Murder is Secondary: A Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery

by Diane Weiner

  Chapter 12

  “Look, Susan, I know this might sound crazy, but I think someone followed me on the way home. I was wondering if Lynette could come over. I don’t want to call the police about this because I don’t exactly know what I would say. It could be my imagination. Maybe she could look around outside.”

  Susan was anxious to help. She began to call Lynette but then stopped. She’s probably exhausted after working all day, thought Susan. She and the baby need their rest. Mike isn’t home yet. Maybe I’ll just go by and see if I can take a look around. After all, Julie lives practically around the corner. Susan put on her sweater and headed to Julie’s apartment. She called Julie on the way to tell her she was coming alone. Joey answered the door.

  “Susan, thanks for coming,” said Julie, appearing behind her son. “You were right––we can handle this without bothering Lynette. Here, I have a couple of flashlights. Joey’s going to help us.” Julie handed a flashlight to Susan and another to Joey. “I hope it doesn’t rain.” She grabbed her keys and they stepped outside.

  “I think we should start by retracing your path back toward the school,” said Susan. “Scan the ground and alongside the road as we go.” The trio slowly and carefully proceeded. Streetlights kept the sidewalk well lit, but once they veered onto the dirt path, the flashlights proved to be essential.

  “Hey, shine your lights over here,” said Joey. “There’s something shiny.”

  “I see it,” said Julie.

  He brushed leaves away from the base of an oak tree with his bare hands while the two women shined their lights at the trunk. The wind began to pick up.

  “What is that?” asked Julie.

  “Where?” said Susan. Joey began wiping away the dirt and leaves. He picked up an object.

  “Oh, it’s just an empty soda can,” replied Joey. They continued along the path. Susan kicked small piles of dead leaves that were in the path, while Julie scanned the wooded area alongside it. Susan buttoned her sweater. Maybe fall was coming after all, she thought.

  A car with its headlights on high beam passed along the road through the wooded area. Julie jumped when she heard it speed by.

  “Look over here,” said Susan. She shined the flashlight on an oversized boot print. “Surely your feet aren’t this big,” she said to Julie.

  “I didn’t notice that before. It looks as if someone was going toward my house.”

  “It must be recent,” said Susan. “Look here, coming out of that puddle. There are more wet prints. It rained this afternoon. If the prints had been there earlier, they would have gotten washed away.”

  “It hasn’t been long since Mom came home and this path hardly gets much use,” said Joey.

  They continued along the path until they were at the construction site and could see the back door of Julie’s classroom.

  “I see boot prints in the dirt heading behind those trees. It looks as if someone wanted to stay hidden until Julie passed and they could follow,” said Susan. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t your imagination after all, no siree. Do you have any idea who may be following you?”

  Julie hesitated and rubbed her wrist. “No, I can’t think of anyone at all.”

  Chapter 13

  Susan poured her coffee into a travel mug and headed for Westbrook High. She liked helping Janet. It made her feel useful. As she pulled into the school parking lot, she witnessed a Honda Civic going around a vintage Chevy on the main road in front of the school. The Chevy revved its engine and tried to pass the Honda. This escalated into a full blown episode of road rage.

  Then the two cars pulled into the parking lot. Not surprisingly, they were students. Susan opted to stay in her car until the incident concluded. She had her cell phone in her hand in case the situation deteriorated. Both drivers got out and confronted each other. She recognized the Chevy driver. It was Danny Trapani, Peyton’s boyfriend. She could tell the two drivers were screaming just by observing their body language. Danny grabbed the other driver by the neck and started repeatedly punching him in the face. Susan immediately called the front office.

  By the time the principal and security officers came out, the Honda Civic driver was unconscious on the ground. The security officer took Danny away while the principal waited with the unconscious boy for the ambulance to come.

  Susan got out of the car and told the principal what she had witnessed. Apparently this was not the first incident of violence in which Danny had been involved. Susan remembered what Janet had told her about Danny having a parole officer and wondered again how a smart girl like Peyton could possibly have gotten involved with a boy like this. Did he make Peyton feel safe? Did he provide a sense of security? Protection? Maybe protection from Amber?

  When she entered the school, Susan saw Danny sitting in front of the principal’s office. Then she watched Joey Martin come through the office. He had a seat next to Danny and appeared to be comforting him. He gave him a pat on the shoulder and was speaking too softly for Susan to hear what he was saying. Joey was one of those ‘good boys.’ Why would he be acting so friendly to this hoodlum? Eventually, Joey left, and Susan watched as the principal opened his door. The security officer came out and brought Danny into the office. Susan knew this wouldn’t be an easy day for Danny Trapani.

  On the way to the media center, Susan saw Julie Martin in the hallway.

  “Did you hear the ambulance out there?” said Julie. “I wonder what happened this morning.”

  “I saw the whole thing,” said Susan. “Danny Trapani and another boy had an incident of road rage in front of the school. Danny punched the other boy until he fell unconscious.”

  “Not again. Poor Danny just can’t keep himself out of trouble. Such a shame. He was the sweetest little boy. He and Joey played on the same Little League team for years. Back then, Danny was a good student and always a smile on his face.” The students were passing to their next class and the halls were fairly crowded. Suddenly, Julie froze for a moment as if she’d seen or heard something unusual.

  “What’s wrong, Julie?” asked Susan.

  “Did you see a grown man scoot around the corner with that crowd of kids? He doesn’t belong here.”

  “What did he look like? Are you sure he wasn’t a student?”

  “I didn’t see his face, but he was wearing business attire. Neither students nor teachers dress like that around this school.”

  “Should we call security?”

  “Maybe it was just a substitute that I haven’t seen before. If he’s new to the school he may have dressed to make a good impression or something.”

  “So back to the Danny story. What happened? Why is he so different now?”

  “His Mom got sick––cancer. She struggled for a long time but it finally beat her. Joey was devastated. They were very close––you know how little boys adore their moms. Anyway, his Dad just couldn’t cope with her death. He got into drugs, started drinking heavily. He’s in and out of rehab still.” Julie looked at her watch. “Gotta go. I have a class waiting for me.”

  As Susan was entering the media center, Carolina was exiting.

  “Hey, Mrs. W. Did you hear about the commotion this morning?”

  “Hey, sweetie. Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.”

  “That Danny is always in trouble. The kid he beat up is Amber’s new boyfriend. He and Amber have been bullying Peyton Myers something fierce. Of course, Danny is Peyton’s boyfriend, and anyone who knows Danny knows he’s all about loyalty. I’m pretty sure he was being taunted about Peyton. That always sets him off.”

  “What is Peyton like? Doesn’t she stand up to Amber?”

  “Peyton is very sweet. Smart too. I don’t understand why she even goes near Amber.”

  Susan helped Janet for a while, then headed home.

  Janet stepped out to use the restroom. She was startled to see a grown man in a business suit standing outside the media center.

  “Sir, what are you doing here? I don’t see an ID badge.”
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  “ID badge? I’m supervising the construction project. Our copier broke so I was just coming by to see if there was one in the media center that we could use.”

  “I don’t know how you got past the front desk,” said Janet firmly. “You always have to show your license. I think I’ll call the office and get someone to escort you out.”

  “That’s not necessary. I’m going. I’ll try the Office Max down the road.”

  Janet watched the man walk down the hall past Julie Martin’s classroom and go through the exit door. Then she called the office and alerted them about the stranger on campus.

  Chapter 14

  The alarm went off at five am. Susan hoisted herself out of bed and pulled on her sweat pants. Ludwig and Johann were cuddled on top of the bedspread. Mike was still fast asleep.

  “Come on, Mike. Time to go for our walk.” Susan shook her husband’s shoulder.

  “This is crazy. It’s five am.”

  “I don’t like it any better than you do, but since you won’t be home until late tonight, we have to get our walk in now.”

  Mike grumbled and slowly got out of bed. “At least you get to come home and go back to sleep. I have a long day ahead of me.”

  “Ah, the joys of being retired,” said Susan.

  They locked the door behind them and set out toward the school. “Aren’t we supposed to add mileage today?” he asked.

  “Yes. We can do a few laps around the track when we get to the school,” said Susan. The chilly morning air made them quicken the pace. They got to the school in record time and did two laps around the track as Susan had suggested.

  Then they decided to go around the science building and take the short cut home. The sun was rising over the mountains and Susan switched off the headlamp she was wearing.

  “You know that thing looks ridiculous, don’t you?” said Mike.

  “Maybe so, but it certainly is functional.” She had gotten the idea from watching some teams on The Amazing Race. She stopped dead in her tracks. They had turned the corner of the science building and were at the dirt construction site. “What’s that on the ground next to that bulldozer over there in the middle of the construction site? Is it a person?”

  “That’s weird,” said Mike. They hurried closer. Susan spotted it first.

  “Oh my God, it’s…a trampled body.” A motionless heap in a yellow slicker was laying in the path of the bulldozer. The person had obviously been run over. Susan felt as if she was going to vomit. This was the second dead body she’d discovered this year and this one looked particularly gruesome.

  “Don’t touch her,” warned Mike. Susan had no intention of touching the mangled body. The body was face down and looked to be the size and shape of a woman. Mike looked for signs of life but it was obvious that this person was dead. “I’m calling Lynette right now,” he said.

  Susan knew that Mike felt every bit as upset as she did, but he always kept his cool during emergencies. Then Susan had a horrid thought. She felt herself turning pale and for a moment was worried that she was going to faint. “That’s the back door to Julie’s classroom. I hope that isn’t Julie lying there. There was a School Advisory meeting last night and she was, I mean is, the faculty representative. Maybe she decided to walk home afterwards.”

  Mike paused for a minute. “I don’t think it’s her. You told me that she was spooked the other day thinking she was being followed. I doubt she’d walk home in the dark, and in the rain,” said Mike.

  “They only had one car and if Joey needed it last night, she might have,” said Susan. Her thoughts felt like bolts of lightning striking her head from the inside. She rubbed her temple.

  After a short time, Susan heard a siren. Lynette and her partner Jackson arrived. Lynette was used to seeing crime scenes, but Susan could tell that even she was a little freaked out. The medical examiner was on the scene moments later. While Lynette and Jackson secured the crime scene with tape, the medical examiner carefully turned over the body and stated the obvious: this girl was beyond saving. The crime scene investigators arrived and began taking photos. They systematically traversed the construction site and carefully began bagging potential evidence.

  “I’ll call the principal and have him keep this area clear,” said Lynette. “The students will be starting to arrive soon. The ambulance is on the way. I’d like to get the body out of here before school starts. We don’t want the students to see this. It would be terribly upsetting. Besides, we want to preserve the crime scene. What a sick way to commit murder. The perpetrator had to have had serious hatred toward his victim.”

  “Do you know who the victim is? I hope it’s not Julie,” said Susan.

  “No, it isn’t. We found her purse. Her license says Amber Bernstein, age seventeen. What a shame. She was just a kid.”

  “Oh my God,” said Susan. “Amber Bernstein? What was she doing out on the construction site? How could this have happened? No one accidentally drives a bulldozer around a construction site after dark and happens to hit someone. This was intentional. How did they even get the keys? Her poor parents.” Susan was speaking at a frantic pace.

  “Mom, you should go home now. We have to be careful to stay clear of the crime scene.”

  Lynette’s partner, Jackson, came up behind them.

  “Looks like the trailer over there was broken into. The door was pried open and the key to the bulldozer is missing from its spot on the peg board.”

  “The key is still in the ignition,” said Lynette. “Jackson, can you notify her parents before this gets out on social media?”

  “I’m on it,” said Jackson. Teachers were starting to arrive and Julie came out of the back door of her classroom. She ran toward Susan.

  “What happened?” she asked. The ambulance had arrived and the EMTs carefully put the mangled body on a stretcher and carried it away.

  “Who is that?” asked Julie.

  “It’s Amber Bernstein. This is so horrible. She was run over by a bulldozer last night,” said Susan.

  “I was just with her last night at the School Advisory meeting. She’s the student representative. There were a dozen parents here also. I can’t believe she’s dead.”

  “What time did the meeting break up?” asked Lynette.

  “Around nine,” replied Julie.

  “Where was the meeting held?” asked Lynette.

  “It was in the media center in the main building,” answered Julie.

  “Then why would Amber have gone all the way to the construction site instead of out the front door of the school. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Actually, I know why. The science department is big on coffee so several years ago we purchased one of those industrial-sized coffee urns. We used to joke that we’d have to fill it up twice to make it through some days, especially if there was a long-winded faculty meeting. I store it in my classroom. We always use it at the SAC meetings. Coffee and pastries, you know, an incentive to get parents to show up.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why Amber was at the construction site,” said Lynette.

  “After the meeting, Amber offered to bring it back to my classroom for me. She said she had to walk home anyway since her car was in the shop. It was starting to rain so I was happy not to have to go back to my classroom.”

  “So, then you went home?”

  “Yes. I didn’t think any more about it. Oh, no––if I hadn’t had Amber go to the science building, she probably wouldn’t have been out there at all. I hope I’m not responsible for her death.”

  “She lived in that direction anyway,” said Susan. “It would have been much quicker for her to take the path rather than walk along the road from the front parking lot.” Mike and Jackson approached. They had been looking at the tire treads and trying to determine if it were possible that this had been a prank gone bad. Mike had worked in construction before he started working at Westbrook City Hall and was very familiar with the eccentricities of bulldozers and other const
ruction equipment.

  “Well, do you think this may have been some kind of teenage prank?” asked Lynette. “Maybe some kids decided it would be funny to break into a construction trailer, steal keys, and take a bulldozer out for a joyride,” she offered. “Nothing surprises me with these kids anymore.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Mike. “I’m sure not many kids have ever had the opportunity to drive a bulldozer. It’s harder than it looks. There would have been treads going all directions––backwards, all over if it was someone who had never driven one of these. Judging by the depth of the treads, it looks like someone was speeding along like a greyhound chasing a rabbit. It looks to me like someone had a very specific target.”

  “I’d have to agree,” said Jackson. “That bulldozer was on a mission.”

  “Then, are you saying this was intentional?” asked Susan. “Someone deliberately set out to kill Amber? You’re certain?” Susan knew that Amber was not well liked but couldn’t imagine someone hating her enough to kill her.

  “It sure is looking that way. We will have to go back to the station and see what the CSI team comes up with. We will also have to interview any witnesses, though I doubt anyone would have seen this occur without contacting the police,” said Lynette.

  “Julie, can you give me a list of the people who were at the meeting last night?” asked Jackson.

  “I can give you who I remember off the top of my head, but the SAC secretary has the official attendance. She teaches Geometry in the main building.”

  “Thanks, I’ll go talk to her,” said Jackson.

  A car door slammed and two frantic parents approached. The man wasn’t tall, and he looked to be in his early to mid-fifties. He had dark hair tinged with just enough gray to appear distinguished. The woman was about the same age, slender, and sported an expensive-looking haircut.

  “Where’s my daughter? What happened to Amber? Is this a sick joke? Someone said she had been run over here last night,” said the father.

  “I checked her bed. She hadn’t slept in it,” said her mother. She was hyperventilating as she spoke. “We were at a fundraiser and got back very late last night. I didn’t even think to check on her. I assumed she’d gone to bed.” She covered her face with her hands.