She Speaks to Angels (8 page)

“
Tonight we remember my son. He had his hopes set on college. Would have been first in his family to go.” He wiped the tear streaming down his face. “But we will remember him for his courage, tenacity, and most importantly, his generosity. He’s touched so many lives, and my only hope is that you will always carry a part of him with you.”

I dropped my head.

When the speeches ended, we saw our opportunity to get some of the answers we needed. As Clark passed us on the left, I bumped into Molly to nudge her in his direction. As she stumbled into him, his expression went from grief to aggravation to pleasure in microseconds. She swung her short bob, and her exposed neck seemed refreshing, something to divert his attention away from the death. I noticed the desire in his eyes.

“
Sorry.” Molly fumbled to stand straight and let him help her. She played the damsel in distress well.

“
No problem...I didn’t catch your name?” He wiped his waxy hands on his tattered jeans.

“
Molly...but my friends call me Mol, Mols.” She rambled; endearing.

“
OK...Mols.” He steadied her with hands on each of her shoulders as his eyes caressed her neck.

“
Did you know Tommy well?” She didn’t like to waste time and tilted into him as if he helped her keep her balance better.

“
Yeah; real tight friends.”

The kind you let off some steam with? I cringed and tried not to be noticeable while I listened. Kian stared at me. His look had a sharp edge. My brother had that look sometimes, one of intense seriousness.

“
Do you know why he would do it...jump I mean?” Molly feigned wiping a tear as if the whole memorial tore her up on levels Clark didn’t even see. And it did in a way; death could do that, but more importantly she wanted Clark’s reaction.

“
I...” Clark dropped his head into his hands while guilt washed over him. “I didn’t think he would ever do it.” His voice sounded like sandpaper. Shaking his head, he finally lifted his downcast eyes from defeat to meet Molly’s inviting ogle.

Molly put her hand on the back of Clark’s neck and eased him to her. “Wasn’t your fault. No one could have predicted.”

I wasn’t sure if she actually believed those words. I mean, we had been relatively sure Clark was the culprit behind it all. But she had her game face on and could be convincing.

“
Thanks.” He shook his head as sobs burst from him and tears gushed from his reddening eyes. “But I should have known...I pushed him too hard.”

Was that a confession? I wiggled my fingers into my frayed back pocket, yanking out the iPhone. I had to record this. We might not ever get another chance at this. The camcorder icon flashed red. Brilliant.

“
Pushed him?” Molly inched closer to Clark, tightening her grip like a strong masseuse.

Breaking her hold, Clark threw his left hand to his forehead, hiding his crying eyes and darted off just as the sky rumbled and rain poured. His foggy silhouette drew further and further away into the crowd, and I returned the iPhone to my pocket. The once vibrant glow of the candle flames washed out and an anemic grey ambiance saturated the skies.

“
Did you get that?” Molly swung to me.

“
Just the last part.” I sounded disappointed.

“
He admitted to pushing him.” Molly stood stunned and yet proud of her achievement at extracting information. “We have to go to the police...to your brother. Someone has to investigate Clark professionally!”

“
I...” I didn’t know if getting Samuel involved would be the best course of action. On the one hand I didn’t want him too close to my affairs; after all, what I saw on the Kindle reflection and the iPhone would shock him. On the other hand, if Samuel investigated Clark, I would be privy to all his notes. “I’ll see what he can do.”

Tapping me on the shoulder, Jennifer pointed ahead and motioned through the crowd with me at her tail. I didn’t want to miss this. She had to get to the speakers before the rain drove them into sealed cover. When she reached Tommy’s parents they huddled under a few umbrellas supplied by helpful guests.

“
Hi...I don’t mean to bother you,” Jennifer cuddled herself with her arms as gusts of wind grew stronger, “but I knew your son. The whole thing was so shocking!” Rain patted over her cinnamon hair as Tommy’s mother wrapped her arms around Jennifer and drew her underneath the umbrellas. She waved me in soon afterward.

“
Me too.” I added. “A friend.”

“
You said you’re friends of Tommy’s?”

Nodding, Jennifer smiled with such sincerity that her freckles bunched to the tops of her cheeks. “And I just wondered if he seemed at all different to you the last few weeks?” The sky cracked with lightning, and loud thunder boomed while rain pelted diagonally.

“
Yes, he was,” the mother said with a sponge of emotion behind her words. She needed to talk about this. “He...was always a strong kid, but lately something really got to him.”

I could only imagine what or
who
that something was. Clark came to mind; images of him pushing Tommy around for speaking to Noe.

“
Darling, we’d better head out of here. We’ve got a long drive,” Clark’s father interrupted, and he cradled his wife into his chest.

“
My condolences.” I offered a warm salutation.

“
Take care of yourselves, girls.” And Clark’s mother strolled off with her husband, sheltered from the rain by a borrowed umbrella.

Feathers

As
I stared at the window I heard scratches on the glass frame for a second time. Springing off my bed, I headed to the curtained window to check it out. I rapped my knuckles across the glass. The black sky hid most of the front lawn from me. If someone did lurk out there I couldn’t see them.

“
You’re so jumpy tonight!” Molly crisscrossed her legs on my bed and bunched up two pillows behind her back. Cozy cotton pajamas and red socks kept her warm. “It’s because of Clark, isn’t it?”

“
He’s going to hunt you down in the middle of the night to take back the evidence you recorded on the iPhone,” Jennifer giggled in a husky voice, her attempt at the movie
Scream.

“
Just stop it!” I reacted, a little scared.

“
How did you get that iPhone anyway? I’ve never seen you with one before? Jennifer played with my CDs as she stood by the cabinet.

“
I...I got it from Mom. She wanted me to have something reliable for communication.”

“
Whatcha doing with your old phone? I’ll take it.” Molly offered. “I could use one.” She munched on potato chips; the bag crinkled. As much as I wanted Molly to have a cell that wasn’t dated to the 90s, I needed mine. After all, the iPhone really belonged to Tommy and I didn’t feel right using it for my personal calls.

“
Sorry, Mol, I’m keeping it.”

With a roll of her eyes, she retorted, “Whatever.” She shoved another chip into her salivating mouth.

“
So, are you going to talk to your brother tomorrow morning? He should know what Clark said,” Jennifer insisted. The lawyer’s daughter in her unrelenting single-mindedness.

“
I will...but first thing tomorrow we are going to the roof of the school.”

“
The what of the what?” Molly dropped her chip.

“
I have to search the roof myself. Now that we know Clark is involved we know what to look for. Maybe he left something behind on the roof to indicate he was there!” I defended my theory.

“
And maybe we will get ourselves
killed!
” Molly emphasized the last word. “You saw Clark with that newbie in the alley. He means business, and if we go putting our noses in his Kool Aid, how do you think he is going to react?”

“
He doesn’t have to know.” I answered nonchalantly, but nothing about this was easy.

“
And the cops? How are we going to maneuver around them? They’ve still got yellow tape up and everything.” Jennifer spun around from the cabinet and shot a questioning look at me.

“
Gesh! You’re starting to sound like Mol,” I huffed. “We’ll be fine. I’ve heard my brother on his phone. The cops aren’t there anymore. Just the tape. We can sneak around back like last time and use the stairs to the roof.”

“
Have you forgotten? We’ve run out of favors from your friend Antonio, Molly pointed out with an artificial Spanish accent, imitating Antonio.

“
We won’t need one,” I stated plainly, and Jennifer took a seat next to us.

“
What do mean?” She braced herself with her hands flat on the bed.

“
When we left through the back door I kind of pressed my chewing gum inside the latch where the door seals. Even if Alberto locks the door, the door should open fine.”

“
And I thought only I did stuff like that.” Molly almost beamed like a proud parent. And I had to give her credit. I never would have done something like that before meeting her.

***

Saturday morning I threw on a knapsack full of necessary-items-for-clandestine-operations-on-a-roof. I started to feel like special ops. We all bundled up for the cold weather. Molly and Jennifer wore knit hats, but I just let my dark hair cover my chilled ears. Frost tipped the blades of grass; must have been a wintery night.

When we finally got to the back door of the school, we all stared at the door for one long silent moment. This or nothing. I pushed, and the world around me froze. In slow-motion the door unlatched and I stepped cautiously inside, gripping my sack.

“
You can scour the city with me anytime.” Molly joked from behind me. I guess I proved my usefulness.

Turning up the staircase we plodded upward until we reached the top. The roof door squeaked open, and the wind rattled on all sides of the squared rooftop. When all three of us stepped onto the asphalt, the door slammed with an ear cracking bang. My lips quivered and I tried to swallow my fear. Gulp.

“
So, what do you think we are going to find, anyway? I mean, if I’m risking my life and everything,” Jennifer asked as she peered over one ledge. Stopping next to her, I looked down and saw the yellow tape marking the area where students and faculty could not walk. Chalk still outlined where his body had lain.

“
I don’t know. Just look.” I pressed and stepped away from her. Molly paced in the back, her arms folded.

“
I’m not sure there is anything here, but I’m cold.”

Skimming the corners, I stayed along the edge. “Just keep looking. The cops only searched the roof once. Samuel said so. They probably missed something.”

“
Whatever.” Molly rolled her eyes, but underneath her attitude I knew she secretly loved being here.

“
Would you rather be sitting bored in front of the TV?” I suggested to both friends.

“
Curled up on the warm sofa with a cup of tea?” Jennifer added.

“
Come on, wimps.” I had to encourage them somehow. Since we had joined the secret ops, I felt that sounding like a drill sergeant might work.

It seemed to work for Molly. She stopped pacing and squatted, keeping her eyes close to the surface of the roof. “Lots of cigarette butts.”

“
Antonio?” Jennifer questioned with a cocked brow.

“
Probably,” I answered. I dipped my fingers behind the rain gutter.

“
Find anything?” Jennifer plodded away from the ledge and headed toward me at the other end.

“
Nothing yet.” Disappointment filled my usual perky features.

Kicking a trash bin in a corner, Molly shrugged. “Maybe I should just turn Clark in to the police. Tommy deserves justice, and if you’re not ready to talk to your brother about this, I’m going to have to do it.”

“
Mol!” I jerked around, my fingers still behind the gutter. “I’m going to tell him. I told you that. Just as soon as we’re finished here.”

“
Promise?” Molly hated it when criminals got away with crimes. Moving from house to house and spending too much time on the streets, she saw more than most.

“
I blood promise.”

The expression had begun in middle school when Jennifer and I first met Molly during P.E. A bully pushed Jennifer and she fell to the pavement and scraped her chin. Out of the distance a ripped-jeaned, bushy–haired, thick–browed, leather-bound girl pounced on top of the bully. When the bully smacked Mol in the nose, I saw blood for the first time. Hence the expression. The P.E. couch broke up the feud minutes after it began, but our loyalty to each other remained strong from then on. Whenever we really meant something we used the expression ‘blood promise’ to show our commitment.

“
Do you see that?” Jennifer pointed below, cowering to the floor to keep unseen.

“
What?” Molly threw her head up, frazzled.

“
Someone’s coming,” Jennifer whispered, and I peeked over the gutter.

Three shadows vanished under us, passing the chalk outline of Tommy. Within five minutes we all jerked our heads toward the roof door, which was swinging open.

“
What are you doing here?” I asked, stunned.

“
Did you follow us or something? You stalker, you!” Molly winked at Kian. She sensed he liked me as more than just an acquaintance or friend.