“You were against every change I’ve tried to make.”
I said, “You pick the curriculum or the teachers pick the curriculum, I don’t care. The kids in my classroom will learn. You can have a lovely power trip or you can work collaboratively with the teachers. I don’t have time for your nonsensical politics. You’re the one who’s been a traitor to the teachers and the kids. You’ve taken bullying and backstabbing to new heights. All to what earthly purpose?”
“You don’t understand how real businesses work. If this was a real business, you’d have been out on your ass the first day I was here.”
“Really? How could that have happened, even in a real business? I didn’t even speak to you the first day.”
“People confide in you.”
“A hanging offense in this jurisdiction. Or is it that they wouldn’t go talk to you? I thought the suckups did come rushing to you.”
“You older teachers have had a wild run of this place for years. You’ve driven it into the ground. You need to be reined in. You teachers don’t know how to run a school.”
I said, “So this is what running a school has felt like. Gosh, I missed that all these years. I wish I’d have known I was running the place, I’d have gotten paid a ton more, and I’d have fixed things up better and more efficiently. Nobody tells me these things.”
“Don’t try and make light of this!”
I was surprised at how calm I did feel. Scott would have been proud.
I said, “Humor is not your strong suit.”
He said, “You’re not in charge. You’ll never be in charge.”
“But I don’t want to be in charge. Never have. Never will.” I tried the abrupt topic switch tactic. “Who did Spandrel get to lie about where she went after the meeting? You?”
“How dare you?”
“I figure it could have been the usual triumvirate of you, Towne, or Bochka, but more likely one of the teachers.” “Her alibi is perfect.”
“Then why didn’t she have it set when the police first questioned her?”
“How do you know that?”
“I’m in charge, remember? I know everything. How do you and Spandrel get people to lie for you?” “We don’t lie.”
“It’s one of your most used administrative techniques.” “How dare you?” Graniento said. “No one speaks to me like that.”
I said, “I just did.”
“And gets away with it. That’s insubordination.”
“Actually, I’m kind of tired of going over that with you.” I reached into my union files. Graniento hadn’t reached this drawer yet. I pulled out one of the files. “Here’s a copy of the page from the school code with the relevant section which defines insubordination circled in red.” I tossed it on top of my desk.
“Insubordination is what I say it is,” Graniento said.
“No,” I said, “it’s what legislators, attorneys, judges, and the state school board say it is. You don’t have much say in the matter.”
“I do in this district.”
I asked, “I don’t remember when I’ve ever seen you here at school this early, much less being in this corridor anytime before nine o’clock. Did you come by to help Spandrel spy this morning?”
Graniento said, “I’ve never spied on anyone. No one I know has spied on anyone.”
“Why not come in over the weekend to do this? You people don’t know I come in early?”
“I wasn’t here to spy.”
“Or you’re not as organized as you think you are? Or you’re lazy? Or not too bright?”
“Insults may not be insubordination, but they are inappropriate.”
I asked, “Why did Spandrel imply to the police that Eberson was having an affair with a student? What does that gain her?”
“I’m sure she did no such thing.”
I said, “It would divert suspicion if she needed suspicion diverted. And why would she need to divert suspicion? Unless she’s a killer.”
“Mabel Spandrel is an excellent administrator.”
“What were you and she fighting about at the football game just before halftime?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I said, “Can you really keep this many plots and lies going at the same time? You remind me of a juggler who’s trying to keep flaming swords in the air. I can’t imagine you’ll be able to keep going indefinitely. You’ll drop one.”
He said, “You’ve got no proof of any of this.”
The door banged open. Meg stomped up to the desk. “Would you like chapter and verse, dates and times?” she asked.
“Were you listening to us?” Graniento demanded.
“Yes,” Meg said. Daring him to make something of it.
Graniento said, “You have nothing to say in this, librarian.”
Meg said, “I do believe the tone you just used implied that being a librarian is something less than a dignified thing to be.” She drew herself up to her full height. She jabbed a finger at him. “You listen to me, you overstuffed piece of shit. You need to look in the mirror at your own incompetence. Two people have died at this school. Two teachers. I may not have liked them, but the atmosphere around here is poisonous. That poison comes directly from you and your cohorts. You should not be near children. You should not be near a school building.”
“We’ll deal with you later,” Graniento said.
“You can ´deal with’ me whenever you like,” Meg said. “You aren’t what I care about in the world. Your judgments are not the ones in this world that are important to me. You are slime. People have been murdered, and you’re down here spying. You’re sick.”
Teresa Merton entered the room. Behind her was Riva Towne, the superintendent. Merton came and stood next to me. She asked, “Is there a problem?” She glared at Graniento.
“What’s going on?” Towne demanded.
I said, “Graniento was in here spying and trying to access pornographic sites on my computer so he could claim I had done so. He was going to use it as an excuse to fire me.”
Towne said, “Pornographic sites? This is an outrage. There will be an investigation.”
I said, “Look at the computer.” She did. I pointed. “Watch. See these.” I called up the firewalls and the time recorder. “No inappropriate sites have been accessed, although someone tried to get to them. This keeps track of everything on the computer. I have a witness from where I was when Scott dropped me off to when I ran into Georgette in the hall and to the time I arrived here.”
Towne said, “You can’t have.”
I pulled out my cell phone. I held it up. “This has been on the whole time.”
“It’s illegal to record conversations,” Graniento said.
Merton said, “While you are actually right about that, Mr. Mason is not saying he recorded you. He’s saying he has a witness who heard everything. The phone records will also have the time that call began. Someone trying to put pornographic sites on a teacher’s computer to get them fired is a serious charge.”
Graniento said, “I was not. I don’t know how those got there.”
My mind reeled at how outrageously blatant this lie was. Towne said, “I’m sure no one was trying to get anyone fired.”
I get saint points for not guffawing hysterically at this.
Meg said, “Graniento’s been threatening me, too.”
“I have not,” Graniento said.
I said, “I’m her witness.”
Graniento said, “You’d lie for her.”
I said, “Not all of us have turned lying into a lifestyle.”
Towne said, “This is too much.”
Merton said, “I agree.” She turned to Meg. “What did he threaten you about?” Meg told her.
Merton said, “And have you been making threats to Mr. Mason as well?”
“That’s absurd,” Graniento said.
“So why are you here?” Merton asked.
Stubborn silence from Graniento.
&n
bsp; I said, “He was going through my desk as well as attempting to log onto the Internet.”
“I have a right to do those things,” Graniento said.
Merton said, “Is there a problem with Mr. Mason’s teaching?”
Graniento said, “Well …”
“Good,” Merton said, “because if there were, I’m sure you’d have it documented with dates, times, and specifics about what the problems are. And you’d have been documenting it for quite some time. And you’d have copies signed by him that show he received such data.”
“Well, no,” Graniento said.
Towne said, “He’s part of a murder investigation.”
“Have the police charged him with anything?” Merton asked.
“Well, no,” Towne said.
“Is he in any way a suspect?” Merton asked.
“He might be. Or might become one,” Towne said.
Merton said, “He might flap his arms and fly to the moon. He might do or become about anything. Come see me when you put ´might’ in his job description. My impression is that you have been trying to bully and intimidate one of my teachers and one of my staff. I’m here to tell you to back the hell off. If you are going to bring charges, do so, and we will confront them in the appropriate forum. You are both out of line. If you don’t want unfair labor practices up your asses all the way to your eyebrows, you’d best stop.”
“We’ll be consulting our attorneys,” Graniento said.
Merton replied, “I’ll be happy to have mine call you.”
Noses in the air, the two administrators stalked out of the room.
Merton turned to us. “Actually, they’re going to have unfair labor practices up the ass anyway. I’m going to keep those two so busy, it will drive them nuts. They’ve got to learn to stop this. If I’ve got to slap them around every time, I will.”
“Good,” I said.
Merton said, “This is kind of early, even for them. If there are any more problems today, get word to me immediately. I’ll be speaking with the union attorney this morning.” She gave an evil cackle. “I love doing this to those assholes. I love it every time they screw up. I’m going to rub their faces in it. These assholes have lost every fight with the union since they started.”
“You’d think they’d learn,” Meg said.
“They haven’t yet,” Merton said.
Meg chuckled. We gave her quizzical looks. “They remind me of the scenes in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World when the characters in the movie try to organize themselves. These administrators rival those people for inept-ness.”
I smiled. Merton gave a rueful chuckle. She said, “They are a sad bunch.”
We discussed the escort issue. Merton said, “The LD teachers have agreed to a rotating schedule to help you out. They and Morgan Adair should be enough.”
I thanked Merton for her help. She said, “I’ve got to get to class. Call me if there’s a problem.” She left.
Meg said, “You look exhausted.”
I sat down at my desk. “I’m not sure,” I said.
“Do you want to take the day off? They’ll get you a sub. You’re under enormous pressure here. What they’re doing is so sick and so out of line and so unprofessional. If I were a murderer in this building, Gracie and Higden wouldn’t be dead, those two would.”
37
Grief counselors flooded the building. They called the seniors down to the field house first. One of the administrators spoke to the entire restless assemblage. I didn’t hear sobbing until they announced it was time to go to class.
Grief counselors also came around to all the classes in the English department. Most of my kids looked bored.
My morning classes were reasonably normal. Good.
38
Two minutes after the kids left at lunch, Teresa Merton entered with Steven Frecking. He wore the same low-slung jeans that emphasized his crotch and the belt with the enormous buckle that said, “Look here! Look here!”
Merton said, “Mr. Frecking came to talk to me. Seems he has a bit of a problem. It’s part of what’s been happening, and I think you have a right to know.”
Frecking hung his head. He muttered, “I had sex with Peter Higden on Thursday.”
“You did what?” I asked.
Frecking snapped. “You heard me.”
Merton said, “And now you want legal help from the union?”
He nodded.
“Then lose the attitude and talk.”
Frecking said, “Fine. I did have sex with him. It started the first week. We were all put on these stupid committees. I sat next to Higden. Him and me had been discussing the sports we’d played in college. He saw me staring at his crotch once or twice. I didn’t look away quick enough. Him and me went out to lunch together. We got it on in his car.” He shrugged. “We both enjoyed sex. There was no commitment. He dated women as far as I knew. We’d get together during lunch and have a little fun.”
“Every day?”
“No, once in a while.”
“And you did Thursday?”
“Yeah.”
“And you met with Benson in the storage room later the same day?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you get tired?”
“Not often.”
I said, “I’m finding this a little hard to believe.”
“I don’t care what you believe. I’m telling you what happened. Higden told me he did it with Benson once. That’s how he kept Benson in line. Threatening to tell. That’s how I knew Benson was available.”
“And you were dating Morgan Adair?”
“He thought we were dating. I was having a good time.”
“Did he know this?”
“I don’t know what he knew. I’m not responsible for him or what he thinks. Peter knew exactly what we were doing and what it was about.”
I said, “The police mentioned to me that they had evidence of sexual activity on Higden’s part.”
Frecking said, “You do have an in with the cops. That’s what everybody said.”
“Everybody who?” I asked.
“Different people around.”
Merton asked, “Are they going to find evidence of you on Peter?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why are you telling us this?” I asked.
“I was afraid I’d get in more trouble. I don’t know what’s going to come out. I can’t give them a DNA sample. I need help. What’s going to happen to me?”
Merton said, “The police are going to have a million questions. You’re going to need an attorney. They’ll provide you with one. I’ll help as much as I can.”
“Maybe we can just not tell them,” Frecking said.
Merton laughed gently. She patted his arm. “My dear, at this point, nothing is going to be easy for you.”
I said, “Maybe if you answer a few questions, we’ll let the police find out about what happened on their own.”
Merton gave me a quizzical look.
I said, “Was there a fight among the poker guys last week?”
Frecking said, “I’m not supposed to tell.”
I said, “Get real.”
For a few seconds, Frecking looked stubborn. Then he snorted and said, “Fine. People fought. Sometimes Peter could get on people’s nerves. He always gloated when he won a hand. That day he was more irritating than most. Edgar Cauchon, the athletic director, threw his cards at Peter. We had to pull them apart. Edgar was pretty pissed. He said Peter was going to be out of the loop on assignments for coaching and to not bother to try to double dip. Peter threatened to go to the administration about the whole thing. It was ugly. The game just sort of broke up. In fact, that’s why Peter and I had time to go out Thursday. There wasn’t going to be another game until everybody cooled off.”
I said, “If you’ve got information on the grade fixing and the fights, we’ll do our best by you.” I also knew another conversation with Edgar Cauchon was in order. Frecking gave us what he remember
ed about people taking names to Higden and him fixing the grades.
I asked, “How come the teachers who gave the grades didn’t notice they’d been changed?”
“Nobody ever said anything. You know that to view the grades from the previous quarter you’ve got to go through all those steps.”
I knew it was complicated. The grades from the quarter before didn’t appear on the screen as you were working. I rarely saw the report cards of any of the kids. They were mailed home. The goal was to get them sent home electronically.
After giving us the information, Frecking left.
Merton rubbed her hands together. She said, “I’m glad you told me about the grade fixing last night. This is going to be too much fun. I’ll talk to Luci. We may need a committee to go have a chat with these folks, probably tomorrow. We’ll get all the data today. Leave it to me.” She left.
I found Meg and told her the news.
She said, “Having sex doesn’t make him a killer. He qualifies as a philandering boob, sort of. He’s not married, so I guess he isn’t committing adultery, is he? How does that work? Is the married one the only one committing adultery? If the other person involved isn’t married, which sin have they committed?”
“Not sure,” I said.
Meg said, “Nor is it important. The key is, not all philandering boobs are killers. If they were, half the planet would be accused of murder by morning–and the other half would be dead, I guess.”
“Are all these people randy trash?” I asked. “And does being that way have anything to do with murder?”
“Sex and money, dear: those are often the answers.”
I returned to my classroom.
39
I was halfway through wolfing down my sandwich when the classroom door crashed open and banged against the wall. Tammy Choate, the sponsor for the GLSEN chapter, swung into the room. She slammed the door shut and rushed to my desk. I stood up. She was crying.
Before I could say a word, she burst out, “I shouldn’t have told you. I shouldn’t have told you. This is awful. So awful. They’ve been after me all weekend.” She gasped and began sobbing. “I’m so frightened. They’re going to fire me. I know they’re going to fire me.” She collapsed into a student’s desk.
Schooled in Murder Page 18
