by Kristi Holl
Easy for you to say, Jeri thought. It’s not exactly the same as having cute boys begging for your attention.
“She’s right,” Nikki said. “You did the right thing.”
Did the right thing …
It was good that no one could read her mind. If only I’d been gone when Tim came. She’d never hear the end of this. She’d like to talk to Mom, but Mom would agree with Rosa and Nikki. She’d always taught Jeri to do what the Bible said, no matter how hard it was. And Jeri knew the Bible said believers weren’t supposed to look down on others or show favoritism. What was inside was the part that counted most.
It wasn’t easy though, Jeri thought. She agreed with Mom, but somehow she’d thought people would admire her for being kind to Tim — not laugh at her. They had to know it was hard. Jeri looked at Powder Puff, the bunny. She almost regretted being Tim’s friend now. God, I’m sorry.
Her thoughts were cut off by a weak but cheery, “I’m back!” Jeri gladly tucked the bunny into the bag and set it behind the love seat. She, for one, was thrilled to make Abby the center of attention now.
After Abby got settled on the couch, Jeri and Nikki brought her an ice-cream bar and a frozen-fruit bar, but Jeri noticed that she ate very little. “Are you really okay?” Jeri asked her.
“Just tired.” Abby laid a hand at her neck. “My throat’s still awfully sore.”
Rosa sat on the arm of the couch. “You must have breathed in a ton of smoke.”
“That’s part of it,” she said. “But that instrument the doctor put down my throat scraped it.” She swallowed then, with obvious pain. “I’m just glad they finally sent me home.”
“Did they call your mom?” Jeri asked.
“Yes, and Mum called me at the hospital last night and today. It hurt to talk though.” She stood slowly. “I think I’ll crawl into bed.”
“Good idea.” Jeri watched her slowly climb the stairs with Nikki, worried by the change in her. If the doctor sent Abby home, she must be well enough. But was the exhaustion normal? If only there was some way to help her feel better …
Jeri had wanted to quiz Abby about the fire that night, but obviously it would have to wait till tomorrow. Abby was an eyewitness, and she might have seen something suspicious without even knowing it. Abby would soon know the fire was arson. Jeri had put a copy of their paper on her bed earlier.
Waves of sudden exhaustion washed over Jeri. Glancing out the window, she was surprised to see dusk had settled in already. Jeri sighed. Maybe she’d just wait till morning to take Lyndsey a copy of her newspaper. She’d rather sit back and watch a DVD with Rosa instead.
On Saturday morning, Abby was still asleep when Jeri finished her cold cereal in the dorm kitchen. Nikki had left early for the horse barn to work on her dressage competition, and few of the other girls—including Rosa—were even out of bed. Jeri grabbed her windbreaker and newspaper and headed to McClellan Hall.
Lyndsey’s sixth-grade dorm was built on the edge of campus. Mostly glass and concrete, it contrasted sharply with Jeri’s brick dorm with ivy-covered walls. Hampton House might be old, with its clunky radiators, open-beamed ceilings, and stone fireplace, but Jeri preferred it.
When she stepped inside McClellan, the house mother said Lyndsey was gone, but would be back shortly. “She’s rescheduling a horseback riding lesson. Feel free to wait here.”
“Thanks.” Jeri gazed around the spacious game room. It had two Ping-Pong tables, a blinking juke box, three snack machines, and a large screen TV!
“You looking for Lyndsey?” a nasal voice said behind her.
Jeri turned to find a girl in gray sweats that she recognized from gym class. “Flannery, right?”
“Right.” She blew her red nose. “Want me to take you to Lyndsey’s room? It’s next to mine.”
“Okay. I have something for her.”
“This way.” Flannery led her to an elevator. “We’re on the fourth floor.”
Flannery balanced her bag of corn chips and two Hershey bars while she punched the fourth-floor button. Jeri barely felt the elevator glide upward before it coasted to a smooth stop and opened its doors. A high-school girl in a fuchsia jogging suit whacked Jeri with her tennis racquet when she got on.
Jeri rubbed her arm, stepped out of the elevator, and started down the long bare hallway. Flannery knocked on a door covered with a life-sized poster of a young movie star. “Hey, Alexis, you got company.”
Blaring music was suddenly muffled. Shuffling footsteps approached, and a tall, beanpole-thin girl in striped pj’s opened the door. Staring at Jeri from top to bottom, she sniffed. “You’re looking for me?”
“Well, Lyndsey actually.”
“I should’ve guessed.” She turned her back on Jeri and crawled into a macraméd chair that hung from the ceiling like a hammock. She curled her feet underneath her.
“Jeri’s gonna wait here for Lyndsey,” Flannery said, giving Jeri a push into the room. She backed out and closed the door.
Alexis looked at her through half-closed eyes. “Whatever.”
Jeri wished she’d waited downstairs. Pretending an interest in their view, she walked to the window and gazed out over the tops of trees. “I can see into the top of the clock tower from up here,” she said.
“I’m sure that’s thrilling for you,” Alexis drawled.
Jeri stared at the floor, embarrassed at sounding like a baby, then turned and surveyed the room. Their bedspreads, chairs, rugs, and pillows were neon orange and lime green—pretty, but it probably glowed in the dark. She pulled a copy of her newspaper from her pocket. “Which is Lyndsey’s desk?” she asked.
Alexis rolled her eyes. “Take a wild guess.”
Jeri laid the paper on the desk covered with photos of Lyndsey’s family—on the beach, in front of a Christmas tree, and Rollerblading. Lyndsey looked young in the pictures. Jeri leaned close. “Cute little sister. Does her family visit?”
“I’ve never seen them,” Alexis said. “She flies home instead.” Then, without another word, she put on headphones, closed her eyes, and sang along with her music.
Jeri returned to the window. She envied all the space they had: room enough for beds and desks, plus a love seat in the corner, a white metal bird cage with two parakeets, and a card table holding some art project.
Beside the window, a silky paisley scarf covered something on an easel. Jeri glanced at Alexis, who was still in a musical trance, and then lifted the cloth. Underneath was a painting—a portrait. A small photo was pinned to the upper corner of the easel. It was unmistakably a picture of Lyndsey’s little sister.
Without warning, the door opened and closed, making the silky cloth flutter. Jeri whirled around, feeling guilty at being caught peeking. “Hi, Lyndsey,” she said, gesturing at the painting. “This is really good.”
Lyndsey moved across the room and covered it. “Thanks, but I don’t let people see my work. I’m giving it to Mom for her birthday next month.”
“You’re really talented.” Jeri pointed at Alexis, who was still tuning them out. “She said I could wait for you.”
“I went to cancel my riding lesson. The cut on my arm hurts too much to handle the reins.”
“I brought you something.” Jeri grabbed the paper from Lyndsey’s desk. “There you are. Front-page hero.”
“Actually, Flannery showed me a copy last night.” She read the article aloud slowly. “This is good,” she said, looking up. “You wrote that? Thanks!”
“You want an extra copy for your parents?”
A shadow passed over Lyndsey’s face. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Why? They’d be real proud of you.”
“They’d be even more scared.” She shook her head. “Mom would agree with Ms. Todd that what I did was too dangerous. I just didn’t think about it at the time.” Lyndsey plopped down in an orange director’s chair and read more of the paper. “I like Rosa’s column. Do you know what you’re wearing to this luau thing?”
“Orange cut-off shorts and an orange flowered shirt from the second-hand store.” She grinned. “Rosa calls me a bargain babe and says that I should write an article called ‘Diva on a Dollar.‘ You’re gonna go, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but I can’t hula or anything.” Lyndsey tapped the paper. “I didn’t know our library had dancing videos.”
“I checked out a couple. Want to come over and practice now?” Jeri asked. “Abby came home from the hospital last night too. I bet she’d like a visitor.”
“I have laundry in a dryer downstairs to fold first. Can I come when I’m done?”
“Sure. See you later.” Outside, the sun had gone under the clouds, and a stiff wind had turned the day gusty. Great day for kites, Jeri thought. For a Saturday, few girls were outside. Head down into the wind, Jeri jogged all the way to Hampton House.
She started upstairs as Rosa came running down. “Jeri! Where’ve you been? I hunted all over for you!”
“Why? What happened?”
“It’s Abby. She had some kind of relapse. When she woke up this morning, she was too weak to get out of bed or eat anything.” She leaned against the banister. “They called an ambulance and took her back to the hospital.” Rosa’s face clouded over, and her voice was barely a whisper. “I was so scared. Abby was awfully pale and weak.”
“Was she coughing bad again?”
“No. Ms. Carter called it a toxic reaction to smoke. They did a blood test. ‘Toxic gases in the blood,’ I think she said. It can take as long as two days before the poison starts working in your body. That’s what Ms. Carter said.”
“Poison!”
“I don’t really get it—something about oxygen shortages starving your cells. The ambulance guy said stuff found in smoke can be poisonous in your body. It was making her sicker.”
“Makes sense. She was closest to the explosion,” Jeri said, “and in the burning lab the longest.”
“Plus she was sick with the flu all last week and probably run down,” Rosa added.
“I wish I’d been here,” Jeri said softly. “Can we go see her?”
“Not tonight. Miss Barbara’s staying all night with her, though.”
They were still hanging out in the lounge twenty minutes later when Lyndsey showed up. “What a homey place,” she said, taking in the crackling fire in the fireplace, the open oak stairway, and padded rocking chairs.
Jeri sank down into one of the rockers. “Sorry, but I’m not in the mood to practice hula dancing now. Abby just got taken back to the hospital. The smoke did something to her blood.”
“Oh. I understand.” Lyndsey stood awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other. “I should probably just go.” She turned and headed down the hall.
“Wait,” Jeri said, feeling guilty for cancelling after inviting her over. “I’ll walk you part way. I need to pick up a library book that’s on hold.”
They were quiet as they started back. Jeri couldn’t get Rosa’s words out of her mind. Abby was poisoned by something in the smoke. What if there wasn’t a cure? What if cells starved of oxygen had permanent damage? And what cells? Brain cells? Could Abby end up like the kids from New Hope Academy?
“I hope Abby comes home later today,” Lyndsey said. “I didn’t know smoke could hurt you even after a fire’s out.” Her voice caught as if she might choke. “If only I’d gotten her out of the lab sooner. I never saw her behind Ms. Todd’s desk.”
“That’s not your fault,” Jeri said. “You did more than anyone would — ”
“Look!” Lyndsey yelled, pointing to a large wooden storage shed set back from the road.
Jeri turned where she pointed, started, then looked again. Through a side window, an orange reflection flickered and danced. It almost looked like —
“Fire!” Jeri screamed.
5
the scene of the crime
Jeri took off running to the shed that was set well back from the access road. She scanned the area for a teacher or security guard, but no one was out on this blustery Saturday except a couple girls on bikes and one carrying an armful of books. Two other students stopped in the drive to gawk.
Following right on Jeri’s heels, Lyndsey ran to the storage building. She peered in a small window next to the door, her hands cupped around her eyes and forehead pressed to the glass. “Looks like a lawn mower’s on fire.” She reached for the doorknob.
“Don’t go in there! Not again!” Jeri said. “Call 9 - 1 - 1.” At Lyndsey’s hesitation, she gave her a push. “Go back to my dorm and call!”
Lyndsey turned and raced in the direction of Hampton House. Jeri peered in the same window, but she couldn’t distinguish what was on fire. There was too much smoke to make it out.
She couldn’t see anyone, but Tim had told her that he cleaned the lawn mowers and snow blowers stored there. Was Tim in there now? Was he overcome by smoke and lying behind the mower? Was he dying from smoke inhalation while she waited safely outside for the fire department to arrive?
“Tim! Are you in there?” she yelled.
When there was no answer, she glanced over her shoulder. Where was Lyndsey? Or her house mother? If Tim—or Mr. Rankin—was lying in that burning building, was there really time to wait for anyone? To fuel the mowers and snow blowers, there must be cans of gasoline in there. If the fire reached them, the explosion would blow up the building — and anyone trapped inside.
She had to do something. Spying a water spigot on the side of the building, Jeri raced to it and tried to twist the knob. It didn’t budge. She kept trying, but nothing trickled out at all. Was it rusted shut?
Running back to the window, she peered inside again. Rows of tools and loops of rope and garden hose hung on the back wall. In the middle of the tools was a fire extinguisher.
She didn’t have any choice. Jeri yanked the door open and smoke rushed out. Inside, peering through tiny slits, she groped for the light switch and flipped it on. One light flicked on, but the weak light barely penetrated the smoke.
Running to the back wall, she unhooked the red fire extinguisher. The metal cylinder was so heavy she nearly dropped it. According to the diagram on its side, it had to be turned upside down to work. Then the attached hose was pointed at the fire.
Jeri’s eyes stung as she up-ended the extinguisher, moved near the blaze, and squeezed the nozzle. A stream of foamy bubbles overshot the fire altogether. She moved a bit closer, held the nozzle tighter, and aimed again. This time a full load of frothy bubbles landed on the flames. She squinted, aimed, and squeezed, closing her eyes against the smoke and blistering heat.
After holding her breath long enough to empty the contents on the blaze, Jeri couldn’t see any more flames. Dropping the extinguisher with a clatter, she fanned the smoke away from her face and ran behind the mower. Its cushioned seat was charred, and the tires were melted. The mower itself was covered in foam. Jeri knelt and scanned the surrounding area.
No Tim. She let out the breath she’d been holding. No one was there at all.
Turning, she noticed a back door not far away. It stood ajar a couple inches. She opened it wide, gulped the cool fresh air, and glanced in all directions. No one was outside the back door. Had the arsonist set the fire and escaped this way? In the distance she heard the wailing siren of an approaching fire engine.
Stepping back inside, Jeri noticed several gasoline cans along another wall. Were they empty? Or just waiting for a blaze to touch them and set off an explosion? Thank you, God, for helping me!
“Jeri! Jeri!” Lyndsey yelled. “Are you all right?”
“I’m here.” Jeri headed outside, her eyes streaming from the smoke. “I’m safe.”
Lyndsey was surrounded by half a dozen girls and Ms. Carter.
“Jeri, what did you do?” the house mother cried, grabbing her in a bear hug. “You could have been killed!”
Jeri’s face was muffled against Ms. Carter’s front. “I was afraid Tim was inside. Or Mr. Rankin.” She pulled away and lo
oked up at her. “If the fire had reached the gasoline cans, there would’ve been a terrible explosion.”
“How’d you know what to do?” the house mother asked.
“I saw the fire extinguisher on the wall,” Jeri said.
Just then Nikki and Rosa ran up. “You shouldn’t have gone in there,” Nikki said. “You want to end up in the hospital like Abby? Breathing smoke is dangerous!”
Rosa grabbed Jeri’s arm. “What were you thinking of, girl? You wanna be fried?”
“I have to agree with Nikki and Rosa,” Ms. Carter said. “I understand why you did it. But please, don’t do this again!” She turned to Lyndsey. “Either of you.”
Conversation was cut short as a yellow fire truck pulled up on the grass next to the shed. Two firefighters jumped out and shouted, “Stand back!” Then they headed inside. One opened the shed door, dispersing the smoke. Jeri shook her head. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
By now a crowd had gathered, and Jeri spotted the Head striding across the grass. She arrived as the firefighters emerged from the shed, her upswept hairdo not even bending in the stiff breeze.
“What happened?” she demanded. “I’m the headmistress here.”
“Ma’am, I’m afraid you’ve got a fire bug on your campus.”
Her mouth tightened. “Be specific, young man.”
“This fire was set deliberately too, with gasoline and rags. The point of origin was a lawn mower seat.”
Not again! Jeri glanced at Lyndsey, who looked as sick as she felt.
“Couldn’t it have been an accident?” the Head asked.
“Afraid not. The fire burns longest at the point of origin.” He held up a charred piece of cloth. “This combustible material was found on the seat. It’d be very hard for a fire to start there accidentally. In an engine maybe—with an electrical problem. But not rags on the padded seat.”
The Head frowned. “Have the fire marshal call me,” she said and then left.
Ms. Carter studied Jeri carefully. “Maybe you should go to the infirmary, just in case.”
“I’m fine. Really. Not even coughing.” At the house mother’s skeptical glance, she added, “I held my breath in there most of the time.”