He hoped she did not bite his head off.
Tabitha was really not a morning person, so Jimmy had been warned. When the half hour was up, Jimmy decided to give her another fifteen minutes. When those went by without a peep from Tabitha or Warren, he headed upstairs. He knocked on the bedroom door. When there was no answer, he knocked again.
"Mmmmm," was the reply he got.
"Tabitha?" he asked. "It's Jimmy. It's time to get up. We need to go to the school."
"Mmmm. M'sleepin'," was the very muffled reply.
Jimmy nudged the door open. There was a pile of blankets on the bed that formed the general shape and outline of a human being. The blankets were right up to her chin, though Tabitha was sleeping on her stomach with her face looking away from Jimmy. Jimmy stepped into the room cautiously, but was almost immediately betrayed by a creaking board.
"Wha'?" Tabitha moaned.
"It's Jimmy, Tabitha," Jimmy said. He cleared his throat and tried to speak more loudly. "We need to get going."
"Hmmmmmm," was the reply. This was followed by another hum that turned into a moan.
A moment later, Tabitha sat upright in bed. Her eyes were half closed and her hair flew about her head as if she had endured some terrible electric shock. A red line ran down one side of her face, probably from sleeping on a crease in the pillow.
"OK," she said, sounding just a bit irritated. "Go downstairs. I'll be down in a minute."
She waved in a kind of abstract way towards the rest of the house. Jimmy smiled, but when it was not returned, he slowly backed out of the room.
Jimmy headed back downstairs and sat at the kitchen table, sipping some of the same tea that Warren had been drinking. He eventually heard the shower running. About forty-five minutes later, Tabitha emerged dressed, her hair in a ponytail and her face looking washed and fresh. She still had a bit of a scowl on her face.
She walked down the stairs, through the living room, and then into the kitchen. When Jimmy tried to say good morning, she held up her hand. She walked to the fridge, opened it, bent over, and rummaged around for a bit. A moment later she came out with a small plastic bottle of Diet Coke. She cranked open the top and downed the entire bottle in seconds. She belched quietly into her hand, tossed out the bottle, reached back into the fridge, and emerged with a new one. Only then did she turn to face Jimmy.
"Good morning," she said. "Never speak to me until I have had that first blast of caffeine."
Jimmy gave a kind of salute.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Jimmy assured her he was.
"Then let's get on the road," she said.
With that, she turned and headed back into the living room. She found her purse and her car keys. Jimmy stood by and waited, and then followed her out the door and into the garage. Outside was a Volvo SUV, and he got into the passenger seat. Tabitha situated herself in the driver's seat and opened the Diet Coke. She set the bottle in the cup holder, pushed her key fob into the dash, and started the car. Moments later, they were backing out of the garage and down the driveway.
"Are you ready for this?" Jimmy said.
As she shifted into drive, Tabitha looked at him and smiled. "I'm a award-winning professional journalist, Jimmy. I'm always ready."
They drove off.
There is something about a school when it's very early or very late. Even though, throughout the day, the halls are buzzing and alive with more activity than it seems possible for the walls to hold, it is equally abandoned, lonely, and sad when it is empty. The building seems to be a dead zone, and haunted. You can almost feel the spirits of students and teachers still walking the halls, lost, alone. It's a building without its soul.
Tabitha and Jimmy pulled into the parking lot just as the sun was coming up from behind the trees. The sky was blue, and it looked like another gorgeous day was brewing. There was only one other car in the parking lot, and Jimmy knew it was Mrs. Walters’s car.
They entered the school through the same door that Jimmy had been dragged through just a day or so before. Their feet echoed eerily in the empty halls. Tabitha seemed to know the way. They immediately took the stairs to the left and went upstairs to the second floor. They made their way down the hall, just past the teacher's lounge and the restrooms near the center of the hall, and then they reached the room. It was the only one, during the summer, that had air conditioning. There was Mrs. Walters, looking old and hunched over, behind her huge oak desk. She was grading papers, just like she always was at this time of the morning.
Tabitha knocked. Mrs. Walters looked up, startled, and then smiled. Then she looked confused when she saw Jimmy standing there. She waved, and Tabitha opened the door.
"Well, well," she said as Tabitha and Jimmy entered, "if it isn't two of my favorite people. How are you, Tabitha? And Jimmy, I heard about what happened to you. I cannot say I approve of you missing school, and technically and officially I cannot condone what you did. However, good shot!"
She smiled, and it was contagious. Tabitha and Jimmy both smiled back. They found seats in front of Mrs. Walters's desk.
"So what can I do for you two?"
Tabitha sighed, seemed to compose herself for a moment, and then said, "Well, Mrs. Walters, we have some questions for you. Hold on to your seat, as we have quite the story to tell."
Tabitha and Jimmy began their tale. They started out slowly, at first, hesitantly. Then, as they got further and further along, they got more confident, louder, and more animated. By the time Jimmy began telling Mrs. Walters about Devlin Little trying to run him off the road, he was on his feet re-enacting the entire scene by ducking around the chairs and desks. Mrs. Walters watched carefully, nodding, smiling, and making humming noises from time to time, but did nothing to reveal her true thoughts. When Tabitha and Jimmy were done, both of them sat back in their seats in silence.
Mrs. Walters waited to see if there was more, and then sighed. She opened her mouth and then closed it. She shook her head, adjusted her glasses, sighed again, and then cracked a smile. Her entire face appeared to wrinkle as she did it.
"That is quite a tale," she said.
Tabitha and Jimmy smiled and leaned forward in their seats.
"It is quite a bit to digest so early in the morning," Mrs. Walters continued.
Tabitha and Jimmy nodded, but said nothing else.
"Well, I hardly know where to begin. First off, yes, of course, I remember Sapphire. It would be hard not to remember her."
Mrs. Walters leaned back in her chair. Her face took on a kind of distant look and she stared up at the ceiling.
"She was beautiful. She was also smart. She was one of the best students I have ever had, and given the number of students I've had by now, that's saying something. She was kind, and she wasn't afraid of me the way most students are. Even back then I had a reputation of being rather fearsome. I cannot imagine why, other than that I demand that my students perform well. But what can you do about the teenage mind?"
She paused and smiled. Tabitha smiled back. Jimmy bobbed his head up and down.
"I loved reading the term papers she wrote, and I remember that she loved to read and write poetry. I would recommend books to her and she would sometimes give me a book report just because she enjoyed it so much, not because I assigned one. Truly remarkable."
She sighed again, but there was sadness tinged within the exhalation.
"As she got older and developed, I knew that boys were going to notice her. It was inevitable. The one thing most students around here think is that we teachers are safely tucked away in our classrooms and teachers’ lounges and we have no idea what you all are talking about. The fact is that the hallways here are like picking up an old party line phone. You can hear the conversations on the other end while remaining silent and hidden."
Tabitha shuddered at this analogy. Jimmy frowned, but kept his focus on Mrs. Walters.
"So I knew that the boys were noticing her. Sapphire was fiercely independent. This
was just before the whole women's lib movement really caught on. She was at the forefront, though. She would debate men in the classroom about fair pay for women in the workforce and whether or not a woman's place was at home. She was considered by some of the men—particularly the athletes and those on the football team—to be a stuck-up prude. She was some crazy women's rights nut, and they felt that they were the ones who would tame her."
She shook her head, thinking, her eyes still distant.
"I tried to warn her. In a town like this, as conservative as it was, perhaps still is, her stance on things were so radical. She was talking about things that were almost unheard of in Knorr, and certainly frowned upon. As the big dance approached that year, I had overheard Devlin Little and his cronies talking about her. They had intentions of asking her out and probably attempting to have their way with her or something equally diabolical. They often behaved as if the women’s suffrage movement had never happened and women really had no rights. What could I do? I had nothing but rumors and overheard bits of conversation, and times were so different then. I tried to talk to her after class one day, asking her if she had plans for the night of the dance. She told me that she had gone out with Jesse a few times and that she hoped he would ask her. Later that very day, he did, as I heard. I liked Jesse and I was hopeful that things would work out.”
"Anyway, I was there that night. I was at the dance when she came in. She just sucked all of the air out of the place. The band even missed a few notes when she came in. It was like she had swallowed the sun and it shone through her; she glowed everywhere she went. I was standing off to the side when I witnessed Devlin Little and his gang heading over there. I was in the middle of a conversation with a student and another teacher, trying to watch the event happening out of the corner of my eye. I tried to get over there and head them off at the pass, but there were too many other kids in the way. Well, then there was a confrontation and Jesse threw his drink on Devlin. I was sure that Devlin would murder the both of them, what with the way Sapphire was laughing at him.”
"Anyway, I got to Sapphire as she was dragged out of the gymnasium. I grabbed her arm. She was so angry she nearly tore out of my grasp and knocked me over. I asked her if she was all right, and there was just fury in her eyes. Jesse looked terrified and was sweating.”
"Sapphire cried to me, 'It's just not fair, Mrs. Walters! It's not fair and it's not right. Devlin and his crude friends should be the ones leaving, not me and Jesse.'"
Mrs. Walters rubbed her eyes.
"I told her that it would be best if she went home and that we could talk about this more on Monday. She shook her head and said that she and Jesse were heading out on the town. Nothing that happened here was going to stop her and Jesse from having fun. I was worried about what that might mean and I tried to get her to explain, but she would have none of it. She grabbed Jesse's hand and stormed out of the gymnasium and into the night."
Mrs. Walters sighed. “That was the last I saw of her."
She looked down at her hands and a wistful expression crossed her face. Jimmy could see that her eyes were wet and that she was close to tears.
"I haven't thought about her in some time," she said quietly. "I tried to find out what happened to her. I had never met her family. They never came to any of the parent-teacher conferences. I didn't talk to her about her family, either, so I have no idea if she had brothers or sisters or if her mother and father were still married or alive. I heard from others that her family had simply up and moved. No one was certain if she was with them, and there were countless rumors as to what happened."
She looked up at Jimmy and the movement of her head sent one of the tears cascading down her wrinkled face.
"We teachers, and possibly some students, all heard that Jesse had gotten her pregnant, but that was ridiculous, of course. She was gone the very next day, and she could not have possibly known she was pregnant that fast. Unless, of course, they had had sex before that night, but she never indicated that they had been much of a hot item to me before that. Then again, what do I know? I was a teenager once, myself, and I remember the raging hormones."
Jimmy's expression must have given away his surprise.
"Oh, yes, Jimmy, there was a time when even I had a sex drive. You know, back just after the Earth had cooled and dinosaurs roamed the planet."
They laughed.
"What else did you hear about it?" Tabitha said.
Mrs. Walters let out a long breath. "Oh, just that her father had lost his job and they had to head back to some other city where they had family. Or, conversely, that it was her mother who had lost a job and necessitated the move. Of course, there were darker rumors, too. That she had run afoul of the law the night of the dance. That she and Jesse had gone out on the town and she had destroyed public property or gotten drunk. But there was never any evidence, nothing seemed destroyed, and she was hardly the first teenager to get drunk in Knorr, so why that would necessitate a hasty exit never made much sense."
She eyed both Jimmy and Tabitha.
"Of course, I have heard the vanishing hitchhiker stories for years, you know. The description of the phantom always reminded me of Sapphire, but no one, until you two came in here with your wild tale, has ever used her name in connection with the legend."
She directed her stare directly at Jimmy.
"If you are not just pulling an elaborate prank on an old woman and what you say is true, then you are the first person to speak to her in a very long time. Your description of her appearance and her manner match what I remember of her. You must be very special, Jimmy. And from what you have uncovered, it seems that my worst fears about her are likely correct."
She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue that she grabbed from inside her desk.
"Of course, I always suspected something with Devlin Little. He went on to become quite the businessman, but I always suspected that that had more to do with his ability to intimidate and push people around than any real skill with numbers or business. He's not a good man or a nice man, and his vile son may end up being even worse. So you two are diving into very deep and very dangerous waters."
She paused to let that sink in. Jimmy knew that this was one of her favorite things and that her lectures were often filled with dramatic pauses.
"Thank you, Mrs. Walters," Tabitha said. "Is there anything else?"
Mrs. Walters shook her head. "Not really. The story you told me is amazing, and finding out that we carry on after we die is somehow comforting, yet disturbing, for someone my age. I don't know what will become of either of you on this quest of yours, but I do hope you can help Sapphire. She deserves peace."
Tabitha and Jimmy nodded in unison. The three of them exchanged a few more pleasantries and then Jimmy and Tabitha exited quickly. The light was getting brighter outside and the parking lot would soon be filled with cars and students. They moved quickly to Tabitha's car and Jimmy got into the passenger seat, ducking down in the hopes that no one would see him.
"So did we learn anything?" he asked as the car pulled out of the parking lot.
Tabitha shook her head and a look of frustration crossed her face. "Not much. I honestly think that a talk with Jesse is in order. But I also fear that, at some point, we are going to have to have a face-to-face with Devlin Little. Right now, however, I am trying to determine if that should happen between us or if I should call the sheriff and get him involved."
"Don't you trust the sheriff?"
"Well, he helped me and Warren out with the Boogeyman thing. He seems like a good guy, but there is no denying that Devlin Little holds much influence in this town, and I would assume that includes the sheriff. I seem to recall that Little's many companies contributed significantly in the last election."
Jimmy felt a knot of fear in his gut.
"I should talk to George," he said.
"Why?"
"He's as much in this as we are. He should know what we've found out," Jimmy replied. "He could be in danger, as
well. Remember that Devlin mentioned him directly when I overhead him and Jesse talking."
Tabitha asked, "Do you want to call him?"
"No, I think a one-on-one talk is in order. He is my best friend, after all."
"Invite him over tonight," Tabitha said. "I'll make dinner and we can all talk."
Jimmy smiled. One thing could always make him smile: the promise of a meal.
"What do we do now?" he asked.
"I think we should head over to the library," she said, and looked over at Jimmy. "What do you think about that?"
"Do you think Jesse will talk to us?"
"I'm hoping that the guilt he feels over covering this up for decades will finally break through and he'll feel compelled to talk just to get some relief."
"Here's hoping," Jimmy said.
"He may hold the key, Jimmy. If he was there when it happened—as everything seems to indicate—then he may resolve this entire thing right now. We're armed with at least a little information that will prove we're serious. That may be enough."
Jimmy was doubtful, but he kept quiet. His stomach was still tied in knots of fear. The buzzing in his head that indicated that Sapphire was near was gone. Despite being in the car with Tabitha, he suddenly felt very alone.
They arrived at the library and Jimmy felt that knot of fear tighten in his stomach. The parking lot was close to empty. However, as Tabitha had expected, Jesse's car was parked off to one side, indicating that the man was in early. Jimmy had confirmed for her that this was common for him.
As they drove, Jimmy had borrowed Tabitha's cell phone and called George. He talked to George briefly, telling him that he was invited over to the Hollises’ home tonight for dinner. George told him that he would try to make it, but he would have to check with his parents. Jimmy said that would be fine. The conversation was short, but strangely tense. Jimmy wasn't sure if that was because of the general weirdness of the situation, the fact that George was at school at the time, or if someone was within earshot that was causing concern for George. Whatever the cause, it had further set Jimmy on edge.
Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance Page 19
