Rivaled in Murder

by Helen Gray

  Toni didn’t dare ask how expensive this little adventure had been. All that mattered right now was that Kyle was home safe.

  *

  Friday morning Toni woke feeling groggy. She groaned and crawled out of bed. Kyle, bless his heart, was already up and had breakfast started. She shuffled into the kitchen to help him.

  Twenty minutes later he left for the airport, and she and the boys headed to school. Toni was on her way to her classroom when Pam called to her from the office doorway. She halted in the hallway.

  Pam walked out to where stood. “The Brownville principal called a couple of minutes ago and asked for you. I told him you weren’t here yet, but that you would be free third hour. He said he’ll call back then.”

  Toni thanked the secretary and hurried on to her room.

  When third hour arrived, she stayed at her desk rather than go get a Coke. Five minutes later, the phone rang.

  “I talked to Dione at the end of the day yesterday,” the man began as soon as she answered. “She has a surly attitude and denies any knowledge of what happened to Brant and Shelby. I wasn’t able to connect with Britney before the end of the day, and she’s absent today.”

  Toni swallowed her disappointment. “I suppose it’s what I expected, but I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.”

  “I wish I could have been more helpful. I’ve heard about your involvement in a couple of cases over there. If I learn anything helpful from Britney when she returns to school, I’ll call you. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do, and I welcome any information you might share with me.”

  Toni thanked him, hung up, and dashed for the Coke machine.

  She had hardly resettled at her desk when the librarian came bustling into her room, a folded newspaper clutched in front of her chest. The short, curly mop of gray hair on her head reminded Toni of a beanie. Loretta marched in her odd loping way to Toni’s desk and opened the paper.

  Toni took another quick swig of Coke and put it down. “What’s up?”

  The somewhat portly woman stopped flipping the pages of the paper at a particular one and spread it open on the desk. It was the police reports, with accounts of arrests accompanied by photos. She pointed at one of the pictures.

  “This guy was arrested for cooking meth, and his last name is Gorman,” she said, as if lecturing a student. “I think he’s a cousin to that boy who was killed over in Brownville. Since that kid ended up dead, I’m wondering if he was involved with his cousin’s business, like selling it at the school.”

  Toni studied the picture. Scruffy beard. Long stringy hair. Deep set eyes that struck her as empty. She looked back up at Loretta. “I have no idea, but it might be worth the time to chat with him. I’ll read this page more thoroughly when I get home.”

  Loretta’s perpetually down-turned mouth lifted just a bit. “You’re good at flushing out information for the police. Why don’t you go to work for them and stop wrestling teenagers all the time?”

  Why don’t you do something else if you don’t like teenagers, Toni thought silently. Aloud she said, “That’s not my calling. It would mean carrying a gun, dealing with drug dealers, bar fights, shoplifters, domestic disturbances, and no telling what other unpleasant matters.”

  Loretta’s face took on a perplexed look, as if she had never considered that non-teaching jobs had their own sets of problems.

  “I guess you’re right,” she allowed. “Will you let me know what you find out about this guy?” She jabbed a finger at the picture again. She had a penchant for gossip and was apparently intrigued by this story.

  “I may not be able to get access to him,” Toni pointed out, evading a promise. “I don’t know the Brownville police force personally.”

  “Oh, I bet they’ll let you see him,” the woman said quickly. “When they hear your name, they’ll welcome you. In fact, I bet they’ll be happy to learn of your interest, and ask you to get whatever information you can from him and share it with them.”

  “I doubt that,” Toni countered, picking up her Coke. It was flattering that Loretta seemed to have developed a liking for her since her involvement in those local cases, but hard to grasp.

  “Well, I better get back to my cave.” Loretta turned and loped away,

  With most of her free period now gone, Toni finished her Coke, tucked her stack of papers in a desk drawer, and prepared for fourth hour.

  As soon as that class ended, John arrived with his lunch and soda. They were just starting to eat when the door opened, and the counselor peeked inside.

  “Do you mind if I join you?” Kelly asked, raising a hand with a brown bag dangling from it. I’ve brought my lunch.”

  Toni rolled her chair over to one side and pulled another one to the end of her desk. “We’d love the company.”

  Kelly entered and slid onto the chair. She pushed strands of shoulder length auburn hair behind her ears. “Thanks. I have a full schedule today, but I wanted to squeeze in a chat with you.” Her gaze included both of them.

  “Because we’re such scintillating company?” John asked, tongue in cheek.

  “Of course.” She pulled a sandwich and juice drink from the brown bag and unwrapped the sandwich. She ate a bite, and then spoke again. “I had an interesting visit with Tanya Maxwell, the Brownville counselor, this morning before the day turned hectic.”

  When she took another bite, Toni and John did the same. Teachers ate rather inelegantly because of their short lunch breaks and extra duties. She knew Kelly would get to whatever was on her mind in due time.

  “Tanya says Zoe and Melody were above average students academically while at Brownville, and they didn’t get into any trouble,” she continued after a couple more bites. “They had a little foursome of friends that tended to be pretty solid. The other two girls, Shelby and Fiona, were in the same grade, one behind Zoe and Melody.”

  Kelly broke off again and finished the last of her sandwich. Toni knew there had to be more on her mind than background they already, at least partially, knew. John gave Toni a look that said he understood.

  When they had all disposed of their trash, Kelly continued. “Tanya says Shelby liked sports and was an excellent volleyball player, an amazingly powerful server for her size. Melody preferred art, and Fiona excelled at gymnastics. Zoe loved computers. But they all four loved summer league softball, probably because they could all four participate together.”

  Now her face turned somber, and her speech slowed. “That ended when Zoe, and then Melody, moved and transferred to our school. Tanya says she and the principal showed the police to Shelby’s locker and watched them remove her belongings. Besides her books and an extra pair of gloves, they found a spiral bound notebook. Only certain people are privy to this information,” she added, aiming a meaningful look at them. “But I know you two will dig up information on your own, and you never know what might connect.”

  In other words, she trusted them not only with the information, but the source. Toni held her breath, waiting to hear if the notebook had provided any clues to the girl’s killer.

  Kelly wiped her hands with a napkin. “At the top of each page was a student's name. And below the names were comments—not nice ones—written in different handwritings. Some of them weren't too bad, but others were downright spiteful and cruel."

  Toni hated what she was hearing. "Why did Shelby have such a book?"

  Kelly shrugged. "We can't know for sure, but my guess is it had been passed to her so she could add comments about someone. There are no signatures, but it doesn't look like the final comments on any student matches a sample we located of Shelby’s handwriting."

  "So she hadn't had time to write in it and pass it to another student."

  Kelly's expression turned pensive. "I remember hearing my grandmother tell how when she was in school the kids would pass around little books they called slam books. She said they would write mean notes under the names of students."

  "It sounds like someone el
se must have heard a similar story and decided to resurrect the practice," John theorized.

  "One of the pages didn't have a regular name like the others,” Kelly continued. “It just said Geek. And the comments were even worse.” She shook her head. “It's hard to believe how cruel students can be to one another."

  "What kind of things were said about the geek?" Toni asked.

  "It’s hard to repeat them. One said she would do anything boys asked of her. Another asked if she enjoyed hearing from her secret email pal."

  Toni frowned. "What do you mean?"

  Kelly sighed. "I think it means someone sent mean email messages to her from a dummy account, and they were rubbing it in."

  "There were no signatures on anything, right?"

  Kelly's lips formed a tight line. "Right. The names being ridiculed on the pages were all underclassmen. So I'm inclined to think this book was started by upperclassmen as a way to make digs at the younger ones."

  Toni's blood boiled. Freshmen did watch the upperclassmen, but they weren’t all so impressionable and ready to emulate cruelty. She knew, however, that it didn’t take but one or two followers to heighten the power of those who saw themselves as rulers in their little kingdom.

  "If that's true, an underclassman like Shelby shouldn't have had the book. So Brant must have given it to her. Or she snitched it from him so she could get in on the fun."

  Kelly nodded. "I think you're right."

  Toni glanced at her watch as another thought occurred to her. “What about Brant’s locker? Did they find anything of interest in it?”

  “Only a collection of pictures taped to the inside of the door. They were of movie stars and famous singers, not of girls he dated.”

  “I suspect those girls would probably be disappointed,” Toni quipped dryly.

  The bell rang, bringing an end to their conversation. Kelly and John left, and Toni went to stand by the doorway as students entered, her mind churning.

  Who is the geek?

  *

  When Zoe and Melody arrived for class sixth hour, they wore solemn faces.

  "Did you give your computers to Buck?" Toni asked softly as they walked silently past her into the room. They nodded and continued to their desks. During class they participated, but in a detached way, as if their minds were elsewhere.

  When the dismissal bell rang, the two girls lingered at the back of the room while the rest of the students left. Then they edged up to where Toni stood at the door. She slipped her foot back into an orange pump that matched the orange blouse she wore with a khaki pantsuit. She had removed it to wiggle her toes.

  "A bunch of kids are going to have a vigil tonight out by the spot where …where it happened. We …” Zoe faltered.

  Toni heard an appeal in the statement. It would be another emotional strain on them, and possibly a safety hazard, but they wanted to attend in memory of their friend. She understood. “You want to go for Shelby, but you’re afraid.”

  They both nodded.

  "Our parents can’t go,” Melody explained. “And they don’t want us to go alone. We feel we should go, even though we know it’s too cold to stay out there very long.”

  They had a dilemma. “What time is it supposed to start?”

  “About five-thirty.”

  Toni thought fast. Kyle should be home about five. If she called him and explained, he could watch the boys and feed them. Then she and he could eat when she got back home. “Would you like me to take you?”

  “Yes, please,” Zoe said, moving toward her. Toni opened her arms.

  “Thank you,” Melody said after both had been hugged. “You’ve been so good to us. We love you.” She flushed as she said it.

  “That’s right,” Zoe seconded, her eyes glistening. “I’m so glad we took this class and got to know you.”

  “I care about both of you,” Toni said as seventh hour students began to file into the room. “Don’t be late for your next class.”

  *

  The first stars were just peeking from the murky depths of the clouds overhead as Toni steered off the highway onto a small side road. Inside the van it was toasty warm. Kyle sat in the front passenger seat beside her. To her surprise, he had offered to accompany them, and they had left the boys with John and Jenny. She suspected he had wanted to meet the two girls he had been hearing so much about, as well as to help her guard them.

  The girls sat behind them, silent except for an occasional sniffle.

  Toni felt an urge to hold and comfort them from this painful excursion, but they needed to grieve with their friends. It would be another difficult experience, but maybe it would bring a bit of closure to visit the place where their young friend’s life had been taken. Toni breathed a silent prayer for God to comfort them.

  Within a short distance they spotted cars parked along both sides of the road. Toni slowed and pulled in behind the last one on the right. She shut down the engine and turned in the seat to face the girls.

  “If you’ll stay where we can see you and beam a flashlight back at us every five minutes, my husband and I will stay here and let you have some privacy with your friends.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Donovan.” Zoe opened the door, and Melody followed her. Carrying long-handled flashlights and bunches of artificial flowers, they hugged their heavy coats around them and headed up the road to where mourners huddled in clusters around a small clearing.

  “I think they’ll be all right.” Kyle’s voice sounded more hopeful than confident. “The pair who attacked them went to great pains to hide their identity. They won’t try anything around a crowd like this.”

  “They’re also armed this time,” Toni pointed out. “Those flashlights could put an attacker down.”

  He stared out through the windshield. “Have you developed any theories about who could have come in here and murdered those two young people?”

  Toni studied their surroundings in the nearly total dark. “Nothing solid. This looks like a good, isolated place for a lover’s lane.”

  A long finger tapped on the door handle beside him. “I agree. Those girls aren’t safe here.”

  “That’s why we’re present. What I can’t figure out is why they’re being targeted. They have to know something that identifies the killer.”

  “Which means the only way to protect them is to find that killer.”

  They sat in silence, but Toni’s mind clamored and spun, examining everything she knew, or wondered, about the case.

  Suddenly a beam of light glanced off the windshield.

  Kyle heaved an audible sigh of relief at the signal.

  Toni did likewise. “I hate it that the girls no longer feel safe. They’ve lost their sense of security. I’m at a loss to understand such violence.”

  They both stared at the sight of mourners tramping along the shoulders of the road in a silent parade, holding candles. They mingled, stopping to embrace one another.

  Minutes later Zoe and Melody came loping back to the van and hopped in the back seat. They hugged their arms around themselves, their teeth chattering.

  Toni turned in the seat. “Are you ready to leave?”

  They nodded.

  “Everybody’s just visiting now,” Zoe said. “They’re getting ready to leave. It’s too cold to stay out there any longer.”

  Toni started the engine. “Do you think anyone in that group could have killed your friend?"

  Melody rubbed her forearms briskly. "I don't know. This wasn’t exactly a party. And we’re not really part of them anymore. I had an eerie feeling while we were out there. But it could have just been because of the cold—and the place."

  Toni understood, but she wished she had more insight. “Is there a way I could meet members of this group? Is there anything going on where a large gathering of them would be present?”

  Both girls considered for a moment.

  “This week’s basketball tournament is being hosted at their school,” Melody said after several moments. She stopp
ed rubbing her arms as the heat in the van began to reach them.

  Toni faced Kyle. “Would you like to attend a game one night?”

  He grimaced. “I’d love to, but my schedule is jammed next week. I’ll be gone Monday night, and I’ll probably be late every night the rest of the week. I hope you’re not planning to meddle in police business,” he added.

  “No, I’m only keeping an eye on the girls.”

  After dropping Zoe and Melody at the school parking lot where they had left Melody’s car, Toni pulled her phone from her purse and gave Pam a quick call before driving away. “Are you planning to go to the tournament next week at Brownville?" The secretary’s son played on the Clearmount team, and Pam never missed a game if she could help it.

  "Of course. Roger's playing."

  "We play Brownville Monday night. Would you like to ride with me?"

  "Sure. Roger will go on the bus, and my husband is out of town all next week for a conference."

  "Good. We'll get pizza after school and leave as soon as we finish eating. My folks will jump at a chance to keep the boys for an evening." She drove toward her parents’ home to pick up the boys from that evening with them.

  As Toni pulled into the garage at home, her cell phone rang. She put the van in Park and checked the ID. It was Buck.

  "Yes?" She motioned for Kyle and the boys to go on inside.

  "I thought you probably deserve an update. The detectives broadened their search of the crime scene and found some more tire prints, but they’re not real helpful since there were several. There had been other cars in and out of that lover’s lane, and even though they were more protected by the trees, the tread marks were too faint for prints. So we can’t be sure what prints connect to the car of the killer, or when they were made. The medical examiner recovered bullets from the bodies that match the casings found at the scene. The murder weapon was a .22. The boy had been shot once in the neck and three times in the chest. The girl took one in the chest and one in the shoulder.”