Murder Is Our Mascot

by Tracy D. Comstock

  Arlene motioned with the gun for them to stand up. Emily had to help Helen to her feet, and the woman swayed against her, the drugs and terror making movement practically impossible. Arlene gave Helen an apologetic look, but the terrified woman never met her eyes. "I'm sorry, Helen. I really am. But I have to shoot you and Emily. The police will believe that you shot Emily for interfering and then killed yourself out of remorse. I need your bodies in your Tahoe, though, so that there will be no question that you were also behind the attempt on Gabby and Emily's life." She snarled at Emily. "You are the most infuriatingly nosy woman I have ever met. That brick I threw through your window never even slowed you down. The only reason I didn't just shoot you then was because you obviously cared about Stevie."

  "Well, thank you very much," Emily said, surprised she could summon up sarcasm at such a moment. She got a gun jabbed in the ribs for her effort. Arlene marched them into the hall, Helen stumbling and Emily doing her best to keep them both upright with the use of only one arm. "You know, Arlene, the Tahoe is here. Won't the police find that suspicious?"

  Arlene laughed. "I've already thought of that. Stevie and I are staying in a hotel an hour or so down the road. Once he's asleep, I'll come back and move the Tahoe to your duplex's carport. But for now, let's get you guys out there. We've had enough chitchat. It's time to get this show on the road."

  Emily moved toward the back kitchen door at Arlene's prodding. "Open it," Arlene demanded. Emily stepped cautiously through the broken glass and pooling water. Cold air blasted through the broken windowpane. Emily's hand fumbled on the doorknob, which was now slick with moisture. "Hurry up!" Arlene snapped.

  "Mom?" Stevie's voice from the hallway stopped Arlene in her tracks.

  "Mom, is everything okay?" Stevie asked again, standing in the doorway, confusion written all over his face. "What are you doing? Ms. Taylor? Ms. Burning! Where have you been? People have been looking for you all week."

  Arlene turned toward him, carefully hiding the gun behind her back. "Stevie, I need you to wait in the car. I told you to wait in the car."

  "Yeah, I know, but you were taking so long, and I needed to use the bathroom. I thought Mr. Higginbotham was here to help you load the last boxes? His car's still out front. Where is he?"

  Another voice from the hall spoke up. "Mr. Higginbotham is right here. You okay, Emily? Helen?"

  Arlene knew she was trapped. She raised the gun, and Emily pounced. She and Arlene crashed into the cabinets as Emily slipped on the wet floor. Arlene's grip on the gun remained firm. Emily hung on to Arlene with her left hand, using her casted right arm as a club. Arlene grunted when Emily made contact, but she kept her hold on the gun. Emily dimly heard Tad yelling at Stevie to call the police, before he also grabbed Arlene, attempting to wrest the gun from her. In their struggles, the gun went off. The sudden boom in the small kitchen shocked everyone into silence. Then a high-pitched scream had everyone rushing into movement again. Tad had Arlene's arms pinned behind her. Stevie was sobbing into his phone to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, and Emily caught Helen as she fell, blood gushing from her arm.

  "She's been shot!" Emily screamed hysterically. Immediately, a compress covered the wound, and Emily glanced around to see where it had come from. Mr. Barnes ordered Emily to keep constant pressure on it. She was too stunned by his presence in this bizarre nightmare to say anything, but she obeyed. She watched, everything dim and muffled as if she were underwater, as Barnes moved, one sleeve torn off his button-down shirt, to the sink. He tore off the other sleeve and held it under the stream of water. He returned to bathe Helen's face. "It's only a flesh wound," he assured them all. "But she's still losing a good amount of blood." He turned to Stevie and said calmly, "Is the ambulance on its way?" Stevie's Adam's apple bobbed as he nodded his head yes. Barnes's calm in the midst of all the chaos seemed to clear away some of the fog, and Emily finally found her voice. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

  "Apparently, Ms. Taylor, you're not only pesky, but also a thief." The words were delivered with his typical sneer. "After Mathletes' practice finished, Mr. Higginbotham discovered that his car had been apprehended."

  "I figured you got tired of waiting and took the car on home. I did wonder why you hadn't left a note," Tad spoke up, shifting his weight ever so slightly to keep Arlene pinned to the floor. "Looks like you were too busy." His clenched jaw betrayed his fury at being left in the dark.

  "As he had no other means of transportation, and I was still at the school," Barnes continued, "I offered him a lift. On the way, he got your message, so we rode to the rescue. Good thing that Cobra's fast."

  Emily had to agree. "I think I may have a new appreciation for sports cars."

  Barnes smiled a real smile at her, and Emily wondered if some kind of truce was in the making. His next words derailed that idea. "You sure do know how to make a mess of things." He motioned around the room, and Emily leaned back on her heels, surveying the wreckage. Tad was still holding on to Arlene, who was sobbing hysterically and trying to explain herself to Stevie. Emily wasn't sure if he was listening to her or not, though. He had one hand clenched in his fringe of hair, the other gripping his cell phone, occasionally responding to something the dispatcher said.

  Sirens sounded in the distance. Arlene became even more frantic, pouring out assurances of how much she loved him to Stevie. They all watched as he slid down the wall to sit next to her. Tad released her enough to let her hold Stevie's hand. Emily checked to see where the gun had ended up, surprised to see it resting comfortably in Tad's hand. She gave him a raised-eyebrow look, but he just shrugged. Tad kept his eyes trained on Arlene as she furiously talked to Stevie in low, desperate tones.

  Helen stirred, struggling to regain consciousness, just as Detective Gangly-Arms came storming into the kitchen, paramedics in tow. Emily stayed by Helen's side as she was loaded onto a stretcher, unsure of whether to ride to the hospital with her or stay to help Stevie. Barnes took the decision out of her hands. "I'll go with Helen. They'll need to take your statement." He motioned toward the detective. Emily hadn't thought he could surprise her any more than he already had, but then he tossed over his shoulder," Keys are in her. I'll pick her up at your place later." And then he disappeared out the door.

  Emily turned to Detective Gangly-Arms. "We have to stop meeting like this," she joked, but he was not amused.

  "We have two very different ideas of what 'butting out' looks like." He hesitated, then touching her lightly on the shoulder, added, "Thank you."

  Emily spoke quietly, not wanting Stevie to overhear. "Helen's Tahoe is in the shed out back. Arlene is responsible for all of it."

  The detective nodded. "We've been going over all of the old case files for the missing Olsen baby. A picture of the baby's nanny was put through a digital aging program. It's a clear match between Arlene Davis and the nanny, Bridget McMillan."

  "What happens to Stevie now?" Emily asked him.

  "We'll find his father, and hopefully, they can heal together. Stevie's going to have a long road ahead of him. Poor kid."

  "Stephen Olsen is in Ellington," Emily reported. That was news to Gangly-Arms. He stepped away to bark some orders into his phone. This might have been the detective's first big case, but Emily thought he'd handled it well. She might even have to start calling him by his real name. Or not. She didn't want to get ahead of herself.

  When the detective turned back to Arlene, by unspoken agreement, Emily and Tad flanked Stevie. "Arlene Davis, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and imprisonment of Helen Burning, the attempted murder of Emily Taylor and Gabriella Spencer, the kidnapping of Jacob Olsen, and the murder of Jim Layton." The clink of the handcuffs made Emily wince at the sound of their finality.

  Stevie stumbled and Tad caught him. "Why? Mom, why?" Emily felt her heart shatter as she witnessed the utter anguish on the boy's face.

  "I did it for you, Stevie. You're my son. I love you. Never forget—I love you," Arlene kept calling back to him
as a uniformed officer led her out to a waiting car.

  Detective Gangly-Arms turned to Stevie. "I know you have a lot of questions. We'll get them all answered. But for now—" He didn't seem to know where to go with the statement. Stevie was not yet a legal adult, so he would have to be placed under someone's care until he could be reunited with his father.

  "For now, he'll be staying with me," Tad told the detective, who nodded. "We'll bring him by the station later." Satisfied with the arrangement, Detective Gangly-Arms left.

  The eyes Stevie turned on her looked so young and lost that Emily longed to gather him up in her arms like the little boy he seemed to be at that moment. "I don't understand," he whispered to her.

  "I know, Stevie. I know. Mr. Higginbotham and I will try and answer all of your questions to the best of our ability."

  "Will you tell me the truth?" he asked, his voice cracking on the last word.

  "Yes." Emily brushed the hair off of his forehead and looked him directly in the eyes. "I promise." Then she opened her arms, and Stevie, caught between the stages of childhood and adulthood, stepped into them and sobbed like a baby into her shoulder. As she stroked his dark hair, her eyes met Tad's over Stevie's head. Tad nodded. Whatever it took, she knew they would be there for Stevie. They would make sure he made it through to the other side of this wasteland that his life had just become.

  EPILOGUE

  Five days later…

  The three figures making their way up the front walk to the school moved slowly. Weariness and sorrow dogged their steps. The past few days had been some of the most difficult ones that each of them had ever had to face. The consequences of Arlene's actions were far reaching.

  After her arrest, Arlene confessed to everything. She asked only that she be allowed to tell the whole story to Stevie herself. Emily and Tad had sat on either side of him while Arlene talked and sobbed, offering him their silent support. Emily marveled at the strength Stevie showed throughout the long ordeal. White as a sheet, and with his jaw firmly set, Stevie peppered this woman who had raised him with questions. Blow after blow rained down on him as he came to the realization that he was losing the only mother he had ever known, as she'd be going away for a very long time. He learned his biological mother had taken her life due to her grief at his loss. And now, the coach he had looked up to was mourned once again as a loving and devoted uncle.

  Stevie's love for Arlene, the woman who had been his mother in name and deed for the past seventeen years, made every blow worse. When he stood to give his "mother" a hug before leaving, his eyes were dry and his terse "good-bye" angry. Over the next couple of days, he went from angry to confused, to devastated, to numb in swings and cycles. Emily and Tad did all they could to comfort him. They gave him space to vent and cry, and when he was ready, they took him to visit Helen, who was still in the hospital, recovering from shock, dehydration, and her gunshot wound. She told Stevie how excited Jim had been to find him. He had been closing in on Arlene's trail for years, but he never had expected that she would be the one to find him. Her ploy of hiding in plain sight backfired. Despite the years, Stevie looked too much like his father to escape his uncle's notice. Jim had taken one of Stevie's mouth guards after practice, without his knowledge, and had it tested. Once he was positive Stevie was his long-lost nephew, he called his brother. A file, containing solid proof of Stevie's identity, was mistakenly transferred from Jim's desk to Helen's by a student worker who mistook it for one of the test files she was supposed to deliver to the counseling office. Helen had gone to Jim and tried to hold him off. She was afraid of how Stevie would handle the news. She and Jim were meeting at the school, the night that he was killed, in order to come up with the best plan of action.

  Stevie broke down at that point in Helen's narrative, but he thanked her for her concern and apologized for Arlene's actions. Helen had been quick to correct him there. Arlene, and Arlene alone, was responsible for what she had done.

  The day after they visited Helen, Stephen Olsen came forward and asked to meet his son. The reunion took place at Tad's apartment. There were a lot of tears on both sides, but the father and son's connection was immediate. After talking into the wee hours of the morning, Stevie decided that he would return to New York with his "dad," a word he spoke hesitantly but had left Stephen Olsen grinning from ear to ear.

  This morning, Emily had come to the school early with Tad and Stevie to watch Stevie say his good-byes. Stephen Olsen met them there to pick Stevie up. When it was Emily's turn to hug the teenager good-bye, she broke down. Stevie pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked directly into hers. "Ms. Taylor," he said softly, "one day you're going to make an amazing mom. You're already a terrific teacher." Emily continued to cry into Tad's shoulder as they waved the reunited father and son off. Tad's eyes were none too dry either by the time the two were out of sight.

  Despite their exhaustion, Emily and Tad turned to their classrooms. Another assembly was scheduled for that morning. Principal Matthews lauded the bravery of Emily and Helen, who had been released from the hospital in time to be in attendance. Emily made her way to the podium and looked out at the sea of faces. Her voice shook as she said, "The true heroes are Coach Layton, who never gave up on his family, and Stevie, who has faced tremendous loss with great dignity. I say the Ellington High Eagles play hard for a winning season this year in order to honor these two brave men." Thunderous applause met her pronouncement.

  * * *

  Emily wasn't sure how, but she made it through the rest of the school day. All she wanted was to go home and not think for a while, but her classroom suddenly had a revolving door. Helen stopped by, her left arm in a sling a counterpart to Emily's casted right, to thank her for taking care of Duke, for believing in her, and for saving her life. More tears were shed. When Helen also thanked her for her kindness to her mother, Emily had to ask her about Mrs. Quinton's question about money. Helen excitedly explained that she had found a CD among her mother's papers that she had forgotten about in her addled mental state. Thankfully, the amount would go a long way toward helping with her mother's medical expenses. Before Helen left, she and Emily shared a laugh over Emily's dad's insistence on installing new security systems in both sides of their duplex. Although they both appreciated his efforts, it was his upgrade of their fire alarms that struck them as humorous. Emily's mom had been making her daughter and best friend nylon-rope lamps to celebrate their safety. Apparently, rope had become her newest creative outlet. While burning the ends of the rope to keep it from unraveling and installing the wiring for the lamps, Emily's mom had managed to set several small fires. Emily's dad had confiscated all of her lighters, but he still revamped all of their smoke detectors. Just in case.

  Emily's next visitor, arriving right on the heels of Helen's departure, was Mr. Barnes. He stiffly expressed his pleasure that Emily had discovered Helen and stopped Arlene. Emily wondered if her now not-quite nemesis didn't have a little thing for their beloved counselor. Emily figured she better give Helen a heads-up, as another "just in case." When Barnes continued by saying he had a secret to tell her, Emily assumed his crush was about to be revealed. Instead, he shocked her temporarily speechless by admitting that he had a secret life as a romance writer. He said he knew Emily had suspected him at one point of being the one to murder Jim, which she promptly apologized for, feeling the heat sweep her cheeks. Barnes brushed it aside, however, and said he wanted to clear the air between them completely. Emily feigned complete surprise at his revelation and swore to keep his secret in gratitude for his helping to save hers and Helen's lives.

  When Barnes finally left, Emily staggered to the teachers' lounge, desperate for a caffeine pick-me-up. Tad met her at the door with an ice-cold soda, and they slumped at the table, companionably reviewing the events of the last two weeks. They had spent an extended amount of time with each other lately, but their focus had been on Stevie. Now that he had returned to New York with his dad, Emily wondered where her and Tad's relatio
nship stood. They never had discussed that kiss.

  Tad asked, "What are your plans for this weekend? Besides resting up, of course." His tone was casual, his large hands turning his soda can around and around, leaving rings of condensation on the tabletop.

  Emily winced. "I'll be trying to make it up to Gabby that she missed out on all the excitement. That's if you consider almost getting shot, excitement. And trust me, she does."

  Tad laughed, a sound that spread warmth through Emily's belly. "Well, when you're done placating the wounded warrior, I was hoping you'd let me take you car shopping. And maybe out to dinner afterwards?"

  He watched her closely as he waited for her to answer, so she tried not to let her excitement at the prospect of an actual date show too much. She put on a pouty frown. "You're going to have your work cut out for you. It won't be easy to replace that PT of mine. She's been my loyal companion for years."

  Tad stood and stretched. With his trademark smirk, he said, "With your driving record, Pit, we'd probably better try and find a place that sells tanks." With that, he sauntered out the door.

  This time, Emily didn't resist the urge—she stuck out her tongue at his retreating back.

  Acknowledgements

  I've always been the type of reader who scours every word of the acknowledgements page. I find it fascinating to see the amount of support and encouragement that surrounds authors, so I would be remiss if I did not thank those who have helped me accomplish this lifelong dream. First of all, I have to thank my mom for sharing her love of books and writing with me from an early age. She has always been my biggest cheerleader. I would be lost without you, Mom. Thank you to my dad for showing me I could accomplish any dream if I was willing to put in the time and effort and for teaching me to never quit, even when the going gets rough. I love you, Dad. Thank you to my outstandingly supportive and encouraging husband. Without you by me side, I don't know where our beautiful boys or I would be, though I suspect it would be still in our pajamas, watching a Jessie marathon. :) Thank you to my boys, the lights of my life, for telling people that your mom was going to be an author so that I had to live up to that title. You are the beat of my heart and the breath of my soul. And to my many students who also encouraged me to "practice what I preach" and work to make my dreams come true--every one of you will always hold a special place in my heart. To Gemma Halliday, thank you for giving your time and taking a chance on this fledgling author. I will forever be one of your biggest fans. Thank you to all of my professors at Pittsburg State University, especially Dr. Meats, Dr. DeGrave, Dr. McCallum, Dr. Morris, Dr. Carlson, and Lori Martin, for pushing me and inspiring me to believe in my writing. Thank you to Lori Norbury for your belief that this dream would come true. Here's to Scary Cherry Tales. And of course, thank you to my test readers. To Gabriel Franklin and Marilyn A. Entrikin, thank you for not only being two of the best friends anyone could ask for, but also for taking the time to give me thoughtful reviews on my manuscript. Gabe, you are world's best commuting buddy. And Marilyn, your photography skills are out of this world! Thank you for sharing your talent to try and make me look presentable. :) To Misty, Ellie, and Wyatt Ohnemus, thank you for being such amazing and dear cousins and for giving me honest feedback on Emily's first adventure. And to Connor Bobbett, thank you for reading this book and asking me insightful questions. Not many teenage guys would take time away from his summer break to help out an unknown author. You're one in a million! I hope I get to teach you one day. Finally, thank you to all of my family on both the Comstock and Coffman sides. I am truly the most blessed girl in the world. I thank God for each and every one of you.