Poisoned (9 page)

Brooke pointed at Jeri. “And maybe it’s
you,
faking sick tonight so no one will think
you’re
behind it all.” She glanced at Emily, then back at Jeri. “We know what you do when everyone else is asleep.”

Nervous questions flew back and forth, and the card tournament was forgotten. Ms. Carter and Miss Barbara shushed everyone, but it didn’t help. Finally the house mother stood. “Go back to the game, girls,” Ms. Carter said. “Jeri, you and Brooke come with me. Emily, you too.”

“I’m coming too,” Rosa whispered.

“Thanks.” Jeri shuddered, now feeling sick for real. This wasn’t how she’d planned it! She thought her little trick would shock the real poisoner into giving herself away. Instead, she looked guiltier than ever!

“Let’s go to Jeri and Rosa’s room,” Ms. Carter said, leading the way.

When in the room, she motioned for them all to sit on the floor. She sat on Rosa’s desk chair. “Everyone, take a few deep breaths.” She waited a moment. “We evidently have a misunderstanding. It’s been a stressful week for everyone, with so many being ill and the pressures of final projects.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Let’sstart with you, Brooke. What did you mean about unusual activities during the night?”

“Well, I didn’t actually see her, but Emily did.” Brooke poked Emily in the arm. “You tell them.”

Emily stared at the floor. “I didn’t really see Jeri doing anything.”

“Yes, you did!” Brooke said.

Emily looked at Jeri, both fear and regret on her face. “I went down to the kitchen in the middle of the night last night,” she whispered. “I was on the way to the bathroom when I saw Jeri going downstairs. I followed her.”

“And …?” Ms. Carter asked.

Emily picked at a loose thread on her sweatshirt cuff. “And I found Jeri in the kitchen.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “Tell Ms. Carter exactly
where
you found Jeri while everyone in the dorm was sleeping.”

Emily looked miserable, and Jeri felt sorry for her. She was caught between telling the truth and not wanting to get a friend in trouble.

Jeri cleared her throat. “That’s okay. I’ll tell her.” She sighed. “I was in Emily and Brooke’s cupboard.”

Ms. Carter frowned and covered her mouth for a moment. Finally she asked Jeri, “What were you doing in someone else’s cupboard?”

“And in the middle of the night!” Brooke said.

“Brooke, please. You’ve had your turn. Let Jeri answer.”

Jeri cleared her throat. “I checked out everyone’s cupboard, not just theirs, looking for things someone might use to put in our food. Abby felt rotten about her birthday supper making some girls sick, but I knew it wasn’t her fault. I wanted to discover who was behind it—or if
anyone
was.”

“That’s not the real reason.” Brooke shook her head in disgust. “You’re writing about food poisoning for the media fair. So you frame someone by planting a poison in

their cupboard, then you ‘discover’ it and write about it. All this just to win a prize!”

“You take that back!” Rosa said. “Jeri’s the most honest person I know.”

Jeri’s heart pounded. “I didn’t put anything in anyone’s cupboard. Honest.”

“That’s enough, girls. Flinging accusations around isn’t helpful. The thing is …” Ms. Carter paused. “The thing is, Jeri, if you
had
found something suspicious, you
could
be accused of planting the evidence yourself in order to make someone else look guilty.”

“I never thought of that,” Jeri mumbled. She should have taken Rosa and Abby with her as witnesses.

The house mother reached down and patted Jeri’s shoulder. “If it helps you to know, I’ve checked the cupboards and fridge myself every day. I’ve also kept in touch with the local police and a doctor. We
are
taking these incidents seriously.” Ms. Carter paused. “The doctor feels it’s a virus, and we need to wash our hands better so we don’t spread it around. I tend to agree.”

Jeri didn’t respond, but she felt strongly that it was more than that. “I’m sorry I faked being sick tonight,” she said. “I was hoping to shock the guilty person into saying something, but I guess it backfired.”

“I know,” the house mother said, “but it’s over now.”

A few minutes later, after the others left, Jeri flopped back on her bed and rubbed her abdomen. “My stomach really
does
hurt now,” she said. “Did you see how Brooke

and Emily looked at me when they left? They think
I’m
poisoning people!”

Rosa shook her head. “Then they don’t have the brains of a toad.”

Jeri laughed. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

Rosa dug in her closet, found her heating pad, and plugged it in. After turning it on, she placed it on Jeri’s stomach. “I know we don’t agree on everything, but you wouldn’t hurt anyone. That much I know after living with you all year.”

“I’m sorry for bugging you about your clothes lately,” Jeri said.

“It’s okay.” Rosa sat cross-legged on her own bed and faced her. “I’ve been thinking about the clothes I’ve been wearing lately. You know those boys at the pizza place? I didn’t make them act like jerks, but I can see why they
might
think I wanted attention.” She sighed. “I think I’m going to return some of the outfits I bought online.”

“Really?” Jeri pressed the heating pad against her stomach, relaxing in its warmth.

“Yeah. I think … maybe … I’ve worried too much about clothes lately. I read a magazine today in the library, and it had this huge survey somebody did.”

“What kind?”

“About friendship. They gave the survey to a thousand girls, asking them what they valued in a friend.” She wrapped her arms around her bent knees. “ ‘Somebody who wears cool clothes’ wasn’t even on the list.”

Jeri grinned. She wasn’t surprised. “Do you remember what ranked the highest?”

“Um, loyalty and kindness and a good smile. Being fun with a good sense of humor ranked real high too.”

“That’s you exactly! Hampton House would vote you as the girl with the best smile who’s the most fun,” Jeri said. “Where did a girl’s looks rank on the list?”

“Appearance was close to the bottom, but it was about being clean and neat, not about wearing hot clothes.”

Jeri cupped her hands under her head and stared at the ceiling. “That survey’s right,” she said. “I needed a friend when Brooke was accusing me. And I cared a lot more that you were loyal than what kind of jeans you had on.”

Rosa grinned. “Okay, so remember that the next time you get ants in your pants.”

On Saturday morning, Jeri woke up before six a.m. Rosa was still asleep, and from the stillness of the dorm, so were most other girls. Between the mockingbird outside their window and her worries over the poisoning, there was no chance of going back to sleep. Jeri gave up and crawled out of bed. She went downstairs for a while, but she felt antsy and cooped up. Maybe getting out and walking would help her think.

Outside ten minutes later, she strolled toward the bell tower, her mind skipping from one problem to another.
God, I can’t make sense out of anything. What am I missing?
She went around the corner of the bell tower and almost bumped into Sierra Sedgwick.

“Hey, Jeri!” Dressed in pink and white jogging shorts and a tank, Sierra had her long hair up tight in a ponytail. She stopped in front of Jeri and jogged in place.

“Hi, Sierra.” Sierra looked perfect, as always. And there wasn’t any sweat on Sierra’s face, neck, or shirt. “So, I heard you’re entering a photo book for the media fair.”

“You heard right.” Sierra’s smile was bright, her teeth perfect. Rosa claimed she wore whitening strips to bed every night. Then Sierra’s face clouded over. “At least, I hope I am. I’m still waiting for something to come in the mail for it.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “It just
has
to get here today.”

“What is it?”

“Um, some material for the book cover.”

Jeri cocked her head to one side. That sounded odd. Why would material come in the mail? Jeri wondered. Was it possible that Rosa was right, and Sierra’s dad was sending his photos for
her
project? Maybe they were late. Hope surged in Jeri. If the package of pictures didn’t arrive by Monday, Sierra would be out of the competition!

“Don’t jog too hard,” Jeri said. “See you Monday night.”

When Jeri got back to the dorm, the hallway just inside the front door was jammed with bags and boxes and posters. Abby, Emily, and Brooke were getting their displays for the science fair ready to set up at the Sports Center gym today. That evening from seven to ten, each student would give a ten-minute presentation for the judges.

Upstairs, Rosa was still in bed, reading a magazine and eating a package of cheesy crackers. “Boy, you were up early.”

“Went for a walk.” Jeri dropped onto her desk chair and straddled it backwards to look at Rosa. “I have to finish my article today. Want to walk over to the greenhouse with me? I want to borrow another book.”

“Sure.” Rosa hopped off her bed, tossed aside her magazine, and slipped on her flip-flops. Jeri didn’t comment on it, but she noticed that today Rosa was dressed in a looser T-shirt and denim capris. She still looked totally cool.

It was warming up already, and Jeri and Rosa strolled along, talking about summer plans. It was a relief to Jeri to think about something besides poison for a while. Circling around the statue in front of Herald Hall, they bumped into Sierra.

“Wow! Two times in one morning,” Sierra drawled. “Are you following me?” Her smile was blinding now.

What’s with her?
Jeri wondered. Earlier she’d seemed anxious.

“What’s that?” Rosa asked, poking a large envelope sticking out of Sierra’s backpack. It was an express mailer — the kind
rush-rush
mail came in.

“Something I needed for my media fair project,” Sierra said, dimpling. “It just came.”

Jeri’s hope deflated like a leaky balloon. That size mailer could definitely hold a dozen 8” x 10” photos.

“Well, good luck on Monday,” Jeri forced herself to say.

“May the best girl win,” Rosa added brightly. When they were out of earshot, she whispered to Jeri, “And that’s
you.
I bet that package was photos from her dad. There’s no point in working so hard when there’re girls like Sierra in the world.”

Jeri didn’t reply. She could only hope Rosa was wrong.

At the next fork in the sidewalk, they turned left toward the Sports Center. People were still carrying in posters and displays for the science fair. Coming toward them, head down, was Brooke. She was dressed in jeans so tight Jeri could see a rock or something in her front pocket. Deep in thought, Brooke barely noticed them.

They continued down the rock path to the greenhouse and stepped inside the dim front building. Jeri called to Mr. Petrie, but there was no answer. “His bookshelf is in an office at the back. I think it’d be okay to get another book and leave him a note.”

In the office Jeri studied the titles on the shelves. Rosa strolled around the little room, reading the notes tacked to the various bulletin boards. Framed certificates, awards, and newspaper articles lined one whole wall. Jeri had just found two books when Rosa whistled shrilly.

“Look what I found.” She was standing by Mr. Petrie’s open desk drawer, waving a paper.

“What is it?”

“A warning. Look!”

“You shouldn’t be in his desk!” Jeri glanced over her

shoulder to make sure Mr. Petrie wasn’t coming. Then curiosity got the best of her. “Warning for what?”

“It’s a report from the Head,” Rosa said. “It says here that ‘Yelling at a student is conduct unbecoming to a staff member of Landmark School for Girls.’ ”

“I wonder who he yelled at.”

“Um, let me see.” Rosa’s finger slid down the paper. “It was Nikki! Come here. She said he yelled and swore at her when her horse got into his garden.” She whistled softly. “And down here at the bottom … look!”

Jeri hurried across the little office. “What?”

“See who signed the complaint?” She pointed at the signature.

“Ms. Carter?” Confused, Jeri leaned close to read. It said the house mother had reported the incident on behalf of one of her girls, Nikki Brown. It was a formal complaint lodged against Mr. Petrie, and it said Mr. Petrie was on probation for it. Jeri glanced over her shoulder again. “Put that back before he comes in and catches us.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Let’s get outta here.” As they hurried to the glassed-in area full of plants, Jeri filled her in on what she knew. They stopped in the shade of some hanging ferns.

Rosa’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe he wants revenge on both Nikki
and
Ms. Carter.”

Jeri nodded. “Plus, adding something poisonous to Scottie’s groceries makes the grocery store look bad.”

“Why would he care about that?”

Jeri’s heart felt heavy, like something was sitting on her chest. “A few days ago Mr. Petrie said the Head should be serving more of the food he grew because his was better than the store’s.”

“Is that a big deal?”

“I don’t know.” Jeri shrugged. “Maybe he gets paid extra for growing the food for the dining hall. Using Howard’s would cut into his income then.”

Rosa touched a delicate-looking ivory orchid. “What should we do?”

“Nothing right now.” Jeri peered through the smudged glass walls of the greenhouse looking for Mr. Petrie. “I think I see him watering out there. I need to tell him about borrowing his book. Be right back.”

Outside she walked alongside some miniature garden plots. Then she cut across and made her way between rows of huge white waxy flowers, reminding herself to act natural. “Hi, Mr. Petrie,” she called.

He glanced toward her and waved. “What’s up?”

“Can I borrow this book next for my report?” Jeri’s lips felt stiff, and she hoped her smile looked halfway normal.

“Sure. Just bring it back soon.” When Jeri didn’t move, he said, “Anything else?”

Tongue-tied and mouth dry, Jeri was vaguely aware of bees buzzing in the blooms. Yes, there was something else, but she could hardly ask,
Have you poisoned any girls this week?