here
ASAP.”
I hung up and adjusted the vent so the cold
air hit me in the face. The temperature had risen past eighty
degrees with the humidity even higher. Oppressive was the word to
describe it. I shifted in my seat so I could look at Sam without
twisting my neck. A kink had developed that ran from my right
shoulder to the base of my skull. The result of sleeping on the
couch all night. And for what reason? Because I’d been too lazy to
climb upstairs.
“What’s up?” Sam asked.
“He’s already working the parent angle.” I
rubbed my neck and shoulder. “Said he should have a history worked
up for us by the time we get back.”
“Why’d you yell?”
“He brought Horace and Fairchild in on
this.”
“Gotta be kidding me.”
“I know, right.”
“Why?”
“Acting on a tip,” I said, shaking my head.
“Supposedly one of Roy’s friends made a call and said he had some
information.”
“The damning kind?”
I hiked my shoulders an inch. “Dunno. But the
hope is that friend A might lead us to friends B through E.”
“Assuming he has that many friends.”
“Right.”
“And the teacher thing?”
“He’s gonna have the records pulled, then
check with the city to find out if any of those teachers are still
working and/or living in the area. But you know, even if we find
one or two, they might not remember him.”
Sam nodded as he reached for his blinker. He
tapped it up with his left hand and swerved the Camaro a lane to
the right.
I glanced at the speedometer. We were going
one hundred and five. Without lights and sirens.
“I bet we get pulled over,” I said.
He laughed. “Wouldn’t that be some shit?”
“We could have them give us an escort.”
“You know these pricks, Mitch. They’d be
happier if they took us in for reckless.”
“What’s this us crap? You carrying a gerbil
up your ass?”
Sam laughed and eased up on the gas. “Guess I
can drop down to about eighty-five. Ain’t no point in getting
pulled over.”
“That’s why we should take my car at all
times.”
“Your car smells.”
I looked at him, paused, then said, “Like
your sister after a night out.”
The banter went on for most of the ride. It
was silly and pointless and it distracted us from the mess we would
have to face when we reached the office. If only I’d known that the
situation was going to get worse, I might have told Sam to turn the
car around.
Chapter
12
Ms. Suarez dismissed her class of third
graders for recess. Debbie and Beans were the last to leave the
classroom. Even Ms. Suarez had left before them. They took their
time walking down the hall. Ms. Suarez waited at the corner, waving
them forward.
“Come on, Beans,” Debby said.
“Bernie,” he said.
“Whatever,” she said.
She wrapped her hand around his wrist and
pulled him forward. She expected him to complain about his asthma.
He didn’t. He jogged along beside her. She heard his ever-present
wheezing increase a notch. Recess was their time to get outside and
away from the rest of the kids, most of whom tortured poor Bernard
Holland. Debby knew that one day her friend would show them all.
He’d grow up to program computers to run faster and bigger than
they ever had. He’d build planes that would cross the globe in an
hour while riding amid the stratosphere. Or maybe he’d invent a
stove that could cook dinner in a minute or two instead of thirty
to forty. That’s what he’d told her one time, at least. A snap of
the fingers, he’d said. Mac and cheese as you please.
“You two,” Ms. Suarez said. “Always lagging
behind.”
“He has asthma,” Debby pointed out to the
teacher.
Ms. Suarez smiled and offered a knowing nod.
She ushered them past the tinted glass door. They stepped outside,
his wrist still in her hand, and walked toward the outer edge of
the recess area. While the other kids turned into four-foot tall
savages, Debby and Beans found a shady spot under an old oak. He
went to sit down in the
ASAP.”
I hung up and adjusted the vent so the cold
air hit me in the face. The temperature had risen past eighty
degrees with the humidity even higher. Oppressive was the word to
describe it. I shifted in my seat so I could look at Sam without
twisting my neck. A kink had developed that ran from my right
shoulder to the base of my skull. The result of sleeping on the
couch all night. And for what reason? Because I’d been too lazy to
climb upstairs.
“What’s up?” Sam asked.
“He’s already working the parent angle.” I
rubbed my neck and shoulder. “Said he should have a history worked
up for us by the time we get back.”
“Why’d you yell?”
“He brought Horace and Fairchild in on
this.”
“Gotta be kidding me.”
“I know, right.”
“Why?”
“Acting on a tip,” I said, shaking my head.
“Supposedly one of Roy’s friends made a call and said he had some
information.”
“The damning kind?”
I hiked my shoulders an inch. “Dunno. But the
hope is that friend A might lead us to friends B through E.”
“Assuming he has that many friends.”
“Right.”
“And the teacher thing?”
“He’s gonna have the records pulled, then
check with the city to find out if any of those teachers are still
working and/or living in the area. But you know, even if we find
one or two, they might not remember him.”
Sam nodded as he reached for his blinker. He
tapped it up with his left hand and swerved the Camaro a lane to
the right.
I glanced at the speedometer. We were going
one hundred and five. Without lights and sirens.
“I bet we get pulled over,” I said.
He laughed. “Wouldn’t that be some shit?”
“We could have them give us an escort.”
“You know these pricks, Mitch. They’d be
happier if they took us in for reckless.”
“What’s this us crap? You carrying a gerbil
up your ass?”
Sam laughed and eased up on the gas. “Guess I
can drop down to about eighty-five. Ain’t no point in getting
pulled over.”
“That’s why we should take my car at all
times.”
“Your car smells.”
I looked at him, paused, then said, “Like
your sister after a night out.”
The banter went on for most of the ride. It
was silly and pointless and it distracted us from the mess we would
have to face when we reached the office. If only I’d known that the
situation was going to get worse, I might have told Sam to turn the
car around.
Chapter
12
Ms. Suarez dismissed her class of third
graders for recess. Debbie and Beans were the last to leave the
classroom. Even Ms. Suarez had left before them. They took their
time walking down the hall. Ms. Suarez waited at the corner, waving
them forward.
“Come on, Beans,” Debby said.
“Bernie,” he said.
“Whatever,” she said.
She wrapped her hand around his wrist and
pulled him forward. She expected him to complain about his asthma.
He didn’t. He jogged along beside her. She heard his ever-present
wheezing increase a notch. Recess was their time to get outside and
away from the rest of the kids, most of whom tortured poor Bernard
Holland. Debby knew that one day her friend would show them all.
He’d grow up to program computers to run faster and bigger than
they ever had. He’d build planes that would cross the globe in an
hour while riding amid the stratosphere. Or maybe he’d invent a
stove that could cook dinner in a minute or two instead of thirty
to forty. That’s what he’d told her one time, at least. A snap of
the fingers, he’d said. Mac and cheese as you please.
“You two,” Ms. Suarez said. “Always lagging
behind.”
“He has asthma,” Debby pointed out to the
teacher.
Ms. Suarez smiled and offered a knowing nod.
She ushered them past the tinted glass door. They stepped outside,
his wrist still in her hand, and walked toward the outer edge of
the recess area. While the other kids turned into four-foot tall
savages, Debby and Beans found a shady spot under an old oak. He
went to sit down in the
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