Dinner was quiche and a green salad. The quiche was a little pasty, the lettuce limpish, but it all tasted great to me. Anything was an improvement on my home cooking —soups, peanut butter, tuna fish and Velveeta.
Mrs. Cook inquired as to my marital status and somehow this led us into a discussion about my house. I told them how Vinnie and I had put on the roof and made a number of other repairs. Mabel Cook, clearly aghast at these revelations, kept a brave smile plastered on her face throughout the conversation.
Rosa set down her fork. “I don’t know how you did it. Juan barely lets me change a light bulb.”
Juan glared at me. Was he afraid I was putting ideas into his wife’s head?
“I didn’t really have a choice. Either I did it, or I went to bed with water dripping on my head.”
Judith Freeman patted my shoulder. “In today’s world, many women do carpentry, building, plumbing, whatever. No need to apologize.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence and solidarity.” My sarcasm was lost on Judith Freeman.
Mabel straightened her shoulders. “Why did you ever buy such a dilapidated place?”
“Location, location, location. It’s right on the water. A friend of mine got me a really good deal.”
“Some friend,” Juan mumbled, shaking his head.
Deciding a change of subject was in order, I turned to Maisie. “So, who’s the next lacrosse game with?”
“St. Marks, right, Ms. Freeman?”
“They any good?”
Maisie shrugged, looking as if she were praying for instant invisibility.
Judith winked at Maisie. “We have a chance. Let’s leave it at that.”
Food long gone, I sat wondering how long I needed to stay at the table, when Livie, my savior, tapped me on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Ms. Steele. Can I talk to you?”
Mabel Cook gave her a sharp look. “Is it absolutely necessary, Olivia? As you can see, Miss Steele is in the middle of her dinner.”
“It’s kind of important.”
“Of course, Livie. Excuse me.” I stood sharply, kicking the clipboard that I’d propped against my chair. It clattered across the floor, attracting the attention of neighboring tables. Grinning sheepishly at our hostess, I bent to retrieve it.
“Thank you for a lovely dinner, Mrs. Cook.” I nodded to the others. “See you later, Maisie.” Was that a smile playing at the corners of her mouth?
As we made our way among the tables, I whispered, “Livie, I owe you, big time.”
She leaned toward me. “Three o’clock. Rafe’s the one with the Coast Guard shirt. See him?”
Following her gaze, I spotted the shirt first, “U.S. Coast Guard Academy” splayed across the front in large white letters. He looked up as we passed by, dark eyes studying us. Since he was seated, I had no idea how tall he was, but he certainly had the broad shoulders of an athlete. As we turned away, he brushed strands of longish, dark hair from a tanned forehead, just the kind of gesture that would have sent me into orbit as a horny eighteen-year-old. The name suited him. One change of letter and he was rakishness incarnate.
“Cute,” I whispered as we stepped out into the hall.
“And he knows it.”
“They usually do.”
“He’s going to the Coast Guard Academy. They say it’s harder to get into than Harvard, so his head’s been three sizes bigger since he got accepted.”
I stopped in the hallway, turning back. “Should I have made an announcement about the meeting tonight?”
“No worries. We meet every Sunday. Just put a note on the door when we get back. Come on, or the Dragon Lady will catch you and make you go back to the table.”
I followed her outside, wondering if our roles were growing a tad fuzzy. After all, I was the housemother.
CHAPTER 25
The dorm meeting convened at 8:00 p.m., my place. After they all had a drink and easy access to the vats of junk food I had carted home from the Stop and Shop, I convened the meeting. It began smoothly, if you ignored the yawns and bored expressions of ninety percent of the group. Livie, at least, feigned marginal interest.
After introducing myself, I asked them all to do the same. Then, I made a few perfunctory remarks about how I hoped we would have a good week together. We discussed the state of the kitchen and after much hemming and hawing several juniors volunteered to clean it up. That seemed to cover everything. “One more thing,” I said, rising from my seat. I glanced at Missy’s minions, standing in the back, ready to bolt. “I want to say a couple of things about our absent dorm residents. We, of course, hope for Betty’s speedy recovery. But what about Missy? Why isn’t she here with us? If anyone knows where she is, the responsible, mature course of action would be to let me or another adult at Whitley know so that we can get word to her family that she’s safe.” As I faced the sea of bored faces, a horrible realization crept over me—I sounded exactly like Muriel Petty.
Diana’s eyes blazed, challenging me.
“Her parents don’t give a sh… They don’t care where she is.”
“Her parents are out of the country and it has been difficult to reach them, but they care. And so does her aunt. She was here today, and I can assure you she cares very much. Please communicate that to Missy, will you?” I looked directly at the Three Musketeers. All except Diana turned away, unable to meet my eyes. “That’s it, then. But I would ask Missy’s closest friends—Diana, Kathy and Maisie—to stay a few minutes, please?”
When the door shut behind the others, I asked them to sit. Eyes smoldering, body language screaming obscenities, they nonetheless obeyed, sitting side by side on the couch. I brought a folding chair up and plopped myself in front of them. “I don’t suppose you ladies are ready to tell me where she is.” They shrugged, the universal language of adolescence. I knew it well. “What’s the problem? Why’d she run off?” More shrugging. “Okay, thanks. That was really helpful.”
“What do you want us to say?” Kathy blurted out, her face turning beet red.
Diana gave her an elbow jab. “Kathy, shut up!”
“Look, all I’m asking is that you tell me or someone else you trust where she is. Or convince her to come back on her own.”
“It’s not that easy,” Maisie said, as Diana leaned forward to glare at her. “Cut it out, Diana. I’m not going to tell her anything. We can’t help you right now, Ms. Steele. Our loyalty is to Missy. You went to Whitley. You know what it’s like.”
“She doesn’t know what it’s like. Missy’s parents are idiots and so is everyone else around here. Why would she want to come back?” Diana’s eyes dared me to contradict her.
“As a matter of fact, I do know a little about idiot parents. And I ran off myself a number of times, but that’s not the point. The point is, Missy’s a senior and she’s missing stuff that matters. You think Brown’ll take her after she flunks all her finals?” More shrugging. “Look, I’ll let you get to your studying, but please promise me that you’ll at least ask her to come back, okay? Tell her to come and talk to me or to someone on campus she trusts.”
The inquisition over, they rose and filed out.
CHAPTER 26
I spent the next hour nosing through Carolyn’s things. Her closets and drawers held an eclectic mix, heavy on athletic, outdoorsy wear with a few expensive things—silk blouses, finely tailored suits and a couple of Donna Karan dresses that must have set her back. She had big feet, at least a nine or ten, and several pairs of costly pumps were jumbled in with piles of old running shoes, cleats and sandals. She was my kind of housekeeper—throw things in the closet and shut the door quick. The drawers contained a large collection of tee shirts, souvenirs from many road races, piles of socks and running shorts, a few pairs of jeans. In the corner of one drawer, I found an interesting assortment of lacy undergarments, Frederick’s-of-Hollywood-type stuff. I wondered who had seen her strutting this stuff.
Next, I rifled through several boxes of letters—from her sister, frien
ds and an uncle in Texas. One recent letter, from a Debbie Sparks, caught my eye. It discussed the canoe trip the two women had planned for early June. Debbie’s note confirmed where they would meet. I wondered if Carolyn had let Debbie know her suicide plans before she died. As I set the letter down, I realized what was missing—a computer—and where was her cell phone? Fat chance the police would let me see either, if they had them. I was considering whether to pop upstairs and ask Livie about the missing items when someone knocked at the door.
I swung open the door and was shocked to find Dinny standing there. “Dinny? What brings you out at this time of night?”
“Just checking to see how the new housemother is settling in. Going to ask me in?” He leaned forward, eyes sparkling mischievously as he tried to grab hold of my hand.
I stepped aside, out of reach. His hand grazed my side as he passed by, sending shivers through me. Shutting the door, I said, “Should you be here?”
“Of course, I go around and visit the houses regularly, especially when we have new people.”
“At ten o’clock at night?”
“Depends on what kind of day I’ve had.” He moved closer, slipping his hand around my waist, drawing me to him. “Wouldn’t you like to help a poor headmaster relieve some of his stress?”
“No, I would not.” I stepped back, only to find myself pinned against the bedroom doorjamb. “Dinny, stop it.” My hand shot out in front of me, coming to rest on his chest. “Have you lost your mind?”
“No, but I’d like to.” He stepped away, turning to run long fingers through his hair. He looked tired and every bit his sixty-something years. “Sorry. Maybe I have lost my mind. Who knows?”
His warmth withdrawn, I felt empty and sad. He slumped into one of the armchairs and I took a chair next to him. “Can I get you anything?”
“Thanks, no. Have you made any headway in determining Missy’s whereabouts?”
“No, but I did have a visit from the governor.”
He winced. “Sorry about that. She called and told me she was coming. I gave Christine the message. Didn’t she tell you?”
“No, she neglected to share that important little detail.”
“I’m sorry. I knew I should have called you. What’d Pamela say? Is she threatening to call out the National Guard?”
“No, but she’s going to have my license if I don’t find her niece by noon tomorrow.”
“God, Ricky, I’m sorry. We should have never gotten you into this. I’ll call Barry Frost in the morning. You’re right, the police should be involved.”
I wondered if this might be the time to tell him the truth about my private investigator’s license, or lack thereof, but decided he had enough to worry about. “Hold off a bit, why don’t you? I’ll try to get something out of the kids tomorrow. I’d like to talk to the police, though, about Carolyn, with your permission?”
“Fine with me. Just don’t tell my aunt. What do you want to know?”
“Just a few questions about how they found Carolyn. I wondered if he had anything that might help with Missy.”
“Hard to see a connection, but go for it, if you think it’ll help. What’d you think about the letters, any ideas?”
“No, except there appear to have been at least two different writers. The letters to the community have a completely different tone and style from the paste-up jobs addressed to you.”
“You don’t think Jared sent them?”
“Maybe not.” The image of the three of us rifling through Phelps’s study flashed through my mind and I remembered Katie’s flash drive “Dinny, is there somewhere I can go to use a computer? I have a little work I need to do.”
“Well, there’s the labs. There are three on campus.”
“I was thinking of somewhere a little more private.”
“Well, you’re welcome to use my office. I also have a laptop in the apartment. I can leave the key under the mat.”
“That’d be great, if you don’t mind.”
“Come by anytime.” His eyes brightened.
“I’ll come during the day, when you’re at work, so I won’t disturb you.”
I ignored his exaggerated look of disappointment. “Dinny, I’m surprised that Carolyn didn’t have a computer here. Didn’t she have one?”
“Absolutely. The school purchased new laptops for every faculty member last year. Part of a bonus package, to boost morale.”
“Well, it’s not here. No cell phone either. Did someone come and collect them after she died?”
“Not to my knowledge. That is strange. I’ll check with Brooke. It could be at the studio, but I doubt it. She has an office next to her studio with a computer, a very fancy, high-tech model for her graphic design work.”
“Could I take a look around the studio?”
“Of course. Christine can show you.”
“If possible, I’d rather poke around when Ms. Parnell is out. I’m not her favorite person.”
“Antagonize Jared and you have made an enemy of Chris, I’m ‘fraid.” He buried his head in his hands. “What a mess. I can take you up to the studio tomorrow afternoon before dinner if you like. Say about five thirty? People will have probably cleared out by then.”
I thanked him and he rose, giving me a wry smile. “So now you think we’ve got two kooks running around?”
“Hard to say. What about the other acts of vandalism?”
“The thefts have been going on for about a year. I’m not sure they’re related to the letters or the vandalism, though.”
“What thefts?”
“Science equipment mostly, some of it brand-new, not even unpacked. We lost six very expensive microscopes last winter, and some other equipment. We’ve had various suspects, townies who hang around campus regularly. They’ve taken small stuff, cell phones and things they can grab, but not costly items like the science equipment. We’ve been watching them, but so far haven’t been able to catch ‘em. That’s why we lock everything up, even during the day.”
“Tell me about the vandalism.”
“Let’s see, Brooke’s tires were slashed. In broad daylight. And a painting in Alumni Hall was defaced. If you come to Morning Assembly you’ll notice a space.”
“What was the painting?”
“Me, I’m afraid. Commissioned by the Board to commemorate my tenth year as Head. We’ve told people it’s out to be cleaned, but the reality is that someone used me for darts practice.”
“Oh, Dinny.”
He gave me a wry smile, rising wearily. “I’ve been doing this nearly twenty years, Ricky. My skin’s pretty thick.”
I followed him to the door. He reminded me of a neglected child and I was tempted to reach up and pat his forehead. Professionalism and sanity prevailed, however, and I said a businesslike “Good night” before closing the door behind him.
CHAPTER 27
Carolyn Santos’s alarm woke me at five forty-five in the morning, my best night’s sleep since leaving home. The dorm could have burned down around me and I would have slept on. I wondered what the she-devils upstairs had been up to while I was in dreamland. Livie had drawn me a map showing a wooded trail that circled around a small lake at the far end of the school property. After some yoga stretches, I jogged across campus and headed into the woods. When I returned to my room, it was quarter of seven and the girls were stirring. Breakfast was at seven thirty, the dorm a beehive of activity. I showered quickly, in order to be seated in the dining room by seven thirty, before my charges arrived.
A long buffet table at one end of the dining room held the day’s offerings. I grabbed a box of Cheerios, a bowl and spoon and poured a small glass of orange juice and took them to a table by the window. Then I sat back, observing as students and faculty in various states of consciousness trickled in. Judith Freeman waved from across the room, then sat with her lacrosse players. As I returned to the buffet table for a carton of milk, Rafe Langdon strolled up. “Ms. Steele, isn’t it?” His saucy look didn’t seem
quite proper for a student-housemother interaction, but I decided to use it to my advantage.
“Who’s asking?”
“I’m Rafe. I hear you’ve been asking about me.”
“Oh?”
“Livie’s a double agent. Better watch out.”
“Ricky,” I said, extending my hand. He gripped it firmly, dark brown eyes studying me. He was in shorts, a faded blue work shirt, and flip-flops, his attire a trifle too casual, in my opinion.
Perhaps noticing my critical gaze, he said, “Seniors get to dress down for the last month, and I’m taking full advantage since I’ll be living in uniform for the next nine years.”
“So I hear. Congratulations. What made you choose the academy?”
He shrugged. “I like boats and I want to study marine science. It’s one of the best schools in the country for that.”
“What about serving your country?”
“Yeah, that, too.”
“I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me where I can find Missy Franklin?” No sense beating around the bush.
“Not a clue.”
“That’s not what I hear.”
“Can’t trust gossip, Ricky.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oops, Ms. Steele. Sorry.”
I’ll just bet you are. “Want to join me?”
“Thanks, but I’m with friends. See you around.”
“Count on it.”
I was soon joined by four juniors from Round House, including Livie and a couple of girls who lived in Friends Hall. After acknowledging my presence, they talked among themselves as I manned my clipboard, checking attendance, all the while keeping up with my surveillance of Rafe and Missy’s friends.
As usual, Maisie, Diana and Kathy sat together, thick as thieves. I noticed they each made multiple trips to the buffet for bagels, muffins and breads. Despite the quantities of food brought to the table, none of them appeared to be eating. When they rose to leave, each held a bulging napkin of contraband food. Keeping a safe distance, I sidled out behind them. They were headed for the dorm, so I circled round the buildings, running through backyards to reach Round House first. As I walked casually across the front yard of a neighboring house, I spied the group halfway down the hill, heading toward the Round House backyard. I slipped around to the front door and raced to the kitchen at the back of the dorm. Careful to stay out of sight, I peeked out the back window.
Prepped to Kill Page 13
