Out the back window, he saw Ethan run out of the guesthouse and catch up with Ira and the twins. “Oh no,” Mark groaned. “Is that a blue arrow on Ethan’s face?”
Lea raked her hands through her hair, making it stick out in frazzled clumps. “I don’t really understand. . ”
Mark heard a chattering sound. He lowered his eyes to the phone. He forgot he was still holding it.
“Ginny? Ginny?” It took awhile to make her stop shouting. “Ethan just got on the school bus,” he told her. “He’s on his way to school.”
“But what about his backpack? What was he wearing? What about his lunch? Did he have any breakfast?”
“I’m sorry. I really can’t answer those questions. This is all a surprise to Lea and me, too. The boys slept in the guesthouse last night and. . we didn’t know.”
“Excuse me? The guesthouse? You allow twelve-year-old boys to sleep by themselves in your guesthouse? And you don’t even know who’s there?”
“Normally, we check on them all the time. But I guess the boys had a sleepover together and forgot to tell us.”
Silence at the other end.
Mark raised his eyes to Lea, who was pacing back and forth, hands in the pockets of her beach cover-up, hair still spiked like lawn divots.
“Ira is a nice boy,” Mrs. Margulies said finally. “But I’m not so sure I want Ethan to come to your house.”
“I’m sorry, Ginny. I feel as badly as you do.”
“I read the papers, Mark. I know what happened at your house. The murder, I mean. You must be under a lot of pressure. I think Ethan should stay away.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better-” He realized she had clicked off.
He slammed the phone onto the counter. He turned to Lea. “Nice morning, huh? That was a warm family moment.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you blaming the twins? You’re going to berate me again for bringing them here?”
Elena backed away, hands raised. “I don’t want to hear this.”
“How are you getting to school?” Mark spun on her. He didn’t intend to sound so angry.
She backed up against the kitchen table. “Ruth-Ann’s dad. He’s picking me up. You don’t have to chew my head off. I didn’t do anything.”
Before Mark could apologize, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Roz stormed into the kitchen, still in her long blue flannel nightshirt and carrying Axl in her arms. Her hair was unbrushed. Her eyes darted around the kitchen.
“Roz-? Are you okay?” he started.
“Who did this?” she demanded. “Who was it?”
Elena squinted at Axl. She was the first to see it. “Oh my God.”
“Who snuck up to the attic last night?” Roz shouted. “Who would do this to my baby?”
Mark took a staggering step toward her, then stopped short when he saw what Roz was talking about. The fat blue arrow, pointing up, on Axl’s left cheek.
44
The halls at Sag Harbor Middle School smelled of some kind of strong disinfectant. The sharp odor made Samuel’s eyes water and his nose burn. He had always been very sensitive to smells.
When he was younger, the pungent aroma of burning meat from the island’s smoker pits always made him nauseous. But he had outgrown that a while ago.
The four of them walked past the principal’s office and turned the corner into the long hall that led to Miss Montgomery’s classroom. Daniel walked with an arm casually draped over Ira’s shoulder.
Samuel kept close to Ethan, who still seemed reluctant to devote himself wholeheartedly to ruling the school. His assignment from Daniel was to keep close to Ethan and make sure his transition was smooth.
Samuel glimpsed a few kids turning from their lockers and staring at them as they passed. He wasn’t surprised that the face arrows would draw some attention.
Two dark-haired sixth-grade girls, fresh from a morning basketball team practice in their blue-and-white team uniforms, noted the arrows and giggled. But they didn’t stop to comment or ask what the arrows meant.
“You know those girls, boyo?” Daniel asked Ira. “They’re pretty awesome.”
Ira shrugged. “I know them, but they don’t talk to me. I–I’m not really popular, you know.”
Daniel chuckled. “You will be.”
Samuel saw the big bulldog-faced kid, Derek Saltzman, bending over the water fountain on the wall. Derek raised his head as the four boys approached.
He narrowed his beady gaze on Ira. “Hey, Sutter. Did you have a shower this morning?”
“No. Why?” Ira said.
Derek filled his mouth with water, then turned and sprayed Ira’s face and the front of his jacket. “There’s a shower for you, dude.” His laugh sounded more like hiccupping, a series of high whoops.
Ira wiped water off his cheeks with his hand.
Derek noticed the blue arrows for the first time. “What’s up with that?” He took his thumb and smeared it over Ira’s cheek. “Hey, it doesn’t come off.”
“Want one?” Daniel said.
“Yeah, boyo. Join the club,” Samuel said.
Ethan hung back, almost using Samuel as a shield. Samuel knew Ethan was afraid of Derek.
“You look like fucking freaks,” Derek snarled. “Here. Want to wash it off?” He spit another stream of water into Ira’s face.
Daniel stepped in front of Ira to confront Derek. “You’re a tough lad. Want to spit water in
But Derek wasn’t intimidated. “Fuck yes!” He sucked in a long drink and spit a stream of water in Daniel’s face. Then he laughed his whooping laugh.
Daniel didn’t move a muscle. Just let the cold water run down his cheeks and chin.
“You forgot to add something to those arrows on your faces,” Derek said, returning Daniel’s unblinking stare. “You’ve got to put the words
Some boys across the hall burst out laughing at that. Samuel spun around, surprised to find a small crowd watching the confrontation. He recognized the two girls from the basketball team and five or six other kids from his class.
Daniel and Derek continued their staring contest. Derek leaned his back against the porcelain fountain and crossed his beefy arms in front of him.
Samuel watched his twin clench and unclench his fists. Samuel’s stomach tightened in dread. He knew this meant trouble. A lot of trouble.
But couldn’t it wait till later? Couldn’t they have a quiet school day first?
A hush fell over the hall as the two boys continued to glare at each other. No locker doors slammed. No footsteps on the tile floor. No voices.
And then heavy footsteps. And a ringing shout. And before anyone could move, Mrs. Maloney bulled her way through the crowd.
“What’s going on here? What is the fuss and commotion, may I ask?”
Samuel took a step back. The principal wore a long gray crewneck sweater and a plaid skirt over black tights.