Dying to Teach (13 page)

“Seems funny she didn’t want you to write back. If you were friends, that is.”

“Detective, I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. Gwen and I weren’t friends, just co-workers. She and Randy spent all their time together. I don’t think either of them took time to make friends with anybody else. While we worked we talked. You know?”

“I don’t suppose you kept any of those letters.”

“No, sorry.”

“You say they came to the office together when Gwen gave her notice?”

“Stood not two feet in front of my desk, holding hands like always. She said they were getting an annulment and she was transferring out west.”

“How did each of them act at this time?”

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Did you get the idea Gwen’s announcement was in any way coerced?”

“Heavens no.”

“So, Randy’s demeanor was exactly as usual? He wasn’t nervous, angry, excited?”

“Oh, I see what you’re saying. No, he seemed like always, except serious, of course, since this was a serious announcement.”

“Randy wasn’t usually serious?”

Linda laughed. “He could be quite the comedian sometimes. Loved telling jokes. You know, just enjoying life.”

“Did either of them have roommates? Can you think of anybody else I might talk to?”

“Gwen’s freshman roommate was Deb somebody. Let me think a second…” And she did. Jarvis watched six seconds tick off the big wall clock. “Yes, I’ve got it. Her last name was Fingerman. But she’s married now. Last thing I heard she had a couple of sons. She stayed right here in town after graduation. She married someone who didn’t go to school here—Jason Ellis. I hear he’s a stockbroker. As far as Randy’s roommates…I didn’t know any of them. And of course, he and Gwen moved in together after they were married.”

“Did Gwen write anything specific in her letters? Anything that might give an idea of how she was doing? What I’m wondering is if she moved in with family or something like that.”

“Well, she said she was moving to be with family but she never said anything like
you should see what my sister did today.
You know what I mean?”

“Sure. What was your general opinion of her situation?”

“If it’d been the forties or fifties I’d thought she was pregnant and ran away to have the child. But, she was happily married, so if there was a problem they would’ve worked it out together, right?”

“Right.”

“Even so, my general impression said it was nothing like that.”

Jarvis felt the conversation winding down and searched his brain for more questions. It wasn’t often you got such a cooperative witness. “I assume Randy graduated.”

“Yes, the following spring. That would make it 1995, with a degree in elementary education.”

He scribbled information on a notepad. “Did he get a job right away?”

“Yes, in upstate Calif—ooh, I wonder if he and Gwen got together after that.”

“Be good if you could recall some of the towns Gwen’s letters came from.”

She thought a while longer but came up with nothing.

Jarvis could think of nothing else to ask. “I thank you immensely for all your help.”

“I hope it helps find her killer.”

So do I, Jarvis thought as he hung up.

The office door opened and the captain stepped into the small windowless room that was resembled a closet. Irish Red launched herself from under the desk and ran over to wiggle around the tall man. Jarvis smiled. She really knew who to kiss up to.

“Didn’t think you were coming in today.”

“Change of plans.”

“What’re you working on?”

“That murder case down in Carlson. And before you remind me it’s not our jurisdiction, I’ll remind you that—”

“I know, that’s where Angie is.” He leaned on the edge of Jarvis’ desk, one hand fondling the pup who’d put her front paws up on his knee. The captain laughed. “She’s been in that school for two days and hasn’t solved the case yet? You’d better call the doctor and get her a checkup. There’s got to be something seriously wrong.”

“Very funny. Actually, she’s determined
not
to work on this one.”

Jarvis laughed along with his captain but knew the real reason Angelina hesitated to build the clue puzzle. Though she hadn’t been physically injured in the accident a month ago, her mental scarring was more severe than his two-inch ass crater. He wasn’t a psychologist but knew there was some mega-conflict going on in her head. Solving puzzles wasn’t something she did to pass time or to gain notoriety. An uncontrollable force inside her pushed her to assemble pieces. It was as natural as eating and sleeping. Angelina Deacon
had
to fix things.

She laughed recently saying how weird it was that this
affliction
hadn’t hit till she was in her fifties, but he pointed out that she’d always been that way. That was why she’d become a nurse. It just wasn’t till her fifties when that her
need
transferred to crime solving.

What would happen now? Would she continue to stifle this urge? Maybe she’d go back to work in the hospital. All he knew for sure was, she couldn’t continue holding things inside.

FOURTEEN

“Evan, will you take me home?”

“It’s almost time for school.”

“I don’t think I’m going today.”

“You have to, we have a test in calculus.”

He was right. She had to go to school, but the reason had nothing to do with calculus. Anyway, she needed to go home a while first. Needed a quiet place to think. “We still have an hour.”

Evan did as she asked, pulling up in front of her house. “I’ll pick you up at 7:15.”

Kiana’s mother was in the kitchen. She waved the note as Kiana came in. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were up to something sneaky.”

With a sigh, Kiana dropped into a chair. “It’s nothing like you’re thinking. Evan and I are trying to find out who killed Gw—Ms. Forest.” Seeing her mother’s shocked expression she hurried to add, “I know it’s dangerous but…there’s nothing you can do to talk me out of it.”

Now it was her mother’s turn to sigh. She pulled out a neighboring chair and sat. She took Kiana’s hands in hers. “I know what a determined young girl you are. Usually I applaud that. I also know the drive you feel to avenge your teacher’s senseless death.” She gave a small laugh. “I’ve never in your life been able to talk you out of something you’ve resolved to do. So, I won’t try. I’ll pray I taught you to be careful and sensible and then I’ll ask you to promise one thing, to keep me apprised of what you do, where you go.”

In light of all the things she could’ve said, it seemed a fair request. Kiana told her mother about going to the school, leaving out the part about luring Mr. Chalmers from his home. They shared a laugh over the neon green thong.

“Mom, do you know if Mr. Chalmers was ever married?”

“No. I don’t know anything about him except what they printed in this morning’s paper.” She pushed the paper across the table for Kiana to read. Nothing interesting about him at all. But she could imagine the uproar it would create at school now that the news was out. She stood up. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Kiana’s mother stood too, took her head between her hands and kissed her forehead. “Be careful, daughter.”

Kiana stood under the sharp needles of the hot water. For the first time in her life she considered staying home from school. The image of Mr. Chalmers as a murderer was hard to digest. Worse than that at the moment…she couldn’t face Mrs. Deacon. Not after the embarrassment of last night in the green room. Mrs. Deacon had specifically warned them to stay out of the case or they might get hurt. They had deliberately ignored her. And almost gotten hurt, or maybe even kidnapped. Or worse.

What might’ve happened if Mrs. Deacon hadn’t shown up? How far would the janitor have gone to get hold of that picture? A better question, why did he want it? He didn’t know who was in it. He only knew they’d found
a
picture.

How long had he been standing there, listening to she and Evan talking? What did either of them say that made him suspicious? She replayed the conversation in her head. The only thing she could recall talking about was that they were in school after hours. And then they’d discussed the identity of the man in the photo.

So, why would a janitor be interested in that picture?

Because he was the man with his arm around Ms. Forest! Come to think of it, he did look like the guy. Kiana laughed. That would mean he and Ms. Forest were…

Not possible.
Simply not possible.
Mr. Chalmers had asked Gwen to marry him.

Maybe the janitor was her brother or cousin. No. If he were family, he wouldn’t care if there were a picture of them together. But…if they had a bad relationship and the cops found the picture, then he might be suspected of killing her. No—wrong track. News about Gwen’s relatives and their relationships would come out no matter what. Besides, that janitor acted more like a blackmailer than a brother.

Okay, think about the picture. It was old. Maybe twenty years old. So, probably he and Gwen weren’t seeing each other right then. It could mean Mr. Chalmers found out and—well, so what if she and the janitor knew each other twenty years ago? What could it mean to anybody now? There had to be more.

What if the janitor found out Ms. Forest and Mr. Chalmers were seeing each other? Their relationship was supposed to be a secret, but secrets had a way of squeezing out. Maybe he found out and 1-was jealous, 2-wanted her back, 3-threatened to tell the school board. Would they care? What was the worst that could happen? Maybe, to keep their jobs, Mr. Chalmers and Ms. Forest would have to get married. Big deal since they probably would’ve anyway.

So, where did that leave things? No place at all.

What if, that janitor didn’t come to the office intending to clean it—the place sure didn’t look like it was cleaned very often. Maybe he’d come to destroy clues. Which made Kiana’s decision easy: she would go to school and tell what happened last night. Who to tell? The police maybe. Although Mr. Reynolds said they should come to him. Then there was Mrs. Deacon, famous for solving crimes… If not for the fiasco of last night, and the resulting embarrassment, she’d be the perfect one to speak to.

Kiana had just stepped off her front walk when Evan’s motorcycle putted around the corner. She smiled, knowing he deliberately appeared each morning to drive her to school. She unclipped the helmet from the rear of the seat, settled her backpack firmly on the seat rest, then climbed up behind him.

Usually some sort of music blared in the helmet headphones. The genre differed every day, from classical to rap, but it was always there, and loud. Today, no music. And Evan didn’t shout his usual greeting. Something was wrong. Had another teacher died? Kiana never watched the news, but if something like that had happened, surely her mother would’ve said something. When Gwen died, she begged Kiana to remain home from school. Another death would surely have resulted in her being physically forced to stay home.

Could his mood be mimicking her fear of facing Mrs. Deacon? She was about to ask when he spoke for the first time. Kiana had to struggle to hear the words through the helmet microphone.

“We need to talk. There’s something I need to tell you.”

He flicked on the turn signal and leaned left into the park, where the town held gatherings and kids came to play on the enormous slides and swings. He got off the bike, removed his helmet and placed it on the seat. He waited for her to climb off, set the kickstand then walked away. The stuff on his mind must be important. He forgot to take the key from the ignition. And he forgot to wait for her. He always waited.

Kiana dropped the keychain in her pocket, then hung the helmet on the backrest and followed. By now, Evan sat sideways on a red plastic rocking horse. Kiana selected a yellow dinosaur nearby and sat sideways too, her rear end squished into the small, curved area.

“You okay?” Evan asked.

She nodded.

“You’re thinking Mr. Chalmers killed Ms. Forest.”

Kiana shrugged. Not an I-don’t-care gesture, it was one that said he was right.

“I was thinking the same thing. All the way to the coffeeshop. That’s where I went for the last hour. But you know, Kee, I don’t think he did it. He really cared about her.”

She gave a weary nod.

“I think we have to tell the police about the lighter fluid.” When she didn’t respond he added, “Or at least tell Mrs. Deacon.” Seeing Kiana’s hesitation he added, “Something I just thought of, maybe somebody’s storing it there—to use at a later time.”

Kiana rocked on the too-small dinosaur. Nobody else visited the park but a lot of people hurried along the sidewalk. Traffic would soon grow so heavy it would bog down at the intersection. No doubt they would be late for school.

“I told my mother we were investigating.”

“You sure that was a good idea?”

“Yes. She asked that we let her know where we’ll be from now on. Best somebody knows where to find us if something goes wrong.”

Evan watched the traffic too, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. When he finally spoke, his words were hard to understand since he pretty much faced the other way. “About a month ago, I saw something.” When Kiana didn’t react, Evan seemed disappointed. But he went on, “What I saw… It might have something to do with Ms. Forest’s murder.”

Now he had her full attention. Though she said nothing. Evan didn’t need the platitudes. If he had something to say, he would, even if she asked him
not
to. To hear better when he did speak, she swung a bit more in his direction on the plastic dinosaur.

“I went to the auditorium. I was early to meet the band to work on the music score. Nobody else was there. I mean the guys; none of the guys were there. Ms. Forest was though. I heard her in her office. She was yelling.”

Kiana couldn’t keep her brows from lifting at this news. Ms. Forest was one of the calmest, most under control people she knew. Nothing, not even a battle between two bullies, brought a reaction.

“At first I only heard her voice,” Evan went on. “I listened. I couldn’t help myself from being worried—because of the shouting. I could only understand a few words now and then. Things like: ‘do that to you’ and ‘think like that’. At first I couldn’t hear the other person answer. I imagined them as shocked as me that she was yelling. I pictured them cowering against the wall.”