“This is a private high school function, and most of the kids in there are teens,” she said, relieved to notice Luke beside her. “And how old are you guys? Twenty? Twenty-one?”
“Age is relative.” The small, Goth-looking kid was the only one of the group whose age was hard to determine; his features were masked by a hood, dark makeup, and the shiny silver stud piercing the skin below his lower lip. “We’re here for nostalgic reasons, you know? I went to Mirror Lake. I should still be in school there, but I switched to community college.”
“Really?” Luke stepped closer, squinting. “I think you were in my con phys class. Jeremy, right?”
“Yeah.” The kid’s black lips parted in a smile as he and Luke exchanged a modified handshake. “How you been, Mr. B?”
“I’m cool,” Luke said. “How’s it going at the CC? What classes are you taking?”
Relieved, Jane left Luke talking with his former student and returned to her post.
When Harper’s group appeared at the gate, most of the girls were laden with their bulky canvas equipment bags from practice. They were giggling as they approached.
“Hey, Mama-dish!” Harper beamed.
“Hey, there. You girls look like you had a good practice,” Jane said, glad to see their happy faces.
“We did.” Harper dropped her bag to the ground. “Olivia didn’t show.”
“No one knows why,” Emma said. “But no one cares.”
“But since she missed practice, she can’t come to the picnic,” Alyssa added.
“That’s in the handbook,” Harper said, reminding Jane of a six-year-old who crowed about rules. “If you miss class or a practice, you can’t attend other activities in the same day.”
“My mom checked the student guidelines,” Sydney said.
“Did she? Well, sometimes things just work themselves out,” Jane said.
“The only problem is our bags,” Harper said. “Can you take them to the car, Mom?”
“I can’t.” Jane couldn’t leave her post, but more important, she wasn’t about to play servant to a handful of teenage girls. “Take them inside. Mr. Tarkington will help you find a place to stow them by the snack shack.”
“Errrr.” Harper moaned as she hoisted the strap onto her shoulder. “So heavy.”
“It’s not far.” Jane pointed the way. “Have a good time. Everyone must get wet.”
“Woohoo!” Sydney yelped happily, and the other girls joined in as they toted their bags inside.
Jane smiled as she watched them from the gate. Last year, her presence hadn’t been an issue, but last week Harper had asked for some space at the picnic. “Other kids won’t have their moms there. It’s just weird.”
Harper had seemed relieved when Jane told her that she’d volunteered to man the gate of the park.
“I’ll join the picnic later, but I won’t be hounding you or your friends. I promise.”
Harper’s mouth had twisted in an odd rotation as she mulled that over. “I guess that’s okay.”
An hour into the picnic, when Mina relieved the other teachers at the now quiet gate post, Jane walked down the shady path. She sipped on a small cherry slushie as she chatted with students and checked out the white board with tallies from the field events. Trying not to engage those X-ray eyes that Harper found so annoying, she gazed down at the waterfront. The striped canvas was tied down, closing off the tent around the dock. Although the kids would use the kayaks for some racing events, the administrators didn’t think it was safe to have unsupervised students out on small watercraft during the picnic. Right now kids were lined up on the beach for the orange pass relay race, in which each person passed an orange tucked under his chin to the next contestant’s chin, without using any hands. How did that one get past Dr. G? Jane wondered with a smirk.
“Mom . . .”
She flinched at the sound of Harper’s voice, feeling caught although she wasn’t doing anything wrong. “Hey. Having fun?”
“I was until she showed up. What’s she doing here? Did you let her in?”
Olivia Ferguson, damn her. Jane would be thrilled to see that one graduate and leave the school. “She came with a note from her doctor,” Jane explained. “Don’t let her ruin your good time, Hoppy.”
“Don’t call me that in front of people. And don’t you see what she’s doing? She’s flirting with Jesse, big-time.”
Jane followed Harper’s gaze over to the kiddie pool, where Jesse and Olivia sat on the edge, swishing their legs through the water as they talked. “It’s probably not as bad as it looks. Why don’t you go over and join them. Ask Olivia if she’s feeling better and if she’s contagious. That should stir things up.”
“Nothing is going right. Our team lost the inner-tube relays, and now the new girl wants to come over and hang out sometime. Like we’re friends. We’re not.”
“Where is this new girl?” Jane asked.
Reluctantly, Harper scanned the park and pointed her out by the shuffleboard court. From a distance, Jane saw no resemblance between this girl and Harper. Isabel wore a flouncy short skirt and matching sleeveless blouse with bright pink flats. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with fat silk flowers wrapped around it, with her forehead covered by a pink visor.
“Okay, I don’t see how anyone could think you look like her,” Jane said. “But then I’m having trouble looking past that crown of flowers.”
“It’s not funny.” Harper’s gaze scorched the landscape. “I can’t talk to you anymore. Just . . . later.” She turned and jogged off in the direction of the lake.
Whatever, Jane wanted to say. Apparently the annoying parent reputation did not die easily. Catching up with Luke and Marcus by the Ping-Pong tables, she joined in an impromptu match between teachers and students.
The first thing that alerted Jane was the shrill sound of girls screaming. That alone wasn’t alarming, but it was followed by male shouting and a stir of activity down at the waterfront. When Dr. Gallaway burst out of the snack shack and went running down to the waterfront with a walkie-talkie in hand, Jane held her paddle up and stopped the match.
“What’s going on?” she asked as Luke and Marcus joined her.
From here they could see one of the lifeguards on his feet, whistling for assistance from the tall chair. He was pointing toward the boathouse, outside the zone where swimmers were permitted. The area was full of sharp rocks, boulders, slime, and weeds—undesirable for swimming.
The music stopped, and an eerie silence fell over the park for just a moment. Then the cold, stark adrenaline began to beat in her chest like a fleeing crow. Jane pushed toward the waterfront with Luke and Marcus. The other teachers were consoling students, trying to ease them away from the crowd, but Jane burned with her mission.
Where was Harper?
She passed Emma and Sydney, and Jesse had been up by the snack shack . . . but no Harper. She listened greedily as kids murmured, spellbound by the horror.
Someone was in the water.
A body. Floating.
A girl.
“Who is it?” Jane asked everyone. “Who? Did you see?”
Like a sparking wire, Kathleen Gallaway popped out of the crowd around the dock and caught Jane’s attention. “I need you to go up to the gate immediately and direct the paramedics down here. The ambulance will be here soon. I think they can get their vehicle through a side gate. I’m not sure. Ask the park custodian.”
“Of course, but what happened?” And who, dammit? Who was hurt? And where the hell was Harper?
“We found a senior girl unconscious in the water. I already told the dispatcher.”
A senior girl . . . not Harper. The hard edges of panic eased, leaving a ghostly numbness.
“Is she breathing?” Jane asked.
“Gray and Phoebe are trying to resuscitate her.”
Knowing that Harper was safe, Jane embraced the rescue operation and sprinted up the hill. In a firm, low tone she dispersed the news to other sta
ff members, engaging teachers and responsible students to make sure the main path was clear for the ambulance and to try to calm the students. Her emergency management skills kicked in as she hurried to the window of the rescue vehicle and directed the paramedics to the unconscious girl. Jane walked alongside the vehicle until the way was clear. The students had been moved away from the path that ran alongside the park’s edge down to the dock, leaving an obvious route to the drowned girl.
A senior girl.
Suddenly she was trembling in the sunshine. Don’t fall apart now. Hold it together and do your part. She hugged herself, trying to maintain calm at least until she could see the ambulance on its way. All the emergency workers seemed to arrive at once. Firefighters wheeling fat first-aid kits and oxygen tanks. Paramedics with a stretcher and backboard. Jane directed them down to the dock.
The minutes stretched on.
A female cop, an Officer Norwood, came through the gate and paused when she saw Jane. “Are you okay, ma’am?” The radio on her collar squawked, but Jane couldn’t make out what the voice was saying.
“In shock, I think. I’m a teacher at the school, and it’s so scary. Do you know if she’s okay? I’m not even sure what happened.”
Norwood explained that the girl’s body had been discovered floating near the boat rental cabana. Some kids on the dock had noticed her first, alerting the lifeguard. The vice principal had pulled her out of the water and started trying to resuscitate her. “They don’t know how long she was floating there.” Norwood didn’t go on, but she didn’t need to. Jane understood the inherent concerns: If they did manage to revive the drowning victim, the girl might have already suffered brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
“What a nightmare.” Jane listened as the radio chirped again.
“Did you hear that? They’ve got her breathing.”
“That’s . . . that’s wonderful.” Jane pressed a hand to her chest, wishing she could slow her racing heart.
Officer Norwood stepped away as a string of messages came through. The officer responded, then turned to Jane.
“They’re bringing her up in the ambulance. I need to notify the parents so that they can meet her at the hospital. Maybe you can help me. Is there a master list of students’ names with emergency contact info?”
“Dr. Gallaway has it. She’s the principal. I’ll help you find her.” The dark gloom that had been pressing on Jane began to ease as they walked together toward the main gate. “Who is the girl?”
“They say she’s a senior. Her name is Olivia?”
Suddenly Jane stopped walking. She knew of only one senior girl named Olivia.
“Olivia Ferguson,” Jane said, and the cop nodded.
“Do you know her?” Norwood asked.
My daughter’s rival. Her nemesis.
Jane could only nod.
Chapter 14
“Hey, Mom.” Harper’s pert smile made Jane’s knees begin to melt from under her.
“Harper! I’ve been looking for you.” Jane pulled the girl into her arms and closed her eyes, grateful for the flowery smell of shampoo, the hard bones and smooth skin of her daughter’s body. “I was so worried. It’s awful.” Jane opened her eyes as the teachers she had been talking with backed away. Except for the police and administrators down by the waterfront, the park had cleared out.
“Mom, I’m okay.” Harper patted Jane’s back, then quickly extracted herself. “You worry way too much. And you promised to keep your distance during the picnic.”
“I did, but then this happened, and I was worried about you. Where were you, anyway?”
“Just kicking back with my friends.”
“You weren’t with Emma and Sydney.”
“I have other friends, too, and . . . See? This is what I’m talking about. It’s like you’re spying on me.”
“I’m your mother, and I’m right to worry about you,” Jane said firmly. She wasn’t going to apologize, but the tension of the day was not Harper’s fault. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay now.”
Soon after Olivia had been whisked away in the ambulance, Dr. Gallaway had made the decision to end the picnic. Students were asked to call their parents, walk home, or drive safely. Jane and Luke had stayed on to make sure all the kids found a way home. The principal had been right to end the party. Everyone felt a little wobbly and sick, concerned for Olivia and scared for themselves. Already the rumor was circulating that she had been attacked. Some speculated that she’d been pushed into the water; others said she must have been drunk or high and fallen in. Jane doubted that last theory, but the hospital would screen Olivia’s blood for traces of drugs or alcohol.
“So anyway . . .” Harper wrapped a lock of hair around one finger, her voice stretching like sweet taffy. “I was wondering if I could go over to the Westview Apartments with some people.”
“What?” Jane blinked. The Westview Apartments had a reputation as a known drug-prone location. The police had found a meth lab in a bedroom there last year, and high school kids seemed to know that it was always possible to score weed on the premises. “Why would you go there?”
“Just to hang out. Teddy lives there, and he says there’s a party room that we can use. It’s for residents and their friends.”
Jane didn’t like the sound of this. “Will Teddy’s parents be in the party room?”
“His mom’s at work, but his grandmother will be there.”
“Really? In the party room? So I can drop you off and say hello to her.”
“I can get a ride with one of the seniors.”
“No.”
“Mom!”
“You know the rule. I need to meet the parents, and some adult should be at home.”
“That’s so unfair.” Harper’s hands went to her hips. “Don’t you think I’m a little too old for a babysitter?”
Jane pressed her cheek to one hand as her gaze fell on the activity down at the waterfront. Someone was stringing a yellow plastic strip around the tree trunks. Crime-scene tape, like on TV. Which indicated that the police were investigating the possibility that Olivia’s fall into the lake had not been an accident. A near drowning. An assault. Jane couldn’t believe this was happening in Mirror Lake.
“Mom? Are you just going to stand there looking all sad? I hate it when you don’t answer me.”
You hate so many things.
Jane wanted this day to be over. She wanted a glass of wine. A warm bath. A romantic comedy on TV. A massage from Luke. But she was not going to let Harper slink over to some questionable apartment so that she could have the night off.
“Let’s go home, honey.” Jane scanned the park for Luke, but she suspected he was up by the gate, hanging with students who needed a ride. The nearly empty swim park seemed deceptively welcoming now. Branches of the fir trees swayed in the subtle breeze, and the late afternoon sun cast diamonds of light on the flickering surface of the water. The lake beckoned, the dazzling voice of nature calling anyone who stopped to listen.
Come to me. Here is tranquility. Here is peace.
“Mom? What is wrong with you?”
Harper’s angry voice snapped Jane out of her trance. She hadn’t had a lapse like that for years. Dissociating, her therapist used to call it. Jane used to do it all the time when a mind slip was the only way to escape the intolerable Frank and his abuses. “I’m tired, Hoppy. Where’s your bag?”
“Up by the snack shack. Mr. Tarkington made us leave them by the back door, even though there are spiders in the bushes there.”
“Okay. You need to get your bag and meet me by the front gate.”
“I need to tell my friends that I can’t come over.”
Jane looked around suspiciously. “Where are these friends? Who are we talking about?”
“Teddy and Jesse.” Harper was already backing away. “They’re waiting out front, by someone else’s car.”
“Five minutes. And don’t forget your bag.”
At the gate, Marcus was talking w
ith some students, while Mary Ellen stood talking with her husband Ben.
“We’re debating about going for an early dinner since we have the sitter until seven.” Mary Ellen shot her husband a hopeful look.
Ben’s arms were crossed, his mouth set in a grim line. “Well, we have to eat. Just not feeling very festive.”
“She’s going to be okay,” Mary Ellen said, her eyes glistening with tears. “Olivia’s a strong girl. She’ll pull through.”
Jane hoped that Mary Ellen was right.
“Luke left,” Mary Ellen reported. “He’s taxiing some students home.”
“I’ll catch up with him later,” Jane said, wishing Mary Ellen would be more discreet. Maybe Harper was right; maybe everyone already knew that Jane and Luke were an item. Still, Jane wasn’t ready to make that final move.
“I wonder how long the police are going to be here?” Mary Ellen asked as the three of them looked toward the waterfront.
“As long as it takes to figure out what happened.” Ben’s voice was cold in that factual way men had of dealing with crisis. He pulled his cell from one pocket. “I’m going to tell the sitter we’re going for a bite.”
A sour expression puckered Harper’s face as she trudged up to the gate. With a flicker of sympathy, Jane forced a smile. So many plans had been ruined.
“See you at school,” she told the teachers, pointing the way toward her car. A scowling Harper followed her, probably still stewing about the invitation to the “Drugview” Apartments. Jane popped the trunk and waited as Harper stowed her bag.
“Just saying,” Harper began, “when I picked up my bag it seemed way too light. I looked inside and guess what? Blue Lightning is gone. I think someone stole it.”
“What?” It was the killing stab of a brutal day. Jane reached for the bag and began to rifle through it, tossing out warm juice boxes and a pack of smashed peanut butter crackers. “I thought Mr. Tarkington was watching the bags for you girls.”
Harper opened the passenger door. “I thought so, too.” She slipped into the seat and closed the door.
“Harper!” Jane leaned into the driver’s side to face her. “Let’s go, missy. We need to find that bat.”
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