clay asked.
"Well, you see, there's been a whole bunch of accidents to people we know," Gracie began. "Two people are dead and one girl was given cyanide, but she's okay. Shawna and I got sucked in but that was a mistake because whoever it is seems to be after the girls that Jake Salazar dates."
Clay tilted his head to one side and raised an eyebrow. "Well, you both appear to be alive to me, but please don't tell me either of you came in contact with cyanide." He tried to keep his tone light, but the idea scared him.
"Not even close," Gracie assured him.
"If memory serves, Mr. Salazar is the star running back on your high school football team," Clay said. "A handsome and talented young man, and I wouldn't doubt for a minute that he has his pick of any girl in school."
"That's the one," Kelly said.
"I presume the deaths you referred to are that teacher and your friend, um, Meaghan," Clay continued. "I could buy that this jock dated Meaghan, but what's he got to do with a teacher?"
Gracie looked a little uncomfortable. She wouldn't have had any trouble telling her mother about Jake and Maggie, but suddenly she wasn't sure just how Clay might react. "Well…"
"Okay, I get it," Clay said. "This teacher offered him something he couldn't get from the girls."
"Not exactly," Cheryl said. "Gracie's buddy Ken the cop told her that Meaghan was pregnant when she died." At Gracie's dagger-laden look she protested, "If we want Clay's help we have to tell him everything."
"Not to worry, I won't repeat it," Clay assured them. "So I guess you're thinking that Jake had something to do with the deaths?"
"And with all the other accidents," Gracie said. "But we don't have any proof, and right now we can't even figure out how he could've done some of them."
"Back up just a minute," Clay requested. "What kind of accident were you involved in, Gracie?"
"Someone poured something, antifreeze I think, on a curve on the bike-path through the park; my bike slid off and I skinned my knee. The same thing happened to Brittney," Gracie explained.
"And Brittney goes out with Jake? What makes you think it was antifreeze?" Clay asked.
"You remember me telling you about Aunt Jeanine's fall last week; she said the store just sprayed a little water on some antifreeze that'd been spilled and didn't wash it away very well and she slipped on it."
"It's not that it wasn't washed away," Clay said. "Water doesn't clean up antifreeze at all; in fact it gets slicker, even after it dries. It'll leave a dark stain on concrete because the water removes the color, but that's all. You see, antifreeze is a base and water won't break it up. Soap is also a base, so you have to use a really heavy-duty detergent to get rid of the antifreeze. It's nasty stuff; it's poisonous and drinking it can cause blindness. Animals will lick it up because it tastes sweet to them and it'll kill them."
"Ewww," Cheryl said.
"Sure hope no doggies or little squirrels got into it at the park," Shawna said.
"Are you sure it wasn't antifreeze instead of cyanide that the one girl got?" Clay asked.
"I'm sure," Gracie told him. "Ken said the hospital ran a test, but they don't know where she got it."
"And you're thinking that a guy would be more likely to know how slick antifreeze was," Clay inferred. At their nods he continued, "But anyone might know that if they happened to be around when antifreeze was spilled. Although I'd agree that your Aunt Jeanine won't remember and will probably slip on the next spilled antifreeze she finds."
"And of course anyone could buy antifreeze," Gracie admitted somewhat dejectedly. "How hard would it be to take the top off a school desk?"
"Describe it to me," Clay requested.
"There's a metal arm attached to the chair part that goes up so a piece of wood can be bolted to it," Gracie said. "The wood fell off, but the arm was still in place."
"The writing surface is bolted to the bracket on the underside; probably only four bolts to save money," Clay reasoned. "That's simple enough. Any
kind of wrench would do the trick; if it's tough you could use a little oil, WD-40 or 3-in-1 would do. But the leverage of the wrench would help. A boy, especially an athlete, would likely be stronger and able to do it more quickly but anyone could work the bolts loose over time."
"So again, anyone could've done it," Gracie said.
"I agree that it isn't likely to be due to poor maintenance," Clay said. "Surely someone would've complained that the desk was loose long before it fell off. What else can I help you with?"
"Is there any way to make a locker door stick so that it comes open suddenly?" Kelly asked.
"Hmmm, well, you could always jam the locking mechanism with something; a wad of chewing gum or a folded up piece of paper could work. But in order to do so the door would have to be open first so you could get to the latch," Clay explained. "Locker doors are made of pretty flimsy metal and they tend to take a lot of abuse so it's no surprise if they stick sometimes," he added with a chuckle.
"You're saying it probably was just an accident after all," Cheryl said.
"Especially since this one doesn't fit the pattern," Shawna added. "Shaun is on the team too, but obviously he's not a girl."
"So is that all?" Clay asked.
"Well, there's Meaghan's car wreck," Gracie said.
"You told me it was raining and another girl following her misjudged the distance and bumped her car," Clay said. "I remember you telling me the other girl was really upset about it."
"But just that afternoon we all saw Jake doing something to her car in the parking lot," Gracie insisted. "He said he just tightened the battery cable but who knows what he really did."
"Clay, the battery is in the trunk in a Miata," Kelly put in. "He did have the hood up but there was a crowd of people watching him and you'd think someone would've remembered if he'd tinkered with anything else."
"I told you!" Gracie said. "That could've been for show and he did the real damage later. The policeman who talked to Amy at the hospital said that the airbag hadn't gone off. Is there any way to make that happen?"
"Not that I know of," Clay replied. "There's a sensor that measures force and that sets off a charge that inflates the airbag. Depending on the way the sensor was set the bump from behind might or might not be enough to set it off. But didn't you tell me that the car hit a tree or something when it ran off the road?"
"Yeah, it slid in the dirt and the back end hit a tree," Gracie said.
"That certainly should've been enough to deploy any airbag on the market," Clay said. "I suppose that someone who knew a lot about cars could do something to disable one, but I'd think it would take a lot of time and effort."
"What about the brakes? Could someone tamper with them?" Kelly asked. "It was raining that night, the road was wet."
"Most cars have ABS brakes these days," Clay replied.
"Which means what?" Shawna asked.
"A wheel that locks up under brake pressure will stop spinning very quickly, and then the tire wouldn't get any traction and the car would slide. ABS brakes have a monitor that constantly checks wheel speed and reduces brake pressure to a wheel in danger of locking up. Then it increases pressure again so the tire can grab. It goes through a series of decreases and increases to keep the wheel at the point just before locking up. All that happens really fast and you can feel a pulsation in the brake pedal. Did Meaghan say anything about that?"
"She said she remembered the hood flying up, but nothing about the brakes. But that was at the hospital the next day; they were giving her drugs, probably some heavy-duty ones, and she wasn't making much sense," Gracie said.
"It's always possible that the system wasn't working properly, but again I'd think it would take someone with specific knowledge and the time and privacy to disable it, if that's what you're thinking," Clay said.
"Uh, actually, I was just wondering about cutting the brake lines, or something simple like that," Kelly said gently, not meaning any disrespect.
Clay looked abashed, even blushing a tiny bit. "Oh, sorry. I do tend to lecture when I know even a little about a topic. Yes, of course the brake lines could've been cut, but surely the police will check that out. But that's simple to do, a hacksaw will work, and anyone who knows what a brake line looks like could do it."
"I'd guess it'd be hard to find a fingerprint on a brake line," Cheryl said.
"Sure would," Kelly replied. "But it would certainly prove that it wasn't an accident."
"And not Amy's fault, not really," Shawna said.
It rained Thursday morning, a cold drizzle falling from a gloomy gray sky that made everyone feel like they'd rather brave cafeteria food than go out in that weather. Gracie and her friends, the 'gang' as they'd begun thinking of themselves, were picking at the remains of their lunches. They were bored and had nothing to do. Clay's comments yesterday evening had made them reconsider Jake as a suspect, yet they had no suitable replacement. They were, however, even more convinced that any girl that had dated Jake was in danger of some kind.
"Let's go shopping after school," Cheryl said.
"You always want to go shopping," Kelly commented.
"It's a girl-thing, even I shop now and then," Shawna told him.
"Well, you can count me out," Kelly insisted. "In fact, if you ladies will excuse me, I'm gonna take a quick break." He got up and headed out of the cafeteria.
"What is it you can't live without this time?" Gracie asked.
"Oh, it's so cute!" Cheryl said. "It's got this fluffy skirt, and a really tight old-fashioned top, and it's got pink and black plaid trim."
"Is the skirt long or short?" Shawna asked.
"It's, oh I don't remember. But I'll know it when I see it," Cheryl insisted.
Gracie pulled out her phone and opened it, only to see a black screen. "Darn! My phone's dead. And I don't have the cable here so I can't recharge it until I get home." She turned to Amy who was sitting just down the table to Gracie's right. "Hey, Amy! Can I borrow your phone a minute? I want to look on Hot Topic to see this dress that Cheryl wants, and my phone's dead."
Amy turned from her conversation with Bobby and nodded at Gracie's request. Without comment she pushed her phone down the length of the table and returned her attention to her conversation.
Gracie began her web search, but before she'd even gotten the first word typed in Cheryl triumphantly turned her phone around so Gracie could see the dress in question.
"Isn't it gorgeous?" Cheryl asked.
"Where would you wear it?" Shawna made it more of a statement than a question.
"On a date, silly!"
"Not a date with Jake!" Shawna teased.
"I wouldn't go out with Jake if he were the last guy on Earth," Cheryl said, a look of repugnance on her face. She winked at her friends, unable to say more in the crowded room.
"You got a hot date coming up?" Shawna asked facetiously.
"Mayyyybe," Cheryl drawled. She realized that Gracie hadn't been participating and glanced across the table at her to see her looking intently at Amy's phone and jotting down notes. Gracie felt the eyes on her, looked up and gave a quick shake of her head, a warning look on her face.
Shawna hadn't seen this exchange. "Well, I guess you could always wear it to a Christmas party, but then there's no hurry to run out and get it today."
"Sure there is!" Cheryl said. "I want to make sure I get one before they're sold out."
"Somehow I doubt that'll happen. Cheryl, it's too fancy for anything we'd need. It's probably really expensive, too."
"We might as well go with her to get it," Gracie spoke up. "Otherwise we'll never hear the end of it. Amy! Thanks for the phone."
She gave the phone a shove to send it back towards its owner. Amy didn't look around until the phone bumped her arm. Even then she just glanced at it and nodded acceptance at Gracie, still deep in conversation with Bobby.
Cheryl looked a question at Gracie, who only smiled back. "Uh, thanks, I think," Cheryl said. "I really would like to go get i
t, even if I'm not sure why I want it. So how about Shawna and I make a run to the mall as soon as school gets out and then we'll meet you and Kelly at your house. Then we can talk."
"Cheryl, I still say you're nuts to go to the mall today," Shawna complained. They were waiting impatiently in line to get out of the school parking lot.
"I know, right?" Cheryl said. "There's just something about it, I really want it. It just came out and if I wait until the weekend they might not have any left in my size."
Shawna took her foot off the brake and let the car inch ahead. "I don't know why people try to left turn out of here, it makes the rest of us wait forever."
"Gracie found something in Amy's phone," Cheryl said, changing the subject.
"She did? What?" Shawna pulled up another car-length.
"I don't know, but I saw her writing it down. Obviously she couldn't say anything because Amy was sitting right there, thank goodness she wasn't paying attention to us. I'm dying of curiosity…"
"Look out!" Shawna yelled suddenly, staring at the cars in the street as if the force of her will could prevent the inevitable.
Cheryl looked up in time to see one car plow into the back of another one with a terrific screech of brakes and clang of metal. Both girls screamed. Locked together by the force of the crash both cars rolled several yards along the street before coming to a stop. Neither driver got out.
Cheryl whipped out her phone and called 911 to report the wreck, stressing that the drivers appeared to be injured. She expected to stay on the line to give updates, but the operator assured her that help was on the way and hung up. She looked anxiously at each car in turn, watching as people who'd been closer checked on the occupants. "I feel so helpless."
"We should stay in the car; they don't need a zillion people getting in the way," Shawna said. "I think I hear a siren, that should be the ambulance."
"Oh, look! The other driver's getting out of the car," Cheryl reported. "What happened, anyway? I wasn't looking."
"Yeah, but the driver in front's still in the car even though they opened the door to talk to them," Shawna said. "The front car turned right out of the parking lot and started down the street, but it started acting funny and then I think it just stopped."