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Shandra sat in her room waiting for Ryan, nibbling on a nut mix she’d packed in case she didn’t get lunch, and reading Travis’s poems. The boy hadn’t been in class today. She wondered if his parents kept him home because of her visit.
She had set aside the three poems that gave her a good feel for the people who harassed him the most at school.
From what she could make of them, it was a girl and two boys. The boys worked together, the girl alone. But some of the descriptions of the girl made her wonder if it might not be a teacher.
A soft knock stole her attention from the poems.
Ms. Tierney stood in her doorway. “May I come in?”
“Yes. This is your room.” Shandra placed the three she’d set aside on the top of the papers and put them in her purse.
The woman had on a colorful flowing caftan today. She would have fit right in at any university or big city but here, in Warner... Shandra wondered what her story was.
“You only have a short time left with us, but I wanted to extend my invitation to you to come back any time. The students have enjoyed learning from someone of your talent and having them hear the same things from someone in the profession rather than a high school teacher shows them I do know what I’m talking about.”
Shandra studied the woman. “Do you create pottery at home?”
“I do. But nothing with the creativity you have. I make utilitarian pottery and glaze them with bright splashes of color.” The way the woman talked she didn’t enjoy what she did.
“Have you tried making something other than plates, bowls, and mugs? You may have a knack for the art side of pottery.”
Ms. Tierney shook her head. “I’ve tried, and nothing comes to me. But I make a good living throwing the dishes and working here.”
Ryan walked in. “Excuse me, I can come back.”
“No. We’re just talking about pottery.” Shandra motioned for Ryan to pull up a chair.
“I’ll let you two visit.” Ms. Tierney faced Ryan. “Have you been snooping around some more?”
Shandra didn’t know what that referred to, but Ryan didn’t fluster.
“I’ve been questioning people.” He didn’t take his seat.
“Are you any closer to finding out who put this shroud of doom over the school?” Ms. Tierney’s voice held a touch of disdain.
Shandra wondered where that came from. Surely, she didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Huntley’s death. The image of the puppet strings in her dream came to her. She studied the woman more closely.
“We are doing our best. I did learn more from the props I took from here yesterday and hope we’ll be able to narrow down the suspect pool soon.” Ryan flicked a glance toward Shandra.
“I’ll keep your invitation in mind,” she said by way of letting the woman know she should leave.
The woman nodded Shandra’s direction and walked to the door with long strides. At the door, she looked back then disappeared from view.
“Why was she so hostile toward you?” Shandra asked as Ryan sat down and picked at her trail mix.
“She didn’t like me finding what could be the murder weapon in the props I guess.” He held up papers. “This is the list of every class on Wednesday and who should have been in which class.”
“Why do you need those?” Shandra grasped the one he handed toward her.
“I’m trying to establish where certain suspects were supposed to be when the victim was killed. I find it strange that no one saw anything when I’ve discovered how many people use that side door to the back of the art building.” He glanced up from the papers. “And even more surprising is that there isn’t a surveillance camera on that area.”
Shandra stared at him. “But there is one in the building.”
“I requested Ms. Miller send a copy of Wednesday’s surveillance to me, but I haven’t received the email yet.” Ryan stood. “I guess I should go remind her.”
“Did you want me to help you look through these?” Shandra held up the class roster.
He plucked it from her hand. “We’ll go through them tonight.”
“What a fun way to spend Friday night,” she said and smiled.
Ryan placed his hands on the desk and leaned down toward her. “I happen to know you’d rather spend the evening discussing who could have killed Huntley than be wined and dined.” He kissed her lips. “But Saturday night, I’m taking you out to dinner.”
She laughed. “You know me too well. I’ll walk out with you. I need to see if Nancy arrived.”
“Why wasn’t she here this morning?” Ryan asked, waiting for her to gather her coat and purse.
“Rachel said she had a doctor’s appointment and wouldn’t be in until after lunch.” Shandra walked with Ryan out into the center of the building.
He nodded toward the media room. “I’ll talk to you later.”
She nodded and headed out the front of the building.
Ryan knocked on the media room door.
“Come in,” Ms. Miller called out in a distracted tone.
He opened the door and was met by a well-lit room, much different than when he’d been here earlier. The light only made all the equipment and stations look even more intimidating.
“Over here,” the teacher called.
Following the sound of her voice, he found the woman in the small room with the surveillance equipment.
“I came to see why you hadn’t sent me the surveillance taping.”
She startled and scowled. “Because, I can’t find it. That whole day seems to have been scrubbed from the memory. I’ve been trying all lunch hour to find it, so I could send it.” She threw up her hands.
“I’ll call the forensic lab and see what they need to try and find it.” He scrolled through the numbers and dialed.
“Lou, this is Detective Greer of the Weippe County Sheriff’s Department.” He went on to tell the technician what the problem was and ask what he needed to try and find the imaging. When he wasn’t sure what the man was saying, he hit the speaker button. Ms. Miller nodded and started moving about in the closet disconnecting wires and stacking machines.
“And that’s what I’ll need,” Lou ended.
“Thank you. I’ll get that to you this afternoon.” Ryan hit the off button.
Ms. Miller had the equipment loaded into a cardboard box. “I’ll need a receipt from you in case any of this doesn’t come back.”
Ryan pulled a receipt from his backpack, filled it out, and handed it to the teacher. “I’m glad you knew what Lou was talking about.”
She grinned. “I take it you’re not a geek.”
He shook his head. “I can barely run my phone and my television.”
Ms. Miller chuckled. “That’s why you and Shandra make a good couple. She’s not into this type of thing either.”
The bell rang, and students began entering the room.
“You might want to wait until everyone gets in, otherwise you’ll be fighting the tide.” Ms. Miller closed the surveillance room door and stepped up to her desk.
He watched the kids enter chatting and taking seats in the area that looked like a sound system. While he was intrigued to stick around and watch, he had a killer to catch.
When only a trickle of students entered, he took the chance to leave. In the hall, he headed for Shandra’s room. He’d let her know he was making a trip to Coeur d’Alene.
Standing by the door watching her explain a technique to the class, he had an idea. He carried the box out to his vehicle and climbed in. He pulled out his phone and texted Shandra.
I have evidence to take to the Forensics Lab. I’m going to let Sheba out and pack clothes for us. Come home as soon as you’re done teaching and we’ll spend the night in Coeur d’Alene.
He pulled out of the parking lot. They could leave Sheba at his sister’s. The kids loved her, and she loved the kids. They could spend tomorrow doing some of the wedding shopping Shandra had been talking about.
~*~
Shandra heard her phone buzz as she walked back to the desk to set down the tools she’d been showing the class. She picked up her phone and read the text. The idea of spending the night away from Warner was appealing. She would have rather gone home, but a night being with Ryan knowing nothing would interrupt would be nice. She texted back a thumbs up. But she hadn’t been able to find Nancy in the last half hour of the lunch period.
The class was busy working on their projects.
“Class, I’m going to run to the office. Keep working and I’ll be right back.” She decided to take the back door and quicker route through the multi-purpose room, much like Gertrude had the day she found Mr. Huntley.
She pushed open the door into the bright sunshine and blinked. The door thunked behind her. Staring forward, concentrating on the door to the main building, she didn’t see the area where the body would have been. She did a quick look over her shoulder and was relieved to not find a body. It was easy to see the body could have been against the wall when Gertrude hurried to the office, much like she was doing.
Shandra continued into the school and over to the office.
Rachel had her head tipped down, reading something on her desk.
The imagery she’d read in Travis’s poem hit Shandra as she stared at the top of the secretary’s head. The deep cherry color could also be construed as red like an apple. The indention of a cowlick on the top of her head with the red hair and she could see the resemblance that Travis had referred to when talking about the female tormenter.
Shandra cleared her throat.
The secretary’s head jerked. Rachel’s gaze didn’t hold welcome. “What do you need?”
“Did Nancy check in?” Shandra had a hard time keeping her thoughts from flowing off her tongue.
“She called in and said she wasn’t feeling well enough to come to school. But she’ll be in on Monday.” Rachel dropped her gaze back to her desk.
Shandra studied the top of the woman’s head one more time and headed back to her classroom. What had come over Nancy so quickly? And how did that creature get a job working as a secretary when she had the compassion of a drill sergeant.