by Cynthia Raye
“What did he say?” Ronni asked.
“He was thinking of quitting school.” She shook her head. “What a waste that would be.”
“Wow!” Ronni answered. “You mean he was just going to drop out?”
“Against the wishes of his parents.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “He’s a good kid, polite, studious. But very shy. He told me he just couldn’t take it anymore. Every time Sylvia saw him she made fun of him, especially in front of her followers.” Liz paused for a moment. “I tried to talk him out of it. But he was adamant. I did convince him, I think, if not to stay here, to transfer to a public school.”
“All because of Sylvia?” Ronni shook her head.
“Yes, because of Sylvia. He was so overwrought that at one point he told me he sometimes wished he were dead. Or that Sylvia was.”
“Do you think he—” Ronni started to ask.
“Is the one who killed Sylvia?” Liz interrupted. She shook her head. “I hate to think so. And actually, I doubt he could do such a thing. At least plan out something like that...”
“You mean maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment attack!” Ronni said.
“Maybe Sylvia started in on him, and he just couldn’t take it anymore,” Liz told her.
“Well, I’m going to have to call the police about the earring. Maybe I should mention Chen to them too.”
Liz hesitated. “I suppose you have to.”
“No time like the present.” Ronni reached for her phone. Just as she pulled it from her purse, Emma entered the cafeteria and headed straight toward her and Liz.
“Emma!” Liz said. “How are you holding up?”
“I’ve been asking around,” Emma answered. “I just wanted the two of you to know.”
“Related to Sylvia’s murder, you mean?” Liz asked.
“Sit down, Emma.” Ronni indicated a chair between her and Liz.
“You’re sure it’s okay. I’m not interrupting anything?” Emma said, sounding unsure of herself.
“Nothing that can’t wait a little bit,” Ronni answered.
Emma gave her a quick smile. “Thanks.”
“So did you discover anything interesting?” Ronni asked.
“I can’t believe how many students ended up being Sylvia’s targets. Far more than I ever thought. I knew about some of them, of course, but not others. No wonder everyone hated her.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can give you a couple of examples.” Emma looked from one to the other. “Now, some of this goes back a long time. But people carry grudges. So it could be any one of a lot of people who murdered her.”
“Who, for instance?” Ronni asked.
Emma leaned forward. “Jan Palanis, for instance.”
“I don’t know her,” Ronni answered.
“She’s a senior,” Emma answered. “She has a scholarship to Harvard.”
“I didn’t know about the scholarship,” Liz said. “That’s wonderful.”
“Well, anyhow, a long time ago, Sylvia broke Jan’s arm.”
“Broke her arm!” Ronni exclaimed. “How did she do that?”
“Knocked her off her bike,” Emma answered. “At least that’s what Jan told me.”
“I don’t remember her having a broken arm? When was this?”
“When the two of them were in junior high. What happened—or at least what Jan said—is that she was riding her bike to the store to get a couple of things for her mom. Out of the blue, Sylvia shoved her and the bike. The bike fell over and Jan broke her arm.”
“That was a long time ago, though, right?” Ronni asked.
“It was,” Emma answered. “But ever since then she’s hated Sylvia, or so she said. She was in junior gymnastics, she told me, and the broken bone made it impossible for her to compete in an important meet.”
Ronni was skeptical. “But you think her feelings toward Sylvia were still strong enough to make her a suspect?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem very logical, does it, after all these years?”
“Anyone else?” Liz asked.
There are so many who have gripes against her. Another one is Polly Fischer.”
“I don’t know her either,” Ronni said.
“I’ve had her in a couple of classes. Nice girl. Always has a smile on her face,” Liz said. She turned to Emma. “What about her?”
“Sylvia accused her of cheating on a test. Of somehow getting hold of the exam ahead of time and memorizing all the answers.”
“Why on earth would Sylvia do that?” Ronni asked.
“Apparently, Polly had argued with Sylvia about something. Not sure what,” Emma said. “And anyone who disagreed with Sylvia about anything was then on her ‘hit list.’ She wouldn’t tolerate opposition of any sort. If anyone even disagreed with her, Sylvia wanted revenge.” Emma looked from one to the other. “All the kids knew that, or at least most of them. And they pretty much shunned her. Simply ignored her. Polly, I guess, was one of the exceptions.” She sighed. “So Sylvia wanted to get even. At first, it seems, the teacher, Mrs. Willis, and Mr. Hostetler believed her.”
“So what happened?” Ronni asked.
“Polly was put on probation, and the so-called problem was listed in her school record.” She looked from Liz to Ronni. “Later, I don’t know why—maybe her conscience bothered her. Though I find that hard to believe.”
Ronni laughed. “A conscience! But why then?”
“I don t know. But Sylvia went to Mr. Hostetler and said she was wrong. Apologized over and over again. You know how she was.” She glanced toward Ronni. “Those fake apologies in your class—for ‘accidentally’ tripping Millie, for rolling her eyes when other kids did their improv. Well, like with all the other teachers and staff, Mr. Hostetler believed her.”
“What excuse did she give for saying she’d been wrong?” Liz asked.
“Not sure. But it must have been convincing.”
“I guess so.”
“And the worst part is, Polly lost out on a math scholarship she was counting on.” She sighed. “I don’t know if you were aware that Polly is a scholarship student. Now that she lost the scholarship, she doesn’t think she’ll be able to go to college. Her parents can’t afford it.”
“That’s terrible!” Ronni said. “I hate to say it, but it seems Sylvia was evil personified. I just can’t understand someone like that.”
“Nor I,” Liz said, hanging her head. “I didn’t know about the scholarship. That’s terrible.”
Emma shook her head. “So many kids had problems with Sylvia.”
“Even you,” Ronni said. “A lot of problems…including the damaged model.”
“And many other things too. She always ordered me around—though I certainly learned not to pay attention anymore, which didn’t go over well with her.”
“I’ll bet it didn’t,” Ronni said.
“Oh, I used to get very frustrated with her. Angry. Upset.” Emma blushed. “Sounds like I could have been the one!” She sighed. “I should learn to keep my mouth shut.”
“Come on, Emma. Nobody suspects you. You and Sylvia were friends.”
Emma’s laugh held no humor. “Of a sort,” she said. “If it had been up to me…” She shook her head. “I would never have chosen to be friends with her, as I’m sure you know. It was our moms who constantly threw us together, starting when we were little kids.”
“The thing is,” Liz said, “it could be almost anyone who murdered Sylvia.” She leaned back in her chair. “Most murders, I would think, have one or two suspects. But this is ridiculous because there are so many kids Sylvia targeted. Finding out which one murdered her is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“Incidentally,” Ronni said to Emma as she pulled the earring she’d found from her purse. “Any idea who this belongs to?”
Emma frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“This earring?” Ronni said. “I found it and wondered if you’ve
seen any like it.”
Emma didn’t answer at first. “Didn’t Sylvia have a pair like that?” she asked.
“Did she?” Ronni said. “I don’t remember.” She smiled ironically. “But, then again, I don’t usually go around school checking people’s earrings.”
Liz laughed. “And here I thought you were a member in good standing of the Watson-Collins Earring Police.”
“Oh,” Ronni kidded, “I resigned about a month ago. Too much pressure.”
“On the ear, no doubt,” Liz said.
Ronni rolled her eyes. “Particularly from those that squeeze the ear lobe. The clip-ons. Those for pierced ears weren’t so bad.”
“Speaking of that,” Liz said, frowning, “I wasn’t paying close attention to the one you found. Is it for pierced ears?”
“Yes. It’s less bulky than the clip-on kind.” She took out the earring to show it to Liz again. “And as you see, the stud is bent sideways from the weight of the pedestal, so the earring is pretty flat.”
“Where did you find it?” Emma asked.
“I noticed the pedestal that holds the murder weapon was just a tiny bit out of balance. It turns out the earring was underneath. I’d guess it fell off the person who murdered Sylvia. Since this type of earring is less bulky than the clip-on type, the pedestal was only a little off balance. That probably explains why no one noticed it earlier. Still, I’m surprised the police didn’t notice it. Even after they examined the statue. Or that the forensics people didn’t.”
“Maybe they didn’t consider that it could be underneath the pedestal. It mean that is pretty unlikely, isn’t it? Liz said. “And like you told us, it was only a little off kilter, right?
Ronni nodded. “They must have been distracted or something when they put the statue back,” Ronni said. “and just didn’t notice. “I know I was certainly distracted.”
“But you were more emotionally involved than the police or the forensics team.”
“Well, all I can say is that somehow it happened.”
“You know something?” Liz said, frowning. “A lot of boys wear those sorts of earrings—small diamonds.”
“You’re right,” Ronni said.
“Hmmm.” I was thinking that a girl had to be the murderer. But it could very well be almost anyone, couldn’t it?”
“Well, no matter, I can’t put off calling the police any longer.” She took out her cell phone and punched in a number.
Chapter 16
“San Diego Police Department, La Montaña Precinct. How may I help you?”
“This is Ronni Adams, a teacher at Watson-Collins. May I speak either with Detective Solomon or Detective Kolonich?”
“One moment, I’ll connect you,” the voice replied.
In a moment, Ronni heard another voice. “This is Detective Solomon. How may I help you?”
“This is Ronni Adams at Watkins-Collins.”
“Yes?”
“I found an earring,” Ronni told him, feeling a little nervous though she wasn’t sure why.
“An earring? What do you mean? Does this have to do with the murder there?”
“I’m sure it does,” Ronni said.
“What makes you sure?” he asked, his tone challenging as if she were wasting his time.
“It was under the pedestal that held the murder weapon.”
“The statue, you mean?” He sounded incredulous. “But we cleaned up all around it. There was nothing on the floor.”
“I don’t mean it was on the floor. I mean, I noticed the pedestal wasn’t quite balanced right. I think the murderer bumped into the pedestal causing it to tilt, and that’s when the earring fell off. The murderer probably didn’t notice because he or she wanted to get away quickly.”
“You’re sure of this?”
Why was he asking that? Did he think she was hallucinating? Wow. “Of course, I’m sure.”
“Detective Kolonich and I will be right there.”
“I’m in the cafeteria with another teacher, Liz Lindquist, and Emma Miller, the girl who discovered Sylvia’s body.”
“None of you leave before we arrive, all right?”
“Of course,” Ronni answered.
Within a few minutes, Solomon and Kolonich entered the cafeteria.
“Now,” Solomon said, as he walked up to Ronni’s table, “what is this about an earring?” He pulled an empty chair to the table.
Ronni handed it to him.
“I’m sure you’ve destroyed any fingerprints on it,” Solomon accused her.
Ronni was getting teed-off. Instead of being grateful for her help, he was berating her for handling the piece of jewelry. “Well, the truth is, Detective Solomon, I didn’t think it would be a good idea just to walk away and leave the earring lying there, do you?” She looked him directly in the eye. “The murderer could be looking for it. As the old saying goes, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Solomon sighed. “I suppose there’s some logic in what you say.”
“You have no idea whose it is?” Kolonich asked. He pulled up an empty chair and sat down. His tone was much more neutral than Solomon’s. Good cop; bad cop, Ronni thought. Was this what they were doing, or was Solomon a natural jerk? She glanced around to see that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them, wondering, she supposed, what was going on.
“I vaguely remember seeing someone wearing a pair of earrings like this. But the memory is almost subliminal. It’s one of those things you notice but don’t really pay attention to.”
Kolonich nodded. “And that’s it?”
“I did talk with another girl. Suzie Valentine. I noticed she was wearing just one earring, and it was very similar to the one I found. But it turned out the other half of the pair was in her purse. She said she took it off because it was hurting her ear.”
“So a dead end,” Sampson retorted, his tone once more challenging. “And anyhow, what were you doing talking to someone else before calling us.?”
“Oh, wow, so sorry, Detective Solomon. I should just have ignored it when Suzie called to me just after I found the earring.”
He glared at her. “Okay. So you’re telling me you didn’t have time.”
Ronni was still a little teed off and wanted to give him a smart answer but decided against it. “But maybe you can track it down,” Ronni said.
“Out of how many students?”
“What do you mean?” Now Ronni’s tone was also challenging.
“It seems almost hopeless, doesn’t it?”
“‘Hope is the thing with feathers,’” Ronni replied with a challenging smile.
“What!” Solomon said. “What are you talking about?”