At first, I thought it was a good idea. See the old room, check out the old corridor, relive old times. The good idea feeling lasted until we reached the second floor landing. As we continued to climb, my stomach knotted tighter and fingers of nausea clutched at my throat. “You go on, guys. I’ll wait down here.”
“Steele, come on. These are our rooms. Lolly didn’t even live here.” Katie took hold of my arm and propelled me forward. By the time we reached the third floor, I felt dizzy. My eyes watered as I clutched my stomach, trying to keep from vomiting. Blindly, I followed, as Katie chattered, pointing to each room. “That was Sally Cooper’s. This one was Bitsy’s. Who’d she room with, Rick? Oh, yeah, Janie Templeton. Wonder what ever happened to her? Here’s my room, mine and Sharon’s. This is where we kept Waldo, huh, Rick? Until… Ricky, what’s wrong? You’ve turned green.”
“Becoming look, I’m sure. Listen, girls, this trek is making me woozy. I’m taking a quick peek at my room, then heading downstairs.”
We stood at the open door, the room’s occupants nowhere in sight. Furnished in new, cheap Scandinavian design knockoffs, it was still the same four walls. A few coats of paint, new shades at the window, but there it was—prison. I stepped in and crossed to the window that faced Main Street, thinking about the hundreds of hours I’d spent gazing out at the townies strolling by at all hours of the day and night. How I had envied their freedom.
“Remember the day you sprinkled powder on Mrs. Petty?” When I didn’t answer, Katie put her hand on my shoulder. “Okay, we’ve seen it. Let’s go, sweetie.” More than anyone, Katie knew how much I had suffered that first year.
By the time we reached the first floor, the nausea had almost passed. “I wonder if they’ll be serving mimosas or Bloody Marys at this soiree.”
“Dream on, Steele.” Katie patted my shoulder before flying forward to greet Ruth Weyman.
Before Ruth caught sight of us, Lolly grabbed my arm and pulled me into the Green Room, one of the house’s two front parlors. By wending our way to the dining room through several empty reception rooms, we managed to avoid most of the guests.
“Thank God, it’s a buffet,” Lolly whispered, pushing me toward the food line. “Let’s eat and get out of here as quickly as possible.”
“Good morning, girls.”
I turned, coming face to face with Muriel Petty, in a lavender suit, a matching chiffon scarf tied jauntily round her neck.
“Morning.” I nodded, turning to Lolly.
“Hello again, Mrs. Petty. So nice of you to host this.”
“Always my pleasure. Dinny couldn’t be here. He’s having the recent alumni to his home, so I am once again entertaining my girls.”
Lolly stepped back from the buffet line. “Would you like to cut in?”
“Oh, dear, no thank you. I’ll mingle a bit. Cookie will bring me a plate.”
“Cookie still works here?”
“Oh, no, she’s retired, but she loves to come back at Reunion time to see the girls, and boys, now, of course. She’ll be out in a few minutes. Be sure to remember yourselves to her. She’ll be so pleased.”
Somehow, I didn’t think so. Cookie had not been overjoyed to see me at Muriel’s, and if she remembered me at all it would be because of my almost nightly visits to the kitchen trash barrels to retrieve my retainer that I had wrapped in a napkin and left at the side of my plate. There were also the times she had caught us stealing food from the kitchen or the day we used her entire roll of parchment paper to do an art project for kids at the local community center.
The brunch was just what the doctor ordered—eggs Benedict, greasy home fries and vats of pretty decent coffee. We sat at a table with alumni from other years, managing to avoid our previous evening’s dinner companions. I spied Sally, Margot and Bitsy sitting with two other classmates at the periphery of Mrs. Petty’s circle.
I hated to say goodbye to Katie and Lolly. Lolly and I get together regularly, but not the three of us. We always say we’ll do it, and that we’ll get Alice to come from the West Coast, too, but it rarely happens unless Katie bullies us into it. Katie hugged me to her ample bosom. “Take care of yourself, Rick. And call me if you have any trouble. I can be here in an hour.”
“Thanks, but there’s not going to be any more trouble. Last night was more than enough excitement to last me till our fiftieth. I’ll play the dutiful housemother till Friday, then head home.”
Lolly hugged me. “Please do. Last night was not funny, when you really think about what we did and what could have happened.”
“Mum’s the word.” I said, staring hard at Katie.
“My lips are sealed, but when you get home, you’d better call and let us know what happens. I hope you find something interesting on the flash drive. Don’t get caught looking at it. That’s a felony, I think.”
As I stood, waving them off, I suddenly felt alone and vulnerable, dreading the next few days, wanting nothing so much as to hop in my car and follow them out of town.
CHAPTER 21
Bags already in her car, Christine Parnell stood on the Round House porch, hands on hips as I drove into the driveway at quarter to twelve. As I approached, she came down the steps to greet me. “Keys on the table, sign-out sheet in the hall. Dresser cleared out for your clothes and a little space in the closet. They’re s’posed to be packing up Carolyn’s things this week. Her sister’s coming down from Buffalo, God knows when.
“Girls are all over the place. Check the sign-out sheet. They’re free till dinner, when they have to check in with you in the dining room. Freshmen and sophomores go to the Cottage for study hour after dinner. Juniors and seniors should be here, in their rooms. Rules are outlined in the handbook. On the table with the keys. ‘Lights out’ is officially eleven, but we usually allow people with a lot of work to keep their lights on till midnight, if they need to. You don’t have to stay around here during the day today, but you should be back by mid to late afternoon. Any questions?”
“No, thanks, Christine. I’ll be fine.”
“Napoleon’s words at Waterloo?” Laughing, she turned her back, waving over her head. “Good luck. You’ll need it. Oh, one other thing—you’re s’posed to have a house meeting on Sunday night, to go over what needs to be done, cleanup and such. Tell the little brats to clean out the refrigerator. It stinks. Toodle-loo.”
With that she was gone, leaving me with her scanty instructions and the Whitley School Houseparents Handbook to guide my way. I was already late for lunch with Rolly, but I took a few minutes to wander through Carolyn’s rooms, a sitting room, bedroom and bath and a small galley kitchen off the sitting room. A small round table sat at the end of the sitting room nearest the kitchen. Judging by the salt and pepper shakers and a napkin holder clustered in its center, it appeared to be used for meals. Christine had left a dirty coffee mug and plate full of crumbs on the table and a sink full of dirty dishes in the kitchen. Amanda Breeze was too kind; she was more than a bitch.
The furnishings were a mixture of old and new. A sofa in relatively good condition dominated the room. Two well-worn armchairs covered in navy-blue corduroy were positioned catty-corner at either end of the sofa. The coffee table looked like it had been picked up at the dump and pieced back together. One missing leg had been replaced by a thick, plain wooden dowel. The bookshelves held a mixture of novels, textbooks and art books. As I wandered into the bedroom and tossed my bag on the bed, a framed photograph on the bureau caught my eye. The blonde from Jared’s photo sat on bleachers, a young, dark-haired girl beside her. It was the same girl from the photo we had discovered hidden in Jared’s desk. Missy Franklin, I guessed, and tucked the framed photo into my purse.
It was a five-minute walk to Rolly’s so I left my car in the driveway and headed across campus on foot. As I knocked on his door, I heard a muffled voice. “Come on in, Ricky. Be right out.”
I assumed he was on the phone so was surprised when he appeared from the back of the house, Dinny beside him.
I was not prepared to see Dinny.
He smiled, blue eyes twinkling. “The reunion brunch over?”
“Just.”
Rolly rushed forward, taking my hand. “I’m trying to convince him to stay for lunch, but he won’t budge. Help me, my dear.”
I threw up my hands in mock distress. “He’s the headmaster. What can I do?”
“I’ve gotta run, Rolly.” He turned to me, eyes full of concern and something else I chose to ignore. Was he crazy, with Rolly standing beside him, taking in every nuance? “You all moved in at Round House?”
“My bag’s there.”
“Good. I’ll check in with you later on, if that’s okay.”
“You’re the boss.” I turned away, refusing to acknowledge the look in his eyes.
“Fine, until later. Rolly,” he nodded at my host, closing the door behind him.
I turned to Rolly. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
For an instant, his hazel eyes studied me, then he smiled. “Your timing is perfect, my dear. Everything’s set up on the sun porch. Come on, you look like you need sustenance.”
I followed, silently thanking him for not bringing up the obvious. At that moment I wanted to kill Dinny. Did he think Rolly was blind?
We ate curried chicken salad and sipped delicious iced tea. Rolly had offered me something stronger, but I declined. He watched me inching gingerly into my chair, but made no comment about my obvious posterior discomfort. We talked about the dedication ceremony and the routines of school life as if neither of us had a care in the world.
After helping him clear the dishes, I settled slowly into a porch rocker beside him, gazing out on the lush backyard. His beloved perennial gardens were in full bloom, a riot of colors in the dancing light of the afternoon. The only blight on this verdant Eden was the green Quonset hut, half-hidden in the woods to the right of Rolly’s yard. Fortunately, from where we sat, Rolly’s grape arbor obscured most of the unsightly structure.
Finally, the chitchat drifted away and I turned to him. “So, what’s going on?”
“I hardly know where to begin, my dear, but I do need to confide in someone. When Dinny mentioned that the school had hired you as a private detective, I was so relieved.”
“About that, Rolly…” I met his eyes. He was hanging on every word as if each was a lifeline. Somehow, it didn’t seem like the right moment to tell him it had all been a joke. I grabbed for my purse, reached in, and pulled out the framed photo. “What I mean to say is, can you tell me who these people are?”
“Why, that’s Carolyn and Missy. Nice picture. Where’d you get it?”
“Carolyn’s bedroom.”
He sighed. “Yes, they were very close.”
“Tell me about Carolyn.”
“Where to begin? She was very talented. Too talented to be stuck at Whitley. Her paintings were magnificent. She sculpted, too, but here’s the thing. She loved teaching more than her art. She had a special connection with students, particularly the girls. She was well-liked by all, I believe.”
“What about the faculty?”
“Same.”
“Everyone loved her?”
“Oh, there were petty jealousies from time to time. Certainly, Christine envied her, no secret about that. Christine is a talented photographer and sculptor, but her art is…shall we say, less accessible? And, between you and me, she is not well-liked by the students. She has her pets, a few whom she dotes upon, but in general I would have to say that Christine’s personality is not well-suited to working with young people. No patience. I actually think that’s where the jealousy originated. It wasn’t Carolyn’s art that Chris envied, but her rapport with the students. Chris isn’t stupid. She knows what the students think of her, and she also saw that they adored Carolyn.
“We have open forums once a week, where issues are raised by faculty and students. Anyone can speak and frequently people use the time to praise others. Carolyn’s name came up constantly. Students shadowed her everywhere, hanging around the studio and so forth. I know that drove Christine crazy. She was always complaining about it.”
“You were close to her, weren’t you?” He nodded, eyes filled with sadness. “Who were her other close friends?”
“There were many, my dear. At one time, Judith Freeman was one. Have you met her?”
“Oh, yes.”
He gave me a wry smile. “She’s not so bad, and Judy was crazy about Carolyn. Robin Naylor, Rich’s wife, was close to her, I believe. Rich, too. Although the past year they’ve seemed a little cooler.”
“Oh?”
“Petty jealousy, I’m sure. I would guess Rich resented Carolyn’s popularity. He’s always been a student favorite, you see.
“Then there’s Gerry, Gerry Weinstein. Carolyn was very athletic, as you probably know. Always doing something—skiing, swimming, tennis, jogging, you name it. She and Gerry ran road races together almost every weekend until Carolyn hurt her knee this past winter. Skiing accident, required two surgeries.
“As I recall, the Naylors and maybe occasionally the Krolls went on trips with Carolyn’s crowd. It’s a friendly faculty, most of the time. They were, of course, the younger crowd so an old codger like me could only watch from the sidelines.
“Dinny and Carolyn were close, too, although that was a little tricky with him being headmaster and all.”
“Hmm, I’m sure. Our Dinny does get around, doesn’t he?”
“Don’t judge him too harshly, my dear. Women throw themselves at him, I’m afraid.”
“Poor dear. Anyone else you can think of in terms of Carolyn’s friends?”
“I believe she and Wren Curtis, the athletic trainer, were also close friends. Wren’s on leave this semester. Then, of course, there’s Jared. Until about a year ago, he and Carolyn were inseparable. We used to call them ‘the twins.’ They went everywhere together—movies, out to dinner, ski trips.”
“Were they romantically involved?”
“I don’t believe so, no. Just friends, good friends.”
“So what happened?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk with you about. I hate to pass on gossip, tell tales out of school, but with everything that’s gone on the past week, I feel someone ought to know. I didn’t want to burden Dinny. Poor man has enough on his mind.”
“Rolly…”
He nodded. “Yes, of course. It was about this time last year, Carolyn came to me extremely distraught. Yes, it was early May, about six weeks after the school trips. Most juniors take spring trips, hiking, studying, volunteering, and so forth. They usually go someplace warm, like Guatemala or Costa Rica. It’s a wonderful program, began many years after your time. Designed to give them time to reflect on the next step. It’s voluntary, and those who go, forgo their regular spring vacation, but it’s been so successful that most students take advantage of it. Parents pay, of course. It’s not cheap, but there is some scholarship funding so any student who wants to go, goes.
“After last year’s trip, Carolyn came to see me. She was very upset and told me that Jared had been carrying on an inappropriate liaison with a student, Missy Franklin.”
“What kind of liaison?”
“It was sexual, a relationship that had begun on the trip and had continued after their return. Carolyn discovered the relationship when she spotted them coming out of a local motel. Of course, she confronted Missy at once.”
Realization struck like a lightning bolt. No wonder the setting in Jared’s photograph had looked so familiar. He and Missy had been sitting on a bed in one of the rooms at the Breeze Bye, the distinctive pea-green wallpaper in the background. But who had taken the picture?
“When Carolyn confronted her, poor Missy fell to pieces. Claimed Jared wouldn’t let her stop. He threatened to fail her and see that his fellow teachers did the same. His threats were absurd, of course, but like so many of her peers, Missy is young, impressionable and sensitive. She also has a vivid imagination, which Jared exploited beautifully.”<
br />
“Why didn’t Carolyn confront Phelps?”
“I’m getting to that. After telling me about it, she went to see Jared. I offered to go with her, but she insisted on speaking to him herself. Jared lived on campus then, in one of the faculty apartments. She told him that if he went near Missy again, she would tell Dinny and see that he was fired. I told her she should go to Dinny immediately and steer clear of Jared, but she wanted to wait. They had been very close, as I said.”
“And Dinny never found out?”
“That’s the odd thing. While he’s never said, I believe Dinny knew. Shortly after that, Jared was fired for a series of incidents involving students. Nothing was ever said about Missy, but I believe that Dinny knew and that it weighed in his decision to fire Jared. A decision that was entirely appropriate, by the way.
“Jared is a demigod. He courted students, especially women, wooed them, then demanded fierce allegiance. He can be very charming when he wants to be. In many ways, they were alike, he and Carolyn. Students adored him. They hung around after class, followed him everywhere, practically lived at his apartment. They’d do anything for him. Run errands, clean house, whatever he asked.”
“So what exactly were the reasons given for firing him?”
“Dinny and Brooke were vague, citing confidentiality, but there had been several parental complaints about Jared and his influence on students. Then, there were several ugly, public confrontations between Jared and Brooke. Interestingly, prior to this last year, the confrontations had often been about Carolyn and Judith with Jared defending them tooth and nail.”
“Why those two?”
“Oh, I assumed you knew. Carolyn was a lesbian. At one time, she and Judith were lovers. Administration found out and forbade them to make their relationship public, nor were they to show any affection for one another on campus or in town. It was mostly Brooke spearheading that campaign. He has softened and mellowed lately, but Brooke was a bit of a prude. Administrative censure was, of course, like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Jared had a cause he could run with, and one that involved dear friends. Then, poor Dinny stepped in to back Brooke up and the situation got even uglier.
Prepped to Kill (Ricky Steele Mysteries Book 1) Page 11
