goggles had left the skin eggshell-white. The resulting raccoon effect did not bode well for Monday morning. Then I noticed that what I had taken from him were new Rossignol skis boasting new Marker bindings.
“What is going on?” I asked. Arch kept his eyes cast down as he hauled his overnight bag up the steps. “Dad forgot sunblock,” he muttered.
“So he paid you off with new skis?” I said, incredulous.
“I guess.” His tone was as downcast as his voice. I realized with a pang that I hadn’t even welcomed him home, much less told him about the tragic events of the weekend. Oh, spare me John Richard and his lavish attempts to bribe his way out of misconduct. The fact that I could not even come close to affording these luxurious trinkets didn’t make dealing with them any easier. Not to mention what kind of message Arch was picking up from this kind of behavior.
“I’ll be embarrassed to death if I have to go to school tomorrow looking like this,” my son said with a crack in his voice. “I look like a red giant.”
“A…”
“Oh, never mind, it’s just a kind of star. Big and ugly and red.”
“Oh Arch ? “
“Just don’t say anything, please, Mom. Not a word.”
“You can stay home tomorrow,” I told him, giving him a hug. “The police are watching the house, so if I have to go out, you’ll be protected.”
“All right! Cool! Can I invite Todd over to watch the surveillance?”
Give them an inch… “You can invite him over for dinner,” I replied. At least this would give me some more time to lead up to the news of the Ferrell murder. It was my hope that Todd, a seventh-grader at the local junior high, would not be aware yet of the most recent crisis at Elk Park Prep.
Julian, who had fallen asleep working on his college applications, was in the kitchen drinking a Coke when Arch trundled in to greet him. To Julian’s credit, although his eyebrows peaked in surprise upon seeing Arch’s speckled facial condition, he made no comment. Over supper ? fettuccine with hearty ladles of leftover tomato sauce ? Arch regaled Todd, Julian, and me with stories of how he caught about six feet of air going down a blue and cruised through a totally monstrous mogul field before biffing on top of this guy from Texas. The Texan, one presumed, survived.
Before Arch went to bed I broke the news of Miss Ferrell’s death. There would be counselors at the school the next day, I told him. So if he wasn’t too worried about the sunburn… Arch said Miss Ferrell wasn’t his teacher, but she was so nice… . Was it the same person who had bashed Keith, he asked. I told him I didn’t know. After a few minutes Arch asked if we could pray for the two of them.
“Not out loud,” he said as he turned away from me.
“Not out loud,” I agreed, and after five minutes of silent offering, I turned out his light and went downstairs.
A windstorm kicked up overnight. Pine tree branches whooshed and knocked against the house and cold air slid through all of the uncaulked cracks. I got up to get another blanket. The police car at the end of our drive should have provided soporific assurance, but it did not. I prowled the house at midnight, two-thirty, and four A.M. Each time I checked on the boys, they were sleeping soundly, although Arch had stayed up late with his binoculars, watching for movements in the police car. Around five I finally drifted off into a deep sleep, but was sharply awakened an hour later when the phone rang.
“Goldy.” Audrey Coopersmith sounded panicked. “I need to talk. I’ve been up for hours.”
“Agh,” I gargled.
“Carl’s back,” her voice rushed on, as if she were announcing a nuclear holocaust. “He came over and talked to Heather about his… girlfriend.”
“He came over,” I repeated, my nose deep in my pillow.
“He’s thinking of getting married.”
“Better to her than to you,” I mumbled. “The police were here when he came. He didn’t even ask if I was all right. He didn’t even ask what was going on.?
Sadly, I said, “Audrey, Carl doesn’t care anymore.” I bit back the urge to talk about waking up and smelling the coffee. Mentioning caffeine would make me desire it too deeply.
“I just don’t understand why he’s acting this way, especially after all these years… .”
I pressed my face against my pillow and said nothing. Audrey was determined to recite the lengthy litany of Carl’s wrongs. I said, “I’m sorry, but I need to go.”
“Carl’s upsetting Heather terribly. I don’t know how she’s going to survive this.”
“Please, please, please, Audrey, let me go back to sleep. I promise I’ll call you later.”
She snapped, “You don’t care. Nobody cares.” And with that she banged the phone down before I had a chance to protest. Grudgingly, I got out of bed and went down to smell, as well as make, the coffee. Julian was already up and showering. Audrey had not mentioned Suzanne Ferrell, but that was certainly why the police had visited her. I wondered if they would also be stationed out at the school.
Arch stumbled down to the kitchen at seven. His bright pink raccoon mask had faded somewhat, and I noticed with surprise that he had dressed in a ski sweater and jeans. He pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard.
“Sure you feel okay about going today?” He stopped sprinkling out Rice Krispies and gave me a solemn look. “Julian says that if you go to school with this kind of sunburn, kids don’t make fun of you. They think you’re cool because you skied all weekend. Besides, I want to listen to the counselors and find out if the French Club is going to do something for Miss Ferrell. You know, send flowers to her parents, write notes.”
Within an hour both boys were out the door. Schulz called and said he was going down to Lakewood again to work on the Kathy Andrews case. He asked how we were, and I said truthfully that I was exhausted.
“I keep trying to figure out what’s going on. Since Miss Ferrell wanted to talk to me about Julian, I need to at least make an attempt to chat with the headmaster about him.”
“Keep at it,” Schulz said. “You inspire great trust, Miss G.”
“Yeah, sure.” He promised he would meet us at the Tattered Cover for the last college advisory affair this coming Friday night. Was it still going to happen, he wanted to know. I said I would call the school to find out if I was still the caterer of record.
“Look at it this way,” Schulz soothed. “It’s your last one of these college advisory things.”
Small comfort. But I smiled anyway. “Getting to see you will be the best part.”
“Ooo, ooo, should have gotten this on tape. The woman likes me.”
I savored his wicked chuckle for the rest of the day.
The school secretary brusquely informed me that Headmaster Perkins was completely tied up with the police, parents, and teachers. He wouldn’t have a free moment to see me for days. Then she put me on hold. In that time I managed to put together a Roquefort ramekin for our vegetarian supper, so I guess I was on hold for a long time. She returned to tell me that yes, they were going ahead Friday night; I should just fix the same menu. And Headmaster Perkins and I could discuss Julian Teller Friday morning at nine if I wanted. If, I thought with indignation.
The week passed in a flurry of meetings with clients, who were already planning Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. I called Marla every day, but that was my closest link to the grapevine around the adults connected with Elk Park Prep. Unable to attend her exercise class with a broken leg, Marla had precious little access to information herself although she did tell me that she’d heard Egon Schlichtmaier was dating somebody else from the athletic club.
“In addition to Suzanne Ferrell? Really?”
“She swears his relationship with Ferrell was just platonic. This other woman is disgustingly thin,” Marla pronounced. “I just know she’s had liposuction.” She asked how Julian was doing, and I assured her he seemed fine. When I asked her why she cared about Julian, she said that she had a strong sympathy for vegetarians. News to me.
On Thursday, both Julian and Arch attended the memorial service for Miss Ferrell at the Catholic church. I had an unbreakable appointment with a client who had booked me for Thanksgiving itself. This client wanted a goose dinner for twenty that I would have to balance with my other commitments. Generally, I limited myself to ten
