by Helen Gray
Jordan’s head whipped around, and his expression wasn’t exactly welcoming when he recognized her.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Can’t it wait?” He looked back at the action on the floor.
“No, it can’t,” she said urgently, her hands clenched so tight the knuckles whitened. “I have to have some answers now.”
Jordan seemed startled. “Just a minute.” He entered a score on the clock and scanned the students at the bottom of the bleachers. “Hey, Bryan, come here.”
A lanky blond boy stood and came to the score table. “Whatcha need, Coach?”
“Take over here for a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”
When he headed toward his office, Toni followed. He stopped just inside the open door, where they could have a semblance of privacy, and Jordan could still keep an eye on his class.
“Look, Toni, aren’t you pushing this thing a little too hard?” he asked, his famous grin nowhere in sight.
“No, I’m not,” she shot back angrily. “Someone killed two people and tried to hurt or kill my son and me. I have to make sure that person is stopped.”
He exhaled heavily in exasperation. “I just don’t see how I can help you. What kind of questions do you have that you haven’t already asked?”
“I need to know if Marsha ever made a habit of hanging around the gym.” She wanted to hear his version of things.
“No,” he said quickly, and then paused. “Not recently anyhow.”
“Does that mean she did earlier?”
He went silent for several moments before muttering, “Yeah, I guess it does.”
“How much earlier?” Toni struggled to keep from shouting.
“I don’t know.” He glanced out at the action on the floor. “It was several months ago, not long after she signed on as superintendent. She came in complaining of aching shoulders and neck. She had heard that Lisa was good at massage therapy. She is, you know. She’s our own in-house first aid and physical therapist person. She’s the one the students go to if they have minor injuries, sprained ankles, things like that.”
“I know Lisa worked for a sports clinic and married a physical therapist. How did Marsha act toward you? Did she ever make any kind of personal advances?”
Jordan winced. “She made subtle overtures,” he admitted. “Which I ignored until she finally directed her attentions elsewhere.”
“Do you know where that elsewhere was?”
“It could have been anywhere,” he said flatly. “She was a predator. I was so relieved to be off her radar that I didn’t care who she went after.”
“Did Lisa take care of her shoulder and neck problems?”
He shrugged. “She must have. Marsha started coming for sessions, and she continued for several months. I think she and Lisa became pretty close during that time. Then she quit coming. I don’t remember when. I just realized one day that I hadn’t seen her around the gym in a while.”
“Thanks for leveling with me.” Toni moved to leave.
“One more thing,” Jordan said, looking her straight in the eye. “I told Ken when he called this morning that Marsha informed me just before Christmas that we might have to take a budget cut in our department, maybe reassign some classes. She didn’t get specific. I haven’t discussed it with Lisa yet.”
*
Buck Freeman didn’t call back until the middle of fifth hour while Toni was at the white board illustrating a point to her biology students. She put the marker down and made her way to the phone in a normal pace, resisting the urge to run.
“Hello.” She spoke softly, keeping her peripheral vision on the class.
“You nailed it. I know you’re in class right now, so just listen and answer as simply as you can. I drove out and talked to Dale. He had read the file, including my notes about Garrett. He says he thought nothing of it a couple of days later when he and his brother were chatting and Darren asked him how come you and John happened to be up at your farm at that particular time. Do you think Darren’s involved in any way?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Toni said carefully in a low undertone, turning her back on the class for just a moment. “I don’t think Dale is either. I think Darren was asking Dale what someone had asked him, and Dale was just having a friendly conversation with his brother.”
“I think I need to come by the school and talk to Darren. I’ll try to get there before classes dismiss and he leaves.” The phone went silent.
Toni continued with class, but inside she was a jumble of nerves and fear. The clock seemed to stand still, the hands refusing to move any faster as she kept a steady watch on it. A glance out the windows confirmed that it was beginning to sleet again.
During sixth hour Toni forced herself to remain calm enough to present her lecture and lab instructions. But when the students broke into groups and began to work independently, her mind reverted to the massage therapy and how good that might feel on her tight muscles right now. From there her imagination traveled along a path of possibilities. If Marsha found the massages helpful, and stimulating, Toni could see how a patient could become drawn to the masseuse.
From there her thoughts drifted to Lisa’s first aid services, to the students, and at the amount of physical contact that might develop. Sprained ankles and pulled muscles could benefit from massage, and massage entailed physical contact. Could that have developed into more? Her heartbeat quickened.
Toni went to the computer between classes and looked once again at the picture in Sidney’s e-mail. She peered at it closely, but couldn’t see anything definitive.
When seventh hour finally ended, Toni stepped across the foyer to John’s doorway. With the sleet picking up, the halls were emptying faster than usual. “Please get the boys for me,” she said, her voice strained. “And don’t let them out of your sight.”
John read the tension in her. “Will do.” He loped off up the hall.
Toni grabbed her purse, tucked her cell phone into her blazer pocket, and locked her door. Then she speed walked down the hall to the office of the technology director. Dillon was walking out his door. “Will you please do something for me before you leave?” she asked, her voice so strained she could hardly speak.
After a puzzled glance, Dillon stepped back inside his office. “What do you need?”
Toni followed him into the room. “Remember the e-mail I forwarded to you? I’d like you to enlarge and enhance that picture for me.”
Something of her thinking must have communicated to him, because he didn’t ask questions. He simply booted his main work computer and plunked down in front of it. “What am I looking for?” he asked when the machine was fully booted.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Toni admitted. “Something—anything—that will identify the boy’s partner.”
“Got it.” He opened the picture in a photo editing software program. “Drag a chair over here if you want.” He pointed at a workstation across the room.
Toni got the chair, settled next to him, and watched as he worked with the resolution of the picture. She edged up nearer the screen and peered at it intensely. “Can you crop that section and sharpen it?” She touched the screen with a finger to indicate where she meant.
“I can try.”
When he had it as clear as he could get it, Toni studied it again. Suddenly she drew in a sharp breath of discovery, feeling faint. “Can you print a copy of that for me?”
“Good as done. I’ll even put it on photo paper for you.” He reached into a drawer and took out a sheet, put it in the printer, and clicked the print button.
He handed her the picture moments later. “Is that all I can do for you?”
“Yes, this will do it. Thanks for the help.” As Toni moved toward the door, she struggled to keep her hands from trembling. All doubt had been erased.
“Glad I could help.” Dillon shut down the computer and followed her out of the room. “Have a good evening.” He locked the door and marched ahead of her down
the hall and out of sight.
The empty rooms and halls seemed eerie so soon at the end of a school day. The light sleet that was falling outside had caused all after-school activities to be cancelled and everyone sent home. There would probably be another snow day tomorrow.
Toni started up the hall, but when she rounded the corner to return to her room and call Buck Freeman, she found herself face to face with Lisa Baker.
Lisa wore a heavy jacket and sweats—and carried a baseball bat.
Chapter 19
To a casual observer, there was nothing menacing about Lisa’s appearance, but Toni knew better. Sure, it was normal for a physical education instructor to be carrying a baseball bat. But not in February. Some people might not consider a baseball bat a lethal weapon, but Toni was sharply aware that a mere flashlight had killed Marsha Carter. The look on Lisa’s face told Toni that this meeting was no accident. The woman had been lurking around the corner, waiting.
Help me, God. Please.
“Why, hello, Lisa.” Toni tried to inject a lilt into her voice while paralyzed by fear. She glanced up and down the hallway and realized how eerily alone they were. The place resonated with silence.
Lisa didn’t answer. She just stood there, her eyes raking Toni from head to foot.
Fighting panic, Toni forced herself to make conversation. “The weather’s nasty out there, and getting worse. I should get home before it’s too bad to drive. It looks like everyone else has already gone.” The words rattled from her to echo off the walls and up the hall.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Lisa’s husky voice was amazingly calm, the tenor of the words deadly.
“Aren’t you anxious to get home before it gets any worse?” Toni asked, playing dumb.
Is she fully aware of how much I know? Should I attempt to walk away? Or try to brazen it out and look for an opportunity to get away?
“I’m not worried about it,” Lisa returned, her voice as icy as the precipitation falling outside. A murderous glare pierced Toni.
At that point Toni realized she was in deadly trouble. Lisa knew she was found out—and that Toni had fingered her. Fear slithered up her spine. She inhaled a quick breath of panic.
“I know all about it, Lisa.” Toni uttered the calculated lie in a spurt of fear induced courage. She knew a lot, but not all the details. She had to bluff her way along.
“You meddling busybody,” Lisa snarled. “You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?”
“I don’t know exactly what happened between you and Marsha, but I know you killed her.” Are you there, God? Please let someone see or hear us.
“She couldn’t accept rejection. She came onto me like a…a…”
“A predator is what Jordan called her,” Toni supplied, desperate to keep her talking. Buck Freeman had said he would be here by the time classes dismissed, but that had been nearly a half hour ago. She had no way of knowing if he had arrived on the premises, or where he might be if he had. Her cell phone was in her pocket, but she couldn’t get to it without Lisa seeing her do it.
“She was an expert manipulator and liar,” Lisa snapped bitterly. “She thought she was irresistible to everyone, and when I told her I didn’t want that kind of relationship with her, she said it was my decision. But she was the boss.”
“She found ways to make life miserable for you,” Toni said, guessing. “You resented her power over you.”
“In spades.” Lisa's face twisted in an expression of hatred.
“So the situation deteriorated,” Toni continued, glancing around frantically for a possible escape route. They were at a point where two hallways intersected. Classroom doors on each side of the hall were locked, and they were too far from the bathrooms and offices for her to get to them. “Did you know about the cuts she was planning?”
“I knew,” Lisa snapped harshly. “That was what I came back to talk to her about that night. Now, let’s take a little walk.” She raised the bat in a menacing gesture.
Toni froze, desperation dulling her thought processes.
“I said walk.” Lisa shoved her toward the north exit.
“You went home and rode back here on your bicycle,” Toni said over her shoulder, as if she were certain.
“Well, give the lab nerd an A,” Lisa snarled, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Yes, I came back to reason with her. But she had it all laid out. The PE department was going to have one staff person cut, and I’m low seniority. Since I’m tenured, she couldn’t just fire me. So she had to offer me another position in the district.” She prodded Toni with the bat. “Get moving.”
“She offered you something menial and insulting,” Toni guessed with sudden insight, stalling for time and watching every movement, hoping for an opportunity to get to her cell phone.
Lisa laughed bitterly. “Theoretically she had to offer me something lateral, not a demotion or pay cut. She was assigning me to full-time ISS monitor.” She gave Toni another shove that knocked her off balance.
Toni stumbled forward and landed against the wall with one foot beneath her. Her purse landed on the floor beside her. She took her time getting straightened out. Looking up at her enraged colleague, she fought to hide her terror. “I can see how furious that would have made you.”
“Then she found out about…about something personal,” Lisa continued, shoving Toni forward. “She threatened me. She said we could start over, be special to one another, or she would keep me in that ISS room until she found a way to fire me. That’s when I lost it.” Lisa’s trembling voice and body indicated she was near the point of losing it again. Toni had to keep her inside the building as long as possible so someone could find them.
“She threatened to reveal your relationship with Dustin.” No longer bluffing, Toni reached inside her purse and pulled out the picture Dillon had enlarged for her minutes earlier. Maybe using it now would provide distraction.
Lisa snatched it and stared at the cropped enlargement of her hand. Her eyes dropped to her palm. “So you know that, too,” she snarled.
“Just a small section of the band aid on your hand is visible in the picture, but that told me it was you,” Toni confirmed. “I also know you tried to run over my son with Tom’s car, and that you tried to shoot me.”
“Your kid knew too much, and you wouldn’t stop meddling,” Lisa roared. Then she reached down and grabbed Toni’s hand. She yanked her to her feet with so much force that the twist to her shoulder nearly made Toni scream from pain. “Get going.” Lisa shoved her toward the exit.
“What I don’t understand,” Toni stuttered, stumbling and nearly losing her balance, “is why you killed the boy. Once Marsha was dead, why hurt him? Did he find out that you killed her?”
Lisa pushed her again, harder this time. “Yes. He made a joke of us, took that secret picture and sent it around to scare me.”
“No, he didn’t,” Toni shouted over her shoulder, whirling and stopping so abruptly that Lisa was startled into stopping as well. But only for a moment.
“What do you know about it?” Lisa demanded, raising the bat in warning.
Toni leaned backward, her eyes following the motion of the bat. “Sidney took it. She told me that she hid a camera, trying to catch whoever was pilfering PE supplies and vandalizing equipment.”
Lisa’s face showed genuine shock, but she quickly regained control. “So what. He knew too much, and he would have eventually told.”
“He was just a kid,” Toni said through clenched teeth.
“This is all your fault. You should have stayed out of it,” Lisa hissed.
“I might have, if you hadn’t tried to hurt Garrett,” Toni shot back, her voice harsh.
“Everyone’s happier with the witch gone,” Lisa said, ignoring the comment about Garrett.
“I doubt her children would agree.”
“Shut up!” Lisa swung the bat, striking Toni in the right shoulder that already had her in agony. “Get moving.”
“The police are
coming.” Toni struggled for balance and glanced back over her shoulder. “In fact, they’re probably already here.”
“You’re lying. Move. Faster.” She prodded Toni repeatedly with the bat.
“Two people are already dead. Killing me will only make everything worse,” Toni gasped, forced to move forward. “The police have you on their radar. Turn yourself in.”
“Not on your life.” Lisa hit her again.
Toni lurched forward. “Think about the families of your victims,” she pleaded, hoping to reason with her, at the same time realizing the woman was beyond reason. “Think about the effect this is having on the school.”
This time the prod of the bat shoved her into the exit door. A hand reached over her shoulder and pushed it open. Then the bat prodded again.
Stumbling out into the bone-chilling cold was shocking, but maybe an opportunity, Toni realized in a frantic flash. She shivered and shoved her hands into the pockets of her blazer, pulling them around her and hunching against the cold. “I hate February,” she complained loudly, wrapping her hand around the cell phone in her right pocket. “I hate February,” she repeated, speaking a little louder while working the phone around in her hand and managing to locate the notch that identified the top. It slipped from her hand.
“Quit stalling.” Lisa gave her a furious shove off the step onto the parking lot.
“I gripe about February a lot,” Toni chattered, grasping the phone again and tracing her index finger over the sides of the phone, searching for the spot to put it on vibrate. She pushed it and moved her finger to one end of the device, looking for where the charger connected to determine whether it was right side up or upside down. When she felt it, she turned the phone upright.
“I have a philosophy,” she continued, clutching the phone tightly and hoping her chatter would create enough distraction to camouflage her hidden actions. “I figure everyone is entitled to a certain number of gripes.” She moved her finger to the bottom of the phone screen. Visualizing the phone icon, and then the one for recent calls, she traced the finger to the right over where she estimated them to be, and paused at what felt like the middle of the screen where the contacts icon would be. She held her breath and pressed it.
