School's Out for Murder (Schooled in Murder Book 2)

by Tracy D. Comstock

  "Yes?"

  "If you might go and speak to him on the school's behalf. Make him see how important this school carnival is to our bottom line." The principal looked at her with such hope in his eyes that Emily knew she couldn't possibly refuse.

  "Sure, I'd be happy to. I have to run by the station to sign my statement anyway."

  "Wonderful!" he exclaimed, some of the strain easing from his face. "Let me know what they say." And with that, the principal headed off to check on other booths with decidedly more spring in his step.

  After checking with the group manning the booth to make sure they were all set, Emily headed to her vehicle. Buckling in, she decided that this stopping-by-the-station-to-sign-a- statement thing was becoming quite the habit. Maybe she should write her own police procedural mystery. She'd certainly had enough firsthand experience the past year. Shaking her head, she decided that the last thing she wanted to write about was murder. There was enough of that in real life. She'd rather write a lighthearted romance, one where the hero sweeps the heroine off her feet. And speaking of heroes, she promised herself as she pulled up to the station, as soon as she had things straightened out here and had reported back to Principal Matthews, she was going to find Tad and sit him down for a long talk. She understood he was the kind of guy who would help out anyone in trouble. That's all that was going on with Maclaine. Her jealousy was completely unfounded—laughable, really. What she and Tad had was special, she thought as she pulled open the heavy front doors. Maclaine might need his help, but she would never come between her and Tad. It had been absurd of her to even worry about such a thing. Emily was chuckling to herself at her own stupidity as she made her way to the front desk. But her laughter died in her throat when she spotted Maclaine coming out of the interview area—with Tad at her side.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Emily managed to stop her jaw from dropping open, but she was helpless to do anything about the steam coming out of her ears and her red face, á la a Warner Brothers' cartoon character. What happened to working the Mathletes booth? Tad took a step toward her, frowning, but it was Maclaine who launched herself at her. Throwing her arms around a suddenly rigor mortis stiff Emily, she gushed, "Thank you so much for being so supportive. Theodore told me how you knew this was a devastating time for me. I so appreciate you lending your boyfriend to me during this difficult experience." She pulled back to stare into Emily's eyes, which were widened in disbelief, and continued, "Aunt Janice was like a mom to me. I don't know what I'll do without her." The beautiful blonde's eyes filled with tears, and Emily could see she was truly devastated. Still…

  Biting her tongue to control her sarcasm, Emily none too gently extricated herself from Maclaine's arms and tried out a smile, but felt it slide off her face the moment it was formed. "Tad," she put great emphasis on the name he went by—no one but his mother called him Theodore, "is not an object of mine to be loaned. He's a grown man. I'm glad he can help." Then with a stiff nod to them both, she turned away, grateful to see Gangly-Arms headed in their direction. "I need to talk to you," she blurted to the frowning detective.

  He gave her a distracted nod and turned to Maclaine instead. "Remember, Ms. Forrester, you're not to leave town under any circumstances." His voice was grim, and Emily turned to gauge the reaction of his words on Maclaine. Her eyes filled with tears again, but she only nodded. Tad frowned, but said nothing, and with one last imploring look at Emily, he ushered Maclaine out of the station. Gangly-Arms turned back to Emily and asked, "Have you gone over your statement from last night?"

  "Not yet," Emily answered.

  "Come on back once you've signed it." Without another word, he walked away. Emily watched his back, noticing how hunched his shoulders were. Another murder in their small town had to be weighing on the young detective, but Emily had confidence in his abilities. As she reviewed her statement from the night before and added her own John Hancock, Emily mused on Gangly-Arms' warning to Maclaine not to leave town. It seemed the rumors of Larry's affair might be true after all if she was now considered a suspect. She fervently hoped that Gabby had been able to reach Amelia. She had to be beside herself. Emily couldn't imagine the Amelia she knew being capable of having an affair, and if she was honest with herself, she also couldn't imagine Maclaine killing her aunt. But it looked like Maclaine was Tad's concern, not hers, she thought bitterly as she headed back to talk to Gangly-Arms.

  The detective looked up at her approach and without preamble asked, "Did you remember anything else from last night?"

  Emily gave a reluctant shake of her head and shrugged. "I'm sorry," she said.

  Gangly-Arms tugged at the knot of his tie, loosening it a bit, as the fingers of his hand at the end of his other long arm beat a rapid staccato on the top of his desk. "What do you know about Ed Johnson's relationship with Janice McBain?" he asked.

  Emily's mental gears ground to a halt as she tried to switch tracks. She had assumed Gangly-Arms would ask her about Maclaine, not Superintendent Johnson. She picked her words carefully as she replied, "He was as upset as the rest of us at Mayor McBain's desire to shut down the school carnival."

  Gangly-Arms made a go-ahead gesture with his hand, but Emily had nothing further to add. "Had you heard any arguments between them?" he asked when she remained silent.

  Emily squirmed on the hard wooden chair in front of his desk. She didn't like the direction these questions were taking. Surely he couldn't believe the superintendent would kill Mayor McBain over the school carnival. But then she remembered Helen saying only the night before that people will believe almost anything. She finally said, "I heard them discussing the issue yesterday morning."

  "Could you hear what they were saying? Did Johnson threaten the mayor?"

  Emily couldn't stop her jaw from dropping open this time. "Threaten?" she repeated dumbly. Where was this coming from? Did Maclaine try to throw suspicion on the superintendent to deflect attention from herself?

  "Yes, threaten," Gangly-Arms repeated, watching Emily intently.

  She quit squirming, straightened her shoulders, and said, "No, I did not hear anyone threaten anyone else. They were discussing the importance of the school carnival to the district. It's a long-standing tradition and a great source of revenue to our school. But—," she hurried to add when she saw the detective was about to interrupt, "the whole situation is not a life-or-death matter."

  Gangly-Arms continued to stare at her, giving nothing away. Emily sighed and decided now was as good a time as any to get on with the other reason for her visit to the station. "Now that you've brought up the carnival, however, I'd like to ask that you consider not shutting it down prematurely. As I said, the school depends on the revenue we make from this weekend."

  Gangly-Arms picked up a pencil and tapped it against a thick stack of file folders at the edge of his desk. Without looking up, he said, "I would assume the school also depends on its safety for the students." When Emily began to splutter, he held up his pencil like a conductor's baton and continued, "And right now, we have a murder on our hands. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

  Emily scooted forward in her chair, looking the detective in the eye before she said, "I understand that your responsibility is to the safety of this town. But do you honestly believe that this was some random murder? That there is a murderer out there waiting to target one of our students?"

  The pencil resumed its tapping, but the detective, frowning at her, finally said, "We have no reason to believe that the mayor's death was a random killing."

  "Exactly!" Emily nodded. "It seems clear that the mayor was the target, not the carnival, so there's no reason we should close the carnival down. Whaddya say?" she asked.

  Emily watched the pencil slow down its frantic tapping as the detective heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I think you exist to be a thorn in my side." Even as Emily bristled, he continued, "However—"

  "However?" Emily questioned.

  "However," the detective repeated, "I still have a
responsibility to make sure the citizens of this town are as safe as possible. I'll install some officers at the carnival during the day." Emily nodded enthusiastically. "And," here the detective leaned forward, his stern expression showing his seriousness, "I want the carnival shut down before nightfall." He leaned back in his chair, making it evident that this was the end of the conversation.

  Emily considered this compromise for a moment and then nodded. "That seems fair. I'll let Principal Matthews know." She stood, turning to leave, and bumped into a solid chest that reverberated when a voice boomed, "Tell Principal Matthews what?"

  Emily stepped back to look into the flushed face of Superintendent Johnson. Before she could answer him, Gangly-Arms spoke up behind her. "I'm glad you could make it in, Mr. Johnson. I was just telling Ms. Taylor that the school carnival may remain open as long as it's shut down before dark." The look the detective sent the superintendent could only be described as insolent. It was clear to Emily that the detective did not harbor kind feelings toward the superintendent. That couldn't be good.

  The flush on the superintendent's face deepened, and he barked at Emily, "Yes, please inform Principal Matthews of police officer Welk's decision. Tell him I will be by shortly."

  Emily nodded and stepped quickly out of the line of fire, but not before she heard Gangly-Arms correct, "That's Detective Welks."

  "And it's Dr. Johnson," the superintendent answered.

  Yikes, Emily thought and beat a hasty retreat out the door.

  * * *

  Emily stewed over Gangly-Arms' apparent suspicion of Superintendent Johnson on her drive back to the carnival. She couldn't help but suspect that it was Maclaine who had thrown suspicion on the superintendent to deflect attention from herself. Ready or not, she was going to have to talk to Tad about what Maclaine had said to the police. In her heart of hearts, she knew that Tad was just trying to be a friend to Maclaine, as that was the kind of upstanding, kind man he was. And Emily had to remind herself that it was for those very reasons that she cared about him. But the insecure part of her, the part that seemed to dominate her thoughts, couldn't help remembering the days she had had a crush on Tad as a young freshman and how she had ached over the older, more beautiful girls she had seen him with over the years. Maclaine definitely fit the mold for the type of girls Tad had dated in the past—tall, blonde, buxom, and beautiful. And while not exactly a zero in the looks department, Emily's short chestnut hair, flat chest, and ten pounds too many on her 5'1" frame couldn't begin to compete with Maclaine's perfection.

  Deciding that only a large Dr. Pepper could make her feel better, she swung through her favorite drive-thru on her way back to the carnival. Sipping happily on her icy cold drink, she found a convenient parking place and then made her way back to her booth, keeping an eye out for Principal Matthews. She found him pacing behind the Whac-A-Mole booth, his hands clenched behind his back, and perspiration staining the back of his shirt despite the beautiful morning. Emily hoped her news would relieve some of his anxiety. She hurried forward to tell him of the detective's compromise concerning the carnival's continued operation.

  Principal Matthews stopped pacing, but continued to clasp and unclasp his hands, only pausing to wipe sweat from his hairline. Emily touched him tentatively on the arm. "This is good news, right? I mean, sure, it would be great if we could maintain our full operating hours, but at least this way, everyone gets what they want. I'm sorry. I did the best I could." Emily distinctively felt like she had let her principal down. He was the stalwart leader they all looked up to at Ellington High, and she hated to see him look so concerned. This had been a tough year for him as well, dealing with the murder of their beloved football coach, and now this.

  Principal Matthews brushed her concern away. "No, of course you did all you could. I appreciate you speaking with the authorities. It's just I'm a bit concerned about Superintendent Johnson. Did Detective Welks mention him to you?"

  Emily hated to add to the principal's evident worry, but she didn't want to lie to him either. "Yes, his name did come up. In fact, he arrived at the station just as I was leaving."

  The principal mopped at his forehead again and then nodded. "Hopefully they'll get everything straightened out then. Naturally, none of us wanted the carnival shut down, as Mayor McBain suggested, but to think that Superintendent Johnson would ever wish the mayor harm is ludicrous. Don't you agree?"

  Emily was so startled to hear the principal even suggest such a thing that she could only nod her agreement. Principal Matthews sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. He couldn't honestly believe the superintendent had anything to do with the mayor's murder, could he? That thought was extremely unsettling, to say the least. Emily was trying to decide how to prod him for more information when the principal announced, "I'll let you get back to work, Ms. Taylor. As always, your hard work is appreciated," and with that proclamation, he headed off. Emily watched him walk away, worry evident in his rigid shoulders and still clasped hands. She was desperate to talk over this new worry with Tad, but she'd been absent from the English department's booth long enough. It was about time for a shift change, anyway.

  Swinging behind the counter, Emily sent Rylan on his way, thanking him for making up time. With a "No, prob, Ms. Taylor" the boy headed out. The gossipy Michelle was slated to work the next time slot also, and she would be joined by Nicole Hanson, but Emily didn't see any sign of the tall, willowy junior. She asked Michelle about Nicole, but she hadn't heard from her either. There wasn't time to look for her right then as the booth was swarmed with eager little tykes ready to take a whack at the moles. At the first break in the nonstop stream of game players, Emily reached for her phone to try to get ahold of Nicole's mom Jenny. Before she could pull up her number, though, the elusive Nicole showed up at the booth, followed closely by an obviously irate Jenny.

  Emily bit back a sigh. Jenny was known to be a bit of a troublemaker. She was always running for school board, but so far, her bid for a seat had been unsuccessful. Emily worried about the shy, quiet Nicole. As an only child, there was no one to buffer the intense involvement of her mother in all areas of Nicole's life. Nicole was a bright, kind kid, but she was kept on a tight leash by her mother, who seemed determined to relive her high school glory days through her daughter.

  Without preamble, Jenny pushed her way into Emily's personal space and snapped, "There's no way I'm letting my precious Nicole work in this hideous carnival! A murder happened right here, and you all carry on as if it was nothing! We have a cold-blooded murderer on our hands. Who knows who the next target will be?" She looked around wildly as if she expected a Michael Myers look-alike to pop out from behind the booth. Emily saw several parents pulling their younger children out of hearing range of her.

  Emily took her by the arm and led her to the side of the booth. "Please keep your voice down. We don't want to be scaring anyone unnecessarily." Emily tried to keep her voice calm and rational, but those were two words that had never applied to Jenny Hanson.

  She jerked her arm out of Emily's grasp and continued to rant at a decibel only slightly lower than a foghorn. "I will not keep quiet. Everyone should hear what I'm saying. Don't you all care about the safety of your children?" She sent a pointed glare at several parents still within hearing distance.

  Emily decided the time for tact had passed them by. "Stop it, Jenny! You have no idea what you're talking about. You're the one frightening everyone for no reason. We do not have some serial killer on our hands. The mayor was clearly targeted. The rest of us have nothing to fear. But if you don't want Nicole to work the booth, I certainly understand and respect your decision."

  This seemed to mollify the irate Jenny a little, though she seemed oblivious to the fact that her daughter was already at work beside Michelle, trying to ignore her mother's antics. Emily figured she had had a lot of practice at that. She turned back as the woman continued to crowd her personal space. "Did you say the mayor was a target?" Jenny was asking her.


  "Obviously, whoever committed the murder, planned to kill the mayor and the mayor only. No one else was hurt or threatened in any way." Emily said, trying to placate her, while looking for a way to escape her clutches.

  "That's true. I hadn't thought of it that way." Emily wasn't too surprised. Thinking things through was also not an ability that came naturally to Jenny. She hoped this would send the helicopter mom on her way, but instead she continued to hover, leaning in even closer to Emily as she whispered, "If Mayor McBain was the target, I bet I know who did it!"

  Emily blinked at the quick change in subject. What could she possibly know about who would want to harm the mayor? She didn't necessarily want to encourage Jenny to gossip, but the curious part of her couldn't help asking, "Why would you say that?" Yeah, yeah, curiosity killed the cat and all that, but…

  "Well," she drew the word out as she pulled Emily over to a nearby bench. Her face was mere inches from Emily's, and Emily tried not to be obvious about leaning back out of the direct path of her hot breath. Up close, Emily could see her age in the fine lines around her eyes and mouth. Nicole had been a much longed for child who had not come along until later in Jenny and her husband's life.

  Jenny alluded to that very fact when she said, "You know that I went to school with Janice McBain." Emily nodded, even though this was news to her.

  "And Susanna Fowler was also in our class. You know—the town librarian?" This time when Emily nodded she knew exactly who Jenny was talking about. Susanna was always a big help to her during her research unit with her juniors. Emily was fond of the shy, retiring woman. She hadn't had a clue that these three women had gone to school together, though.

  "Clearly, Susanna would be the most obvious one to want to off the mayor." She finally leaned back and gave a small, smug smile, crossing her arms across her ample chest.

  Emily just stared at Jenny as if she'd grown an extra head. Susanna as an obvious murderer? Not unless the world had just turned upside down. She realized Emily was not on her same wavelength, so she leaned back in and added, "You know that Susanna and Larry were the hot item in high school? Every girl had a crush on Larry."