by Helen Gray
Toni met his steely gaze without flinching. “Do you have to ask? Of course I’ll keep anything you tell me to myself.”
He nodded. “The last time anyone saw the victims was at the end of classes Monday. They weren’t found until Friday morning.”
She absorbed that, running over the timeline in her mind.
“The medical examiner thinks they were killed that evening.”
She considered telling him she had talked to the caretaker who had found the bodies, but she wasn’t sure she should broach that just yet.
Before she could think how to keep him talking, he glanced at his watch and said, “We have to go.”
When he and the deputy were gone, Ken took his own notes and went back inside the school to write up an incident report—and Toni guessed to increase parking lot security.
She gave Zoe and Melody each a visual inspection. "Should I call your parents or take you to an emergency room to be checked?”
“No,” came from the girls simultaneously.
“We’re okay,” Zoe insisted, rubbing her arm.
"I'm driving, and my arms are fine," Melody insisted.
They headed to the small blue Ford Fusion Melody’s dad had given her for her seventeenth birthday.
Chapter 4
Fighting a pounding headache, Toni drove home. When she pulled into the garage, she slumped in the seat and laid her head forward on the steering wheel.
“Are you hurt, Mom?”
At Gabe’s worried question, she started to shake her head, but stopped when it hurt. “No, I just have a headache.”
“That goon hit you when you jumped him, didn’t he?”
“Uh, huh,” she murmured.
“But you scared him away,” Garrett spoke up in quiet approval.
There was a moment of silence. Then Gabe spoke again. “If you want to take some aspirin and go to bed, I can call and order pizzas.”
Yes, Gabe could certainly do that. His phone skills were legendary. Toni raised her head and eased it back against the head rest. “Let me rest a bit, and then I’ll see if I feel like cooking. If I don’t, you can call.”
“I want a Mexican pizza,” Garrett whispered to his older brother loud enough that Toni could hear him.
She opened the door and eased from beneath the wheel. The boys quietly followed her inside, apparently keeping a protective eye on her.
Toni dropped her purse and satchel on the kitchen counter and pulled a glass from the cabinet overhead. She filled it with water and downed a pair of Tylenol capsules.
“You boys do your homework,” she said, heading down the hallway. She entered her and Kyle’s bedroom, crawled onto the bed, and closed her eyes.
Drug induced, Toni slept soundly, she wasn’t sure how long. But then she began to toss and turn, troubled by visions of Zoe and Melody attending their friend’s funeral without their parents.
When she finally opened her eyes, she lay still for several moments, trying to clear her head. Suddenly she was struck by the quiet. It was too quiet. She rolled over, staggered to her feet, and walked down the hall.
The boys were not in their room—or anywhere in the house. Coming fully awake, Toni grabbed her cell phone from her purse and hurried out the back door.
And froze when she spotted them.
Both boys were in the apple tree next to the storage shed, making their way along a limb and onto the roof. She started to yell at them, but scotched the impulse for fear of scaring them. Visions of them falling held her motionless.
Toni waited, fists clenched, until both were safely onto the roof. Then she yelled. “You boys come down from there.”
Both heads whipped around, startled expressions staring down at her. Then, before Toni realized what they meant to do, they scooted to the edge of the roof, dangled their legs over it, and jumped.
In utter panic, she ran down the porch steps and across the yard to where they lay sprawled on the ground. She lunged forward and landed on her knees beside them.
Gabe opened his eyes and gazed up at her. Then he grinned. “That was great,” he practically crowed, pushing to a sitting position, his wool hat partially covering one eye.
“You could have been hurt,” she said, struggling for calm.
Garrett sat up also, a wide grin spread across his small face. “Naw. We’ve done it before and know how to land. It’s fun.”
Toni’s shoulders stiffened, and she went into her angry mother mode. “Don’t you ever do that again. You could get seriously hurt. You could slip, or land wrong, or …”
She grabbed both of them and pulled them to her. “Please, just don’t do it again,” she pleaded. “You scared the life out of me.”
They let her hug them, but only for a few moments. Then they eased back, contrition in both their faces.
“You mean we have to climb back down the tree?” Garrett asked, his eyes big, dark orbs.
Toni wanted to tell them to not climb up—or down—the tree. But reality surfaced, reminding her that boys were going to do a certain amount of climbing. Doing it here in their apple tree was surely better than climbing bigger trees beyond her surveillance.
“Yes,” she said softly.
Gabe scooted back on his haunches and peered up at her, his brow wrinkled in solemn contemplation. “Okay, we don’t want to scare you to death. We need you around here to feed and clothe us.” A grin replaced the serious look. “Speaking of food, Dad’s real late, and you were sleeping, so I went ahead and ordered the pizzas.”
“Oh, you scamps,” she snorted, reaching for them again. As she did, her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and answered without looking at the caller ID. “Hello.”
“Toni?”
The sound of Kyle’s voice brought her to attention. She glanced at her watch—and experienced a frisson of alarm. He should have been home an hour ago.
“You’re late. What’s wrong?”
“I’m stranded in Michigan. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but I definitely won’t be home tonight.” Voices echoed in the background.
“What happened?” Her head was pain free now, but her thinking was still a bit fuzzy from the sedated sleep.
“I’ll explain when I get home.” He sounded tired.
If he was tired and dealing with plane trouble, he didn’t need to hear about her after-school parking lot encounter. Toni recalled that he had been scheduled to fly a party up north. “Will you contact me again when you know more?”
“Of course. Gotta go.”
Toni hoped the problem, whatever it was, wouldn’t be too expensive. “Dad won’t be home tonight. He’s stranded,” she explained briefly to the boys.
Garrett grinned. “I guess we’ll have to eat his pizza.”
“Oh, go on inside,” she ordered, chuckling in spite of herself.
“Are you gonna find the goons who attacked those girls?” Gabe asked minutes later as they sat at the dining table. A slice of pepperoni pizza still occupied his plate.
“And killed their friends,” Garrett added. “Are you gonna help catch who did it?”
“I can’t get involved.” Toni didn’t bother to inform them that only one of the victims was a friend. Her mind spun. Zoe and Melody still saw some of their friends from the Brownville School, and were extremely upset about Shelby’s death. Could the attack on them be related to what had happened to Shelby?
“But the killers tried to hurt you,” Gabe pointed out.
“Only because I interfered when they tried to hurt my students.”
“So that makes you involved,” Garrett said matter-of-factly.
Did it? She stared at the ten-year-old’s earnest expression.
Maybe he was right. Zoe and Melody were her students, innocent of any wrongdoing, and those “goons” had deliberately tried to hurt them. And her.
Or worse.
It looked like, whether she wanted to be or not, she was already involved. As soon as they finished eating, she would call her prin
cipal and ask him to get a sub for her afternoon classes tomorrow so she could attend that funeral. She explained her plans to the boys and that she would be back in time to pick them up after school.
*
During Toni's first class the next morning, the secretary called from the office and informed her that Chief Freeman wanted her to come by his office right after school. Without reminding Pam that she would be leaving at noon, Toni decided she could make it back to town after the funeral, pick up the boys, and be at the police station by the time school dismissed. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, she ate her sandwich, donned her coat, and headed to the parking lot.
Minutes later she pulled into the church parking lot that was already so full of cars that she had to park in a corner at the far end. She locked the van, walked across the lot to the church, and entered a full sanctuary. The rear section was packed with teenagers. Toni noted Zoe and Melody at the far end of a pew, next to the wall. She made brief eye contact with them, just enough to let them know she was there for them, and found a seat in another section.
The sense of grief pervading the church was deep and heartrending. A woman who had to be Shelby’s mother sat on the front pew. A small woman, she sat rigid, staring straight ahead. It tore at Toni’s heart seeing that poor mother’s anguish.
The minister spoke of Shelby’s life and the love her family and friends had for her, without reference to the manner of her death. He offered words of comfort in the sure knowledge that Shelby now resided in heaven, and gave the congregation assurance that all who put their lives and trust in the Heavenly Father could join her there someday.
“Death can come unexpected. I hope everyone is ready for it,” he said in conclusion.
After the service, Toni considered going directly back to the school now, even though it was a bit early to pick up the boys, but instead climbed back into the van and merged into the line of vehicles heading to the cemetery. It was a short drive.
At the beginning of the graveside service, Zoe and Melody approached and stood silently beside her, back a distance from the mourners gathered under a large canopy that covered the grave site.
Glancing down, Toni saw Zoe’s gloved hand tremble, and realized that they were scared as well as grieving. This had been a grim ordeal for them, but they had needed to pay their respects to their friend. The experience would leave a mark on them.
Toni stepped between the girls and placed an arm over a shoulder of each one.
When the brief service ended, the girls walked with Toni back to the line of cars. Toni paused, thinking they would part ways there. But they didn’t.
"May we talk to you, Mrs. Donovan?" Melody asked.
"Sure. Why don't we go get in my van, and I'll start the heater. I’m parked where I won’t block others from leaving."
They nodded and accompanied her.
With her purse strap hooked over her shoulder and bundled up in her thick navy coat, Toni shivered and pressed the remote on her key ring to open the van door.
Both girls squeezed into the front passenger seat near the heater while Toni slid behind the wheel and started the motor. Then she turned to face them. "What's on your minds?"
Melody sniffled. "The police chief called our parents and told us to come to the station and talk to him after the funeral today. Will you come with us?"
"You're the one person at school who understands," Zoe added.
"That's where I'm headed as soon as I pick up my boys from school," Toni said, taken by surprise. "He called the school secretary this morning and left word for me to come by after school."
The lines of tension in both girls’ faces eased. "Good," Zoe said. "Our mothers will be there, but they don't understand school things like you do."
"The funeral was so bad for Shelby's mom," Melody said. "She sat there in that service like a zombie. Why would God let something like this happen to her? To anyone?"
"I don't know," Toni admitted, not knowing how to comfort them. Their grief tore at her heart. "Bad things are never easy to understand."
"I'm scared," Zoe admitted. "I always thought death was for old people. But it can happen to anyone, any time. I don't know how you can ever be ready for that."
Toni inhaled sharply. She was a Christian, but she didn't feel ready to face the finality of death. Or handle this conversation. But there were questions she had to ask.
She looked from one girl to the other. “Do either of you have any idea who would have killed your friend?”
Their expressions turned sorrowful at the reminder, but then became introspective. “Well,” Zoe said slowly. “The last time I talked to her, Shelby said Dione Gorski accused her of saying something bad about her. They had a fight and ended up in detention for it.”
“And Britney Thomas jumped her,” Melody said when Zoe finished speaking. “Britney had cheated on a history test and blamed Shelby for ratting her out.”
Toni considered the teenage battles. It seemed that there were rivalries in everything they did, and some of them resulted in physical conflict. But not murder.
Zoe’s expression, that had already been thoughtful, suddenly went ashen white.
“What have you thought of now?” Toni asked.
The girl wet her lips with her tongue and swallowed. “Shelby was worried about Todd Wilkins.”
“She used to like him,” Melody interjected.
The name bounced off Toni's brain. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Then she recalled his name being mentioned in the chat with her boy trio. "What kind of a guy is he?"
"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.
"Things like is he a loner, or does he participate in extracurricular activities?"
Her eyes brightened. "He's a track runner and editor of the school newspaper."
"He lives with his parents and sister and hangs out with the good guys," Melody added, her tone putting quotes around the term good. "Shelby said she was afraid he was getting into drugs, but she was influenced by Brant's thinking. I think Todd was trying to find out information for a news story. He has ambitions about working for a big publication."
Toni was getting mixed messages about this kid. "Do you know anything about a fight between him and Brant?"
The girls exchanged furtive glances. Then Zoe spoke. "It sounds like you already know the answer."
"I heard they had a run-in. Do you know if it was just a scuffle, or something worse?"
"Worse," she admitted. "Todd tore into Brant one day after school."
"It didn't happen on school grounds," Melody explained. "Todd may have called Brant and said to meet him, but I'm not sure. Brant was downtown, and the fight happened near Todd's dad's business."
The pawn shop. Where guns were sold. Toni didn't verbalize that. "Were threats made?"
"For some reason Todd was really hot," Zoe said. "Once the fight started, they both said some bad things, like they meant to bash in the other's head."
"But they didn't mean it," Melody defended. "Todd has never been in trouble before. He was just real mad. Brant must have done something really mean to make him that mad."
"Todd's dad came out and stopped the fight," Zoe said. "But that was months ago. If Todd meant to hurt Brant, he would have done it back then, not wait until now."
"No matter how mad he was, Todd wouldn't have killed him," Melody added in sharp defense, blinking back tears.
Toni wanted to reassure them, but didn’t know how. Such tragedy was beyond anything she could fix or counsel them about adequately. "Do either of you have a pastor?"
They both shook their heads. "We used to go to church some when I was little,” Melody said. “But now Mom works two jobs, and Sunday is the only day she can rest."
"My parents say they're too busy for church," Zoe said.
Wow. God was doing a number on her. Toni looked from one girl to the other. "If you want, and it's all right with your parents, I'll be happy to pick you up and take you to church with me and my family. I'm sur
e my pastor would be happy to talk with you."
They exchanged glances again, as if neither wanted to make a decision alone. "I'll go if Zoe will," Melody said. "I'm sure it'll be all right with Mom."
Zoe nodded and opened the van door. "My folks won't care. We better get down to the police station. Thanks, Mrs. Donovan, for being here for us."
*
Toni drove to the school, picked up the boys, and continued on downtown.
"Gabe and Garrett can keep me company," a deputy said when they entered the police station, motioning her on back to Buck’s private office. Inside, Zoe and Melody sat next to their mothers, all of them still wearing their coats. Toni recognized Mrs. Haynes and Mrs. Cahill from meeting them at parent-teacher conferences back in the fall. The girls darted apprehensive looks at Toni.
From behind his desk Buck motioned at the remaining empty chair. "Have a seat. Since you have the girls in class and were involved when they were attacked, I thought your input might be helpful. The girls are not in trouble, but I still felt it would be best for their mothers to be present while I question them."
Toni understood. You couldn't be too careful when dealing with juveniles.
He directed his first question to the girls. "Do either of you know anyone who might have wanted to hurt your friend Shelby?"
They shook their heads, their faces bleak at the reminder.
"Do you think there's any possibility that whoever killed your friend thinks you can identify him or her?"
"We don't know who did it. Why would someone think we do?" Zoe snapped, answering the question with a question. She bit her lip to stop its trembling.
Buck leaned forward, his eyes raking over them. "That's what I'm asking. When was the last time you saw Shelby?"
The girls exchanged glances.
Melody brushed at her eyes. "I guess it was weekend before last. We went to a movie with her and another friend."
"And you never saw her after that?"
She shook her head. "We were supposed to, but she didn't come."
