“How could it have been your fault? You were nailed into an outhouse.”
“I know.” Liz saw a movement in the grass and leaned over to look. Slithering along on the ground was a small black snake, not even three-quarters of a foot long. When she moved the grass above it, it seemed to freeze. She leaned down and picked it up, holding it by the middle, so that it twisted between her fingers.
“Look,” she said, holding it out for Bennis to see. “The park is still full of them. You’d think they’d bring somebody in here to clean them up.”
“I thought you were afraid of snakes,” Bennis said warily.
“I was,” Liz told her, and thought—that was in the past tense, too. Then she pulled back her arm and tossed the snake out into the trees in a great, graceful arc.
2
The call from the superintendent of schools came at exactly 3:46 P.M., and although Nancy Quayde had been expecting it, she found she wasn’t ready.
The phone on her desk rang, and she jumped. She looked up and saw Lisa nodding at her from the desk outside. She picked up.
“Carol Shegelmeyer is on the phone,” Lisa whispered, as if she suspected that Carol would be able to hear her if she talked loudly, even if she’d put Carol on hold. “She’s clucking,” Lisa said, “and if you ask me, this isn’t good. Do you want me to tell her that you’ve already gone?”
“Yes,” Nancy said, and then, “no. Wait. That’s probably not a good idea. Did she say anything about what she wanted?”
“Just that she wanted to talk to you. I’d think it was obvious what the problem was. I mean, the police have been here today. She probably heard.”
“Probably,” Nancy agreed, thinking that if that were what Carol was worried about, there would be no problem. “Okay,” she said. “Listen. Give it about a minute and then put her through, okay?”
“Okay. But are you sure? There’s no reason why you shouldn’t have left for the day.”
“I almost never leave for the day before four, and Carol knows it. Give me a minute.”
Nancy put the phone back in the cradle and closed her eyes and put her head down in her hands. It was important to breathe regularly and without gulping. It was important to be calm. It was important to remember that this was not a surprise. She’d known for hours that Carol was going to call sometime today. She’d known for hours what she needed to say and why. The trick was to stay in control.
The phone on her desk rang, and Nancy jumped. She took two long, steady breaths and picked up.
“Nancy?” Carol Stegelmeyer’s voice said. “Is that you? This is Carol Stegelmeyer.”
Well, of course it is, Nancy thought. Who else would it be? Did Carol think Lisa didn’t bother to announce who was on the phone, or that Nancy took calls without knowing who they were from?
“Yes,” Nancy said. “Yes. Carol. Hello. What can I do for you?”
“Well.” Carol sounded stumped, as if this were a difficult question. She was such a stupid woman. “Well,” Carol said again. “I’ve had a rather disturbing day. Do you know a Mr. Asch?”
Nancy stopped breathing. This was the worst-case scenario.
“Nancy?”
She’d been quiet too long. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve got a hot cup of coffee and I keep forgetting how hot. Yes. Yes, of course I know a Mr. Asch, if you mean David Asch. He’s the father of one of our students here.”
“Diane Asch,” Carol said.
“Yes, exactly, Diane Asch.”
“He said he talked to you today. Did he talk to you today?”
“He’s talked to me on a number of occasions,” Nancy said. “Diane has been having some problems. She’s—well, you know what I mean. She’s one of those teenagers who’s going through a particularly awkward phase, and she’s somewhat abrasive and obnoxious in her manner, so the other students—”
“Mr. Asch says they bully her. That they throw things at her and lock her in supply closets. I said that of course that wasn’t possible, because if a student was ever to behave that way to any other student, then the student who committed the offense would be suspended at the very least. That’s right, isn’t it? That’s our policy.”
“Of course that’s our policy.”
“Mr. Asch says that on several occasions you sided with the student doing the bullying. I don’t remember the names off the top of my head. Lynn somebody—”
“Lynn, DeeDee, and Sharon. Yes, I know who they are. Diane Asch is obsessed with them. And I do mean obsessed.”