Toni Donovan Mysteries- Books 1-3

by Helen Gray

“In other words, you can’t tell me whatever you know,” Pam interpreted.

  “We’ve found a possibility, but it hasn’t been confirmed,” Toni said carefully.

  The phone buzzed. Pam answered it. “Okay,” she said briefly and disconnected. “Gotta summon the next one.”

  Toni stood. “I’ll stop by at the end of the day.”

  Pam nodded while dialing.

  The morning passed uneventfully, but after lunch Toni detected a growing volume of whispering and restlessness among the students. Word of the interrogations had to be filtering through the student body like wildfire. It was funny how quickly the student population knew everything that went on in the district. There had been instances when Toni heard students discussing things she knew nothing about, only to have them confirmed later in a staff meeting. In her estimation, the kids had an information pipeline that rivaled anything possessed by the FBI or other such agencies.

  During seventh hour she watched Dack, Jeremy, and Q as they sat quietly during her short lecture at the beginning of class. It was good behavior, but what was unusual was their subdued manner during lab activities. They carried out their assignment, but kept apart from the buzz.

  Toni was not too surprised when they lingered at the end of class while the room emptied. They obviously had something on their minds. She kept her post at the door until the other students had exited. When she moved back inside the room and sat at her desk, the boys approached.

  “Mrs. Donovan,” Dack spoke first, as usual. “There’s a lot of talk going around about grades being changed in the school’s grading system. We’ve heard that somebody hacked into the program and changed grades for a bunch of kids.”

  Toni just listened, neither confirming nor denying.

  “Everybody knows that Jeremy’s our school whiz at computers, and we’re afraid he’s going to get blamed,” Dack finished in a rush.

  Toni’s gaze moved to Jeremy’s lanky frame. His brown eyes beneath a mop of dark hair were round and focused on her. Wearing jeans, tee shirt and tennis shoes, his narrow teenage face was rigid with concern. She could be wrong, but she detected no deviousness there. She knew these boys, had attended church with them and their parents for years. They weren’t always the most attentive guys in class, but they were basically honest. She was confident of that.

  “There are bound to be rumors when there’s an investigation of wrongdoing,” Toni said, wanting to relieve their minds, but knowing they were right about fingers pointing at Jeremy. “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ll just have to be patient and wait while they find who really did it.” She didn’t bother denying that there was an investigation or pretend she was not aware of it.

  “Isn’t there anything I can do?” Jeremy asked.

  Toni shook her head slowly. “I guess you’ll just have to wait it out and trust the administration to get to the bottom of things.”

  “I don’t need this right now,” Jeremy practically wailed. “I’ve just had a brush with trouble, and graduation’s only two weeks away. I can’t deal with it.”

  “I wish I had a better answer for you, but I don’t. However, I will let the principal know of your concern and how you came to me about it.”

  “Thanks,” Jeremy said quietly.

  Toni thought they would leave now, but Jeremy continued to stand there awkwardly. The other two boys stayed beside him, as if standing guard over their friend. “I went by the police station this morning like I promised and turned in the other pictures I had,” he said after several moments.

  “Good.” She gave him a smile of encouragement, thinking he would leave now. But he didn’t.

  “I had my dad do a search of the newspaper’s archived stuff. They send everything to Columbia and have it put on microfiche,” he repeated. “He got me the articles they ran on the three missing person stories I found on the Internet. There are pictures with them.” He opened his notebook and drew out a small sheaf of papers. “Here,” he said, handing them to Toni.

  She took the articles, a knot of reckoning in her gut. She stared at the top picture, that of a young girl. Her hair appeared dark in the black and white picture, but it could have been red or a number of shades of brown. Long straight tresses framed a small round face with rose petal lips and empty eyes.

  Toni scanned the article quickly and shifted it to the bottom of the small stack. She was now looking at an unhappy face under a shaggy thatch of what looked to be gray hair. In his mid-fifties, the man looked like someone who would be at home in a boxing ring, a one inch or so scar across the bridge of his bulbous nose, and eyes set deep in his face. She scanned that article and slid it to the back of the stack, steeling herself for what she expected to see next.

  She stared at the picture of Reverend Brock Goldman. His well-remembered face was thin, almost to the point of gauntness, yet quite attractive. He had been a very handsome man, always well dressed, sometimes a bit flashy. His dark hair was starting to turn gray, and his nose was prominent, partnering well with a jutting chin and high cheekbones and thick brows. She experienced an eerie sense of communication with the man, almost as if he were asking her to do something—to help him.

  Toni remembered the man as exuding confidence and in excellent physical condition. He had been about six foot three, almost gangly, but so socially polished that he had been at the top of the list of people invited to local civic gatherings. He had possessed a resonant, well-modulated voice that had not only stood him well in the pulpit, but had made him much in demand for community events requiring a moderator or narrator. She recalled his services at Rotary auctions and community musical productions. It jolted her to realize how completely she was thinking of him in the past tense.

  Dack nodded at the picture. “We think it’s him. And we’re going to prove it.”

  “The police are working on the case,” Toni reminded them. “And they won’t appreciate any interference. We shouldn’t get in their way.” She included herself, hoping they would feel honor bound to follow her lead in staying out of things.

  Jeremy looked at his watch. “We’ve got practice,” he said, reaching for his clippings. He made no promises. Neither did the other two. Of course, making promises would have required speaking, and Q wouldn’t do that unless absolutely necessary.

  When they were gone, Toni sat quietly, curiosity plaguing her. She really did want to know what had happened to Goldman, and seeing the picture had pumped a fresh infusion of desire into her to search for the truth. When she got home she would look online, do a people search and see if she could find a new address listed anywhere for him. She figured it would be a waste of time, but she felt a need to do something. Well, she reasoned, it wouldn’t hurt to do some mental work on it, and maybe by Monday Buck would have some new information.

  Chapter 6

  “We’re in Dr. Z’s room.” Gabe’s call from just inside the doorway brought Toni back to the present.

  She gathered her things and went to John’s doorway, to find him handing each of her sons a Popsicle. “You boys meet me at the principal’s office in ten minutes,” she instructed.

  “Okay,” Gabe said, tearing the wrapper from his.

  Garrett only nodded.

  “Hi,” Pam said when Toni entered the office. “It’s been a long and busy day.” Her smile was grim.

  A clacking sound made Toni glance around. A teacher was in the back of the room using the copy machine. “Has Ken made it through the list of offenders?” Toni asked quietly.

  Pam nodded. “He’s back there. Why don’t you stick your head in and ask him about it? After all, you’re one of the persons who brought it to his attention.”

  Toni did just that. “Hi,” she said, entering Ken’s office and slipping into a chair facing his desk.

  He raked a hand through his tousled hair. “No one did it, and no one knows who did,” he blurted in exasperation.

  “Of course,” Toni responded, sympathetic but amused by his wild hair. “We have a gremlin on
the loose.” She paused and turned serious. “What percentage of them is lying?”

  Ken groaned and leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. “I’ve talked pretty tough to them, pointed out that we’re looking at fraud, computer crimes, improper exploitation of school technology, forgery of academic records, anything and everything I could think of. A few of the more hardened ones just clam up and refuse to answer questions. Most of them admit to paying someone to change a grade or remove an unexcused absence or tardy, but they claim they don’t know who they paid.”

  Toni frowned, not understanding. “How does this scheme work?”

  “The students all claim they heard other kids talking about there being someone who will do grade changes for a fee. They say they don’t know where the scheme originated.”

  “How do they make the payments?”

  “Money is put in an envelope with the student’s name and the grade change to be made. According to one of the more cooperative students, the drop site changes every week. One week it’s a box in the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. Another week it’s an envelope glued to the bottom of a table in the library. Real cloak and dagger stuff,” he said with a grimace. “I did get a couple of them to admit they had found notes in their gym lockers. Apparently someone knew they needed a certain grade to keep from losing their athletic eligibility. So it’s someone who knows the student body very well.”

  “I’m sure it didn’t take long for the word to spread after the initial deals,” Toni said, thinking aloud.

  Ken nodded agreement. “I’ve given Dillon a list of offenders so he can check the times the changes were made.”

  Toni pondered a moment. “You said some of them indicated the students had absences and tardies deleted. That means the list isn’t complete. We only checked our grades.”

  Ken moaned, cupping his hands over his eyes, his fingers pressing his forehead. “You’re right,” he said gloomily, looking back up and reaching for a pen. He jotted a note.

  “I’ll try to get mine checked Monday morning,” Toni promised. She started to leave but paused when she remembered what she had planned to tell him. “I had a little conversation with my terrific trio at the end of seventh hour. They’ve heard about the hacking, and they’re concerned that Jeremy will be blamed. They seemed sincere.”

  Ken heaved a sigh. “You don’t think he did it?”

  Toni shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. I think he’s capable, but I don’t think he would risk his future for a few dollars. I also think he’s basically honest.”

  Just then she heard Gabe and Garrett enter the office and speak to Pam. She grabbed her bags and stood to leave.

  “What about your skeleton case? Any progress on that?” Ken asked before she could get out the door.

  “It’s not my case,” she denied instantly.

  “It will be when your curiosity gets the better of you,” he predicted with a knowing look.

  “The police are making progress,” she said, dismissing his comment with a shake of her head. “See you Monday.”

  When Toni and the boys arrived home, Kyle’s extended cab white pickup was in the driveway.

  “Hey, Dad’s already home,” Gabe shouted, bounding from the van as soon as Toni could get it parked. Garrett followed him silently.

  When Toni entered the kitchen, the boys were tiptoeing back into the room from the other direction. “Shh,” Gabe cautioned, an index finger across his lips. “Dad’s in bed.”

  Toni grinned. That meant he had completed an overnight flight and come directly home to sleep. She wished she could do the same. She was always exhausted at this point in the school term. The schedule was normally hectic and filled with deadlines and end of year activities, but this year was worse. It had been a long hard year, and she was so weary she could hardly keep going.

  Toni moved silently into the bedroom. As she reached for her robe, a low whistle made her whirl and find Kyle watching her, a gleam in his eyes.

  “Come here,” he said, spreading his arms.

  Without hesitation Toni went into them, snuggling on top of him. He gathered her close and just held her for a long time. The tension slowly drained from her body.

  “If you’re as tired as I am, you don’t feel like cooking,” he murmured, loosening his hold at last. “Why don’t we run out and get something to eat, or I’ll go get something and bring it back. Then we can indulge in a quiet evening at home and turn in early.”

  “The second option sounds best to me,” she said, giving him a quick kiss. “I don’t want to go back out. How much sleep have you had?”

  Kyle glanced at his watch. “About three hours. I got into the Poplar Bluff airport about noon and drove straight home. I was in bed by a little after one. If I sleep any more now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

  Toni eased away so he could get up. Realizing that the boys had probably heard their voices, she expected to hear from them at any moment.

  “Hey, Gabe, Dad’s awake,” Garrett called from the doorway.

  Kyle swung his legs over the side of the bed as both boys came flying into the room and grabbed him in a bear hug.

  “Now this is cause to come home,” Kyle said, his gaze aiming at Toni over the heads of their offspring. “Okay, guys, let me shower and get dressed. Then we’ll go get Chinese takeout.”

  “Great!” Gabe said, moving back.

  Garrett smiled and backed away.

  While they were gone, Toni indulged in a leisurely bath. Then she fixed a pitcher of iced tea and set the table.

  Over supper she briefly filled Kyle in on the events of her week. Then they relaxed in front of the television and watched a Cardinals baseball game.

  Saturday morning Kyle volunteered to do the grocery shopping so Toni could have the morning to catch up on laundry and household chores. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she gave him a shopping list—and the boys—which pleased the boys.

  By the time they returned, she felt more rested and in control than she had for several days. She tried to handle her job without neglecting her family, doing as much work as possible at school rather than bringing all of it home. Sometimes, though, it just wasn’t possible, like now, with grades coming due and so many things going on at the wind-up of the term. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Summer vacation was nearly here, and she meant to devote as much of it as possible to her family. Kyle had also resolved to spend extra time with them.

  The one thing they still hadn’t decided for sure was whether the boys were going to attend summer school. That would be five weeks of fun classes and activities they would enjoy, but she and Kyle were leaving the decision to them.

  After lunch Kyle went outside to mow the yard, and the boys went bike riding. Toni was just putting the last load of laundry in the dryer when the phone rang. She shut the dryer door and turned it on. Then she hurried to the land line in the kitchen. “Hello.”

  “Good morning,” her mother greeted her. “How are you feeling today?”

  Toni grinned. Her mother only worked part-time as a nurse practitioner, but she was still full-time in the care of her children.

  “Pretty good,” Toni said. “We got a good night’s sleep last night, and I’ve managed to accomplish some things around here this morning.”

  “I know you’ve been pushing yourself hard lately,” Faye Nash said. “Why don’t you come out here for dinner tomorrow after church?”

  “What will you let me bring?”

  “How about your guys and all your appetites,” Faye suggested.

  “Mom, you don’t need to do all the work,” Toni protested.

  “All right,” Faye relented, laughing. “Why don’t you bring a dessert?”

  “We’ll see you.”

  Toni hadn’t much more than hung up the phone when it rang again. She answered. “Hello.”

  “Mrs. Donovan?”

  “Yes,” she responded, knowing the young male voice but not immediately putting an iden
tity to it. “Who am I speaking to?”

  “This is Dack Murphy. Jeremy, Q, and I have found out some things. You’re a good teacher, and we trust you and want to tell you what we’ve learned and see what you think.”

  Such flattery made her suspicious and unsure how to respond. “What about your parents? Can’t you talk to them?”

  “Uh, they wouldn’t know how to think like detectives,” he said. “Besides, they think detective work is dangerous. You’re smart and would know what information is important and what isn’t. We want to see if you think what we’ve found is important enough to tell the police.”

  Toni was uneasy about this, but curious enough to want to hear what they had learned—and she had promised to keep an eye on them.

  “When did you want to have this conversation?”

  “As soon as possible.” A barely suppressed excitement vibrated across the line.

  “Do you want to come here?”

  “Could you meet us at McDonald’s?” His companions were speaking in the background, but she couldn’t understand anything they said.

  Toni suspected she would regret this, but she couldn’t resist. “How soon?”

  “We’re at the Country Club,” Dack said. “How about if we meet in thirty minutes?”

  “Okay,” she agreed, questioning her good sense.

  Outside, she waved a hand and beckoned to Kyle as he rounded the corner of the front yard. He drove the riding mower to a spot beside her and killed the motor. He grinned. “You missing me?”

  “Like a toothache,” she said, avoiding his sweaty grasp. “Can you keep an eye on the boys for a while? My terrific trio wants me to meet them.”

  “Sounds serious,” he said, making a quick move and hooking an arm around her waist without getting off the mower. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and then released her. “Is this about your skeleton case?”

  “Probably,” she said. “Dack said they have some information they want to discuss with me. I suggested they talk to their parents, but they don’t want to do that. It sounds like I’d better find out what they’re up to, if only to keep them out of trouble.”