Gracie's Game: Sudden Anger, Accidentally on Purpose (36 page)

Chapter 30

"Oh my God!" Emily exclaimed, always ready to find drama in any situation even if she wasn't the star. "Are you hurt?"

"No, at least I don't think so," Amy replied. "It all happened so fast!"

"What happened?" Madison asked.

"I was just driving down the street, and this guy comes up beside me real fast and then tries to get in front of me but he hit me instead."

"Did you call the police?" Gracie asked.

"Nah, the jerk just drove off. He didn't hit me very hard, but it scared me. I didn't know what else to do so I just came on over here. It was just down the street, I was coming here, anyway." Amy was beginning to shake now that it was all over and the adrenaline was leaving her body.

Allison stood up and pulled her gloves off as she strode towards Amy. "Come on, you need to sit down," she said with authority. She took Amy's arm and led her to a chair against the wall. "Just sit there and relax for a minute. I'll go get you a soda, some sugar will help."

Bobby went over to stand next to her. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute," she said. She was taking obvious deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

"How about your car?" he asked. "Is it banged up very bad?"

Amy had to think about that. Her brain was coming out of panic mode and it was an effort to think clearly. "I don't know," she stated. "I didn't even think to look! But it was acting funny."

"What was it doing?" Bobby asked. This was something he knew about, something he could help with. "Was it hard to steer?"

Amy frowned in misunderstanding. "Why would it be hard to steer?"

"If your fender was rubbing the tire the car wouldn't handle well."

"Oh. I don't think so, but I can't quite put my finger on it," she told him. "Something about a light flashing."

Allison bustled back into the room and handed a soda to Amy, who took several big gulps. "Thanks, that helps."

"Let's go take a look at your car," Bobby suggested. "I bet I can figure it out, though I'm not sure I can fix it here."

They left the room and the rest of the group went back to sorting recyclable trash. They separated out soda cans and plastic bottles as those paid more. Besides, any paper items were usually covered with food and thus not eligible. It was a nasty job, so they chatted to help take their minds off it.

"Did everyone have a good time at the party last night?" Tanya Fletcher asked. She'd pulled her light blonde shoulder length hair into a pony tail this morning so she could keep it out of the mess, but found herself occasionally twitching her head as if to flip the hair away from her face. Her green eyes sparkled, letting everyone know she had gossip on her mind.

"I think
some
people had a better time than others," Madison remarked, though she didn't elaborate.

"Yeah, like
Maggie
," Serene said, emphasizing the teacher's given name. "She seemed to be really enjoying herself." This morning she had tied her wavy dark brown hair at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the way; it reached half-way down her back.

"It was disgusting the way all the guys fawned over her," put in Britney Clark. Her voice had an acid tone, which was surprising as she was usually the "quiet one".

"It certainly was," Jennifer agreed. "But that didn't mean the rest of us had to pay attention to them. Oh, Britney! Don't lean over like that, I think you just got your hair in that puddle." She flipped her head in a practiced move that tossed her own long blonde hair over her shoulders.

Britney twisted her head to try to see if that was true. "I can't tell, did I? Oh well, I'd planned to take a shower when I got home anyway." She went back to sorting the pile in front of her Jennifer shuddered.

"Look at me," Gracie ordered. She studied Britney for a moment. Her dark hair flipped just above her shoulders with no telltale droop to the curl. "Nope, looks fine to me. Didn't you have a good time at the party?"

Britney's green eyes met Gracie's blue ones. "I'd have had more fun doing my homework," she said.

"But you
love
doing homework!" Emily teased her.

"And she makes better grades than you do, too," Tanya put in.

"Did you see the spectacle Jake made of himself?" Allison asked, only slightly changing the subject.

"
Maggie
started it," Serene said.

"Just because she's a slut doesn't mean Jake had to go along with it!" Madison insisted.

"Who knows what was on her finger besides the cheese," Jennifer said with a grimace.

"She acted like she was drunk," Britney said.

"She was!" several girls responded at once.

"Well, I'm not going to another party at her house ever again," Britney declared.

"Not even if Jake asks you?" Madison asked with a grin.

"By the way, I loved your little slide down the rail," Emily told Madison. "What a great way to metaphorically stick your tongue out at her."

"Only Emily would use the word 'metaphorically'," Serene muttered.

"Not even with Jake," Britney said firmly. "Allison, I can't
believe
he left you there. I'd have been really mad."

"I
was
," Allison replied. "But at least he didn't take
another
girl home. I'd have killed him for that."

"I don't know why we all care, we know he's a player," Madison said.

"He has such a hard time remembering our names. I think that's why he calls us 'hun' all the time," Britney said with irony. She put a gloved finger to her cheek, remembering just in time not to actually touch it, and adopted a posture of deep thought. "Let me see. Who did I come in with this time?"

The girls all laughed, though there was an edge to the sound.

"Oh, gee, I can't remember," Emily mocked.

"Doesn't matter, it'll be another girl tomorrow," Tanya continued the imitation.

"It's because you all let him get away with it," Gracie put in. "You take it too seriously."

"Says the girl who's dated the same guy for six months," Serene said.

"But at least she's smart enough
not
to date Jake!" Allison came to Gracie's defense.

Britney's face had her accustomed studious look. "I think the poor boy just can't make up his mind!"

"Well at least he spreads himself around," Emily remarked.

"It can't be easy trying to keep you all straight," Gracie said, though she grinned to take any sting out of the remark.

"Yeah, if he takes me out tonight then half of you won't speak to him on Monday and the other half won't speak to
me!"
Madison said.

"You got a date with Jake tonight?" Allison inquired.

"Nah, it was just an example."

"So what you're saying is that Jake has to figure out who's not speaking to whom before he asks anyone else out, is that right?" Gracie asked.

"Poor boy," Serene said, in a tone that clearly meant the opposite.

"So who
is
going out with Jake tonight?" Amy asked, having come back in time to hear the end of the conversation.

The girls stopped and looked from one to the other, each one shrugging.

"Must be Andrea – or Meaghan, they're not here to defend themselves," Serene said.

"Or someone new," Allison added.

"How's your car?" Gracie inquired. The girls' comments were bothering her a little so she welcomed the interruption. "Was there something wrong with it?"

"The other guy clipped the front fender, left a big dent, but nothing serious," Bobby explained.

"Didn't you say something about a blinking light?" Madison asked.

"Yeah, but it turns out it was on the dash, don't know why I didn't see it before," Amy said, managing to look sheepish.

"Just needed to replace a fuse," Bobby said. "No problemo."

"I'm glad to hear that," Madison told her.

"We were just talking about the party last night," Tanya said. "Someone was having some fun; I saw 'em outside making out."

"Who was it, do you know?" Emily asked eagerly.

"Couldn't tell for sure; they were hiding in the bushes so I couldn't see," Tanya said coyly. "Kinda thought it was
you
."

"Me!" Emily cried. "Ewww. It was
cold
outside and besides, my luck I'd get poison ivy in the bushes."

"Had experience with that, have you?" Serene asked.

"Not like
that
!" Emily said in her own defense. "But I am really allergic to poison ivy, I got it when I was a kid and it was
horrible
."

"I just bet it was, and we're gonna hear all about it," someone muttered.

"Good morning, Mrs. Baker!" Serene said as the principal walked into the room. There was an overly sweet tone to her voice. "How are you this morning?"

Several of the girls hastily went back to sorting cans and bottles while others looked up, curious to know why the principal had shown up at an extra-curricular activity. A middle-aged man in a brown suit stood behind her.

"Good morning," Mrs. Baker said. "I'm afraid I'm here to give you some bad news." She wrung her hands as she looked at them, not quite knowing how to handle the situation. "I guess I'll just say it straight out. Mrs. Lane was found dead this morning."

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, comments like "Oh, no!", "You're kidding,", and "How
horrible
."

"I know most of you were at the party she had last night," Mrs. Baker told them. She watched to see their reaction; some had a guilty look on their faces while others tried to look outraged at the very idea, and failed miserably. "Under the circumstances I'll let that pass; but this gentleman is from the police and he'd like to ask you all some questions."

Ken stepped forward and introduced himself. He caught Gracie's eye but made no overt recognition of her. He'd been the homicide detective investigating her father's death last spring and acknowledged that he'd never have solved it without her help. She was a bright young lady and they'd since become friends; more than once he'd asked her opinion of a case because she was good at seeing how tiny details made a difference.

"Good morning," he said to the group. "First of all, please accept my condolences; I know this is difficult and I'm sure you'll all miss Mrs. Lane a great deal." He let his eyes rove over the group to see how they responded. Most of the girls looked shocked, though there were no tears in evidence. Quite possibly the magnitude of the event hadn't soaked in yet, but he rather got the idea that the woman hadn't been a favorite or well-liked teacher.

"All we know at the moment is that Mrs. Lane's neighbor saw the patio door standing open early this morning and found the body when she went to close it. We don't know exactly what happened yet, but there were no obvious signs of foul play. I'd like you all to tell me about the party. Was Mrs. Lane acting odd in any way?"