by Harper Lin
About ten minutes had passed when a tall, stern-looking giant wearing a suit and tie showed up and muscled his way through the sea of parents.
“Amelia!” John yelled.
She had been busy chewing her nails. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. She walked to John almost in a trance. At this moment, she didn’t see him as her ex-husband. Amelia only saw Meg and Adam’s father. He stooped down and wrapped her in his arms, squeezing her tightly.
“What do we know?” he asked.
Amelia shrugged. “I asked Dan if it was a shooter, and he said he didn’t know. I’ve been watching the police, and no one has gone into the school, at least not from what I’ve seen. I can’t get either of the kids to answer their phones. John, what if—”
“You would have heard shots from inside the school, Amelia. You would have heard. If you haven’t heard anything and the police aren’t saying, well, that might be a good sign.”
“I hope you are right.” She folded her hands in front of her as she had been doing, kneading her fingers as she prayed.
“I’m going to go see if I can find anything out,” John said soothingly. “Maybe something has happened since Dan spoke to you last.”
Normally, Amelia would tell John to leave them alone and let the police do their jobs. He had the tendency to be rather abrasive with law enforcement due to the fact he worked in the law. But this time, Amelia couldn’t help but hope he rattled their cages. This wasn’t like waiting in traffic court. Her children, everyone’s children, were inside, and they couldn’t get to them.
She watched John go up to Dan, and the men shook hands cordially. John, as usual, did all the talking. Dan just shook his head. He muttered something back then patted John on the shoulder before shaking his hand again and returning to the group of uniformed police.
“What did he say?”
“Not a whole lot,” John grumbled. “I asked if this was a hostage situation, and he just said he couldn’t say anything for sure.”
Amelia knew that Dan would tell her what he knew if he could. After all, he had a job to do. She couldn’t expect him to risk people’s safety just for his girlfriend. But that didn’t change the fact that she wished he would.
“Finally.” John pointed. Dan was taking a megaphone from his car.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your attention.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing. Even the birds quit chirping. Not even a jet engine could be heard overhead.
“We are going to be leading the children out of the school. Please stay behind the tape. Your children are safe, and they will find you. But please, stay behind the yellow tape and let them come to you. Thank you.”
Just as Dan put the megaphone down, the front doors of the school opened up. Like a mass exodus, the children walked quickly and deliberately from the building as if they were practicing a fire drill.
Amelia’s eyes darted over every face until she finally saw Meg. She didn’t look hurt. Just confused and scared. When Meg saw her mother, she began to jog faster. When she finally crossed the yellow tape, she looked at her mom. She hadn’t realized Amelia had been crying. Seeing her mother that way made Meg start to cry.
“I can’t get Adam.” She sniffled.
“What?”
“I can’t get him to answer his phone. I asked if I could go to his classroom, but they wouldn’t let me.” She pointed to the kids still coming out of the school. “I couldn’t see him. I don’t know where he is.”
“I’m sure he’s all right, Meg,” John said soothingly, smoothing back Meg’s hair as she continued to hug Amelia. “In fact, I’ll go fetch him. I’ll bet he’s just bringing up the rear.”
With complete disregard for police orders, John walked underneath the yellow tape and headed toward the school.
“Sir!” several of the uniformed policemen called to John. When Dan looked, he held the officers back, nodding and pointing at John before quickly striding up to him. He took hold of John’s arm and pointed toward Amelia and Meg.
“My son is still in there. He won’t return our phone calls.”
“John, I understand you are worried, but you need to get back behind the tape. Your daughter needs you right now. Don’t make me arrest you in front of her.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Amelia could hear the conversation loud and clear. If she could hear it, Meg could hear it. And if she could, everyone standing around could. Why, why had she called John? He was never good in a family crisis.
There was a time when Adam was just a little boy and had a security stuffed animal. It was just a little plush snowman with a green hat that he slept with every night.
“No. Leave it in the car,” John had said as they unpacked the trunk for a picnic. “You’re just going to lose it if you take it with you.”
“Mama, I want green baby,” Adam pleaded.
“Okay, but don’t lose him,” Amelia said. Of course, he lost the little guy. When they packed up to go, the little snowman with the green hat was nowhere to be found.
All the way home, Adam cried pitifully for his friend that he was sure was waiting for him to come back and save him. Amelia cried because Adam was crying.
“I told you this would happen!” John spat. His eyes were completely dry. “You didn’t want to listen, so you got what you deserve!”
“John!” Amelia was furious. “He’s just a little boy! Don’t talk to him like that.”
“You aren’t any better! You should have listened! But you never do.”
“You’ve never lost anything, John? How come every day I have to help you find your reading glasses?”
“This isn’t about me. You had to have it your way. Now you both can live with the consequences.”
It was always more important for John to be right rather than compassionate. Of course, Amelia hadn’t learned her lesson that day. When she’d called John at work to tell him the principal had called when Meg was in sixth grade and having an issue with another girl, John scolded Amelia for disturbing him at work.
When Amelia had been playing with the neighbor’s dog, a friendly mutt she’d played with a dozen times before, and it had taken a nip at her hand, causing more blood than real damage, John exploded in anger.
“I told you it was going to happen sooner or later.”
Finally, Amelia had learned her lesson. John was not a pillar of stability she needed when there was a broken heart or broken skin. If she had waited one day and told him about the dog bite, he would have asked if she was okay. As with Meg’s incident. His first thought would have been “Is she okay?” not “Whose fault is it?”
The same situation was unfolding now. Amelia had no way of getting to Dan to explain the intricacies of her ex-husband’s mind. This one was just going to have to play itself out.
“John, this isn’t the time or place. You need to get behind that yellow tape, or I will arrest you.”
John clenched his teeth but did as he was told. All eyes were on him and then Meg and Amelia as people wondered who the jerk in the suit was and why he thought he could just go marching in while everyone else had to wait.
“Mom?” Meg whispered. “There’s Adam.”
Amelia let out a huge sigh of relief. John was furious.
“What took you so long?” he barked at the boy before he was at the yellow tape.
Adam stopped and looked at his father.
“Is this a game? Does this look like a game to you?”
“Adam, are you all right?” Amelia was near hysterics. She couldn’t believe the scene her ex-husband was making. All she wanted was to take hold of her son, hug him, and take him home, but John was standing between them.
Adam didn’t say anything. He just stopped and looked at his father.
“Adam.” Amelia pushed John aside, still holding Meg’s hand. “Are you all right, honey?”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “I’m okay.”
“I’m sorry, Adam,” Joh
n choked out. “I was just worried.”
Adam didn’t say anything to his father. He also didn’t hug his mother as Meg did. He got in the back seat of Lila’s car and waited.
“John? Do you want to come by the house? I could put on some coffee,” Amelia offered, but she was sure the tone of her voice was anything but inviting.
“No. No, I’ve got to get back to work. The kids are okay. I’ll see them this weekend.” He cleared his throat. “Amelia, I just want you to remember this when you consider what’s best for the kids.”
He stomped off without even looking back or saying goodbye to his children. As John was leaving, Dan quickly approached.
When he got closer, it felt as if both kids were able to relax. John didn’t have to worry. Amelia would most definitely remember this when she considered what was best for her kids.
“I’m sorry, Amelia,” Dan started. “One of the students was found dead in the gym. We weren’t sure what we were dealing with, so the whole place was locked up tight. Once we made a sweep of the place, we had to contact the student’s parents. We didn’t want them to find out about their son from other students or parents.”
“Of course.” Amelia looked at Meg. “Why don’t you go sit in the car and keep your brother company?” When she looked back at Dan, she had to ask. “What happened?”
“The boy, Brian Richtman, was found dead underneath the bleachers in the gym,” Dan said. “At first, it looked like he might have lost his balance and fell, hitting his head on the way down. But that’s the problem. His head was hit just right.”
“Too right?” Amelia sniffed and blinked.
“Yeah.” Dan rubbed his chin and looked at the school, which was now empty save for the teachers and police. The local media trucks had arrived but were corralled at the far end of the parking lot, and the reporters were not allowed to talk to anyone until the police gave them the okay. “I’ve got to go. How are you feeling?”
“This little incident got the adrenaline going, so I think the remaining germs got fried up in all the worry. I’m better. Thanks for asking.”
“How about I bring some sandwiches over tonight. Moody’s burgers sound good?”
“When do they not? The kids will be thrilled.”
“Just the kids?”
Amelia blushed. Dan had developed a habit of keeping his face stone serious while he asked her silly questions. She’d laugh and blush and shake her head and stroke the back of her neck. Then Dan would chuckle, give her a wink, and be on his way as he’d just done.
“See you around six?” she called.
He waved before heading back into the school.
When Amelia got in Lila’s car, she looked at her kids, who were not speaking.
“Don’t pay too much attention to your dad,” she said soothingly. “He doesn’t handle crisis well. You know how he likes to control everything. When he doesn’t, he feels helpless and acts like, well, a jerk.”
“You can say that again.” Meg huffed. “Speaking of jerks. Why didn’t you answer your phone when I was calling you?” She turned around in the front seat and stared at her brother.
Adam continued to look out the window.
Amelia looked at him in the rearview mirror.
“Fine. Be a jerk,” Meg snapped, her eyes watering.
“Meg. That’s enough.” Amelia pulled the car out. “Do you kids know what happened?”
“Just that some kid had been hurt and they weren’t sure if someone got onto the school grounds.” Meg clicked her tongue. “They wouldn’t tell us anything. Like we are a bunch of babies or something.”
“I hate to break this to you, but to every parent that was out there, even your dad, you are babies. You are our babies, and if anything had happened to you…” Amelia got choked up. “Well, any mother worth her salt always sees her children as babies, and when someone tries to hurt you, the claws come out.” She looked at Adam again in the rearview mirror.
He looked deep in thought. Amelia was sure he hadn’t heard a word she said.
“So tonight, Dan is bringing by Moody’s.”
That got his attention. If his appetite wasn’t affected, then he would be okay. Amelia let out a sigh only she could hear. “I’ve got to bring Lila’s car back to her. I’m going to finish off the day at the truck, and I’ll be home straightaway.”
Both kids told their mother goodbye, but Amelia watched as Adam walked well ahead of his sister, stepping inside the house without even looking behind him to see where she was. It wasn’t like him. Something was off.
Chapter Four
When Amelia got back to the truck, she was surprised to see Lila sitting at the counter by the open order window while Beatrice Mooch furiously stirred what looked like their very best seller, the peanut-butter-and-jelly cupcake.
“Amelia!” Lila jumped up. “Are the kids okay? We heard on the news the school was locked down, but there was nothing else coming out of there. Was it…?”
“No.” Amelia patted Lila on the shoulder and rubbed her back. “I’ll tell you about it later. So what have we got going on here?”
“Amelia, I’d like to introduce you to Beatrice Mooch, our new assistant.”
“Miss Harley, it’s a real pleasure to meet you.”
“Where are you from, Beatrice?” Amelia asked, still surprised but not angry. How could she be when Beatrice Mooch continued to whip the batter while talking? Her cheeks were red with determination.
“Originally I’m from Rockford, Illinois.”
“Rockford, Illinois?” Beatrice’s heavy Midwestern accent was suddenly understood. “Any bakeries in Rockford?”
“None to speak of,” she replied seriously. “I studied at the Jacobson and Waters University in Rhode Island, where I got my Bachelor of Science degree in baking and pastry arts.”
“They have such a thing?” Amelia looked at Lila, who nodded while smiling proudly.
“Then I worked for the Emerald Bakery for two years,” Beatrice continued.
“The Emerald Bakery in Portland, Oregon? That place is one of the best pastry shops in the country.”
“Yeah,” Beatrice replied as she began to pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Amelia waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t.
“Beatrice, I hate to say it, but you sound like you would be much better at running the Pink Cupcake than me. Can I ask why you left Emerald Bakery?”
“Miss Harley, I yearn for something more. I yearn. Baking is my life. Emerald Bakery was fine if your passion was the traditional dessert. I learned how to make cookies, Parisians, macarons, layer cakes, tarts. But I could not explore. I could not take any chances because the reputation of the Emerald Bakery superseded any adventures in baking a pastry chef might have. It was stifling.”
“Did you get this speech too?” Amelia whispered to Lila.
“Kinda-sorta.”
“Miss Harley, I want to grow as a pastry chef. I want to take chances. My prep time for a red velvet cake is less than five minutes.”
“Wow. Five minutes to prep. I don’t even know what that means, but I’m impressed.”
“I thought that this might be where I belong. A cupcake truck on Food Truck Alley.” She finished pouring the batter, popped the tray in the oven, set the timer, and began cleaning her workspace for the next batch.
Amelia studied the girl. She was an odd addition, but there was something very likeable about the peculiar Beatrice Mooch from Rockford, Illinois.
“Lila did tell you what the pay is?”
“Yes, and it’s fine.”
“Beatrice lives off a trust.” Lila smirked again.
“Is there that kind of wealth in Rockford, Illinois?”
“No,” Beatrice’s lips were pulled down at the ends in a serious grimace as she cracked a few eggs into a clean bowl and began to beat them with the same fervor as the previous batter. “But there is in New York, where my grandmother lives.”
“Wow,” Amelia said, fascinated by this s
trange creature called Beatrice Mooch. “Beatrice, welcome aboard. Did Lila give you all the gory details about start time and…”
“Yeah. Miss Bergman was more than thorough in her explanation of what the job would entail, the pay, hours, and miscellaneous. It all sounds perfect to me.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Beatrice. You’ve come at just the right time.”
“There is one thing that Miss Mooch has requested,” Lila said as if she was trying not to laugh.
Amelia folded her arms and asked what.
“She does not want to work the counter. She wants to stay with the ovens.”
“It isn’t that I wouldn’t be happy to help if there was an emergency. But I’m not really a people person.” Without looking at the bowl, she looked at Amelia with a stony, serious face and added sugar with a pinch of salt. Amelia nearly lost her balance as she tried not to laugh.
“That’s quite all right, Beatrice. We can accept that, don’t you think, Lila?”
“I think we certainly can.”
Amelia and Lila were not just happy that Beatrice was such a fanatic for baking, but it was hard not to watch her maneuver about the kitchen. She was built like a bulldog, being heavy through the neck, shoulders, and chest but then tapering down to thinner yet sturdy legs. Her appearance might make a person judge her to be clumsy or awkward. But on the contrary, she floated around the kitchen like a butterfly delicately visiting each flower in a field.
When she left at the end of the day, she waddled to her single-person Smart car and drove away like a cartoon character, making a U-turn on the street before hitting the gas.
“You amaze me, Lila.”
“I amaze myself, Amelia.”
Chapter Five
“Mom! You will not believe this!” Meg said as she bounded up the stairs to greet her.
Amelia had taken a shower when she got home, and in the meantime, Dan had arrived with food. “Dan said it wasn’t an accident. It was murder.” Meg put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. “Murder most foul.”
