asked.
Brynn shrugged. “Whatever it was, he was expecting it. It made me calmer, you know, like he was supposed to be there for sure. He took her hand and walked her to his car.”
So that was the end of Jessie , I thought. The light went a little shaky in Brynn’s hand. She said, “But the weirdest thing was? The man made Jessie get into the car’s driver seat. She didn’t want to, but he made her. He got in on the passenger side, then Jessie put her seat belt on, and that made her cry.” Of course , I thought. Buckling her seat belt must’ve reminded Jessie of the day her brother died.
“What then?” My voice wouldn’t go above a whisper.
Brynn shrugged. “She drove away.”
There were lots of upsetting things about Brynn’s story. Not the least of which was that when I’d looked through Jessie’s wallet, she hadn’t had a driver’s license, only an ID card. Why would Barnaby Charon make her drive?
Instead I asked, “Why didn’t you guys get Miss Andersen? Why didn’t you get her when Jessie stopped talking?”
“I did tell Miss Andersen.” Nora rubbed her fingertips together. She’d been twisting those screws in so hard she’d given herself blisters. “When she came to our room for ten o’clock check-in. She saw what Jessie looked like — it’s not like I could hide it. I told her everything. When that man showed up later … I figured Miss Andersen had sent him. Or like Brynn said — it was her dad or something. Somebody who was supposed to be there.”
I slumped down to the floor. “What does it mean?”
Brynn said in a quavering voice, “That man knew when Jessie was ready to go. The room’s bugged.”
“That’s totally paranoid,” Nora said. The skin around her eyes was blanched white, she looked so stressed.
“Tell her what happened to you after!” Brynn demanded. “Tell her what you told me!”
Nora went back to her work, despite the blisters. When she finally spoke, it was the quietest I had ever heard her. “After Jessie and the man were gone, I decided to get Miss Andersen. She sat me in her living room, made me tea, told me everything was OK, and went back to her bedroom to make a few phone calls.
“At around five in the morning, she took me up to the headmistress’s office. Dr. Falzone and Mrs. Sibley werewaiting for us. They made me tell them everything that happened. When I was done, they told me to wait there, and they left.
“They left me there the whole day. Mrs. Sibley’s secretary brought me breakfast. Then lunch. I asked her what was going on. She didn’t tell me anything,” Nora whispered.
I thought back over the day. By lunch, Dr. Falzone had already told me about Jessie going home to her parents.
Nora started up again. “Around two o’clock, Dr. Falzone, Mrs. Sibley, Miss Andersen, and two other men came in and I told my story again. When they left, I told Sibley’s secretary I had to get out of there or I was going to go nuts. She went away and came back with a note. It said I had been in crisis counseling all day, and it was signed by the headmistress. She told me to show it to the teachers whose classes I’d missed.”
Nora stepped back. The door was neatly secured to the tunnel’s entrance. She sucked her thumb and looked at the huge blister there. Then she gave us a crooked smile. “What a joke, right? Not one teacher actually read it — they already knew the story.”
Nora took out a padlock and three keys, making sure each key popped the lock open. Then she handed one of the keys to me and one to Brynn.
“What do you think was going on?” Brynn asked her.
Nora shrugged. “Maybe it’s just like Dr. Falzone said.” She ticked off each point on her fingers.
Index: “I told Miss Andersen that Jessie was having problems.”
Middle: “Miss Andersen told the faculty.”
Ring: “Jessie knew they were coming to get her at a certain time, and she got up to meet her dad or her sponsor or whoever.”
Nora looked satisfied,
Brynn shrugged. “Whatever it was, he was expecting it. It made me calmer, you know, like he was supposed to be there for sure. He took her hand and walked her to his car.”
So that was the end of Jessie , I thought. The light went a little shaky in Brynn’s hand. She said, “But the weirdest thing was? The man made Jessie get into the car’s driver seat. She didn’t want to, but he made her. He got in on the passenger side, then Jessie put her seat belt on, and that made her cry.” Of course , I thought. Buckling her seat belt must’ve reminded Jessie of the day her brother died.
“What then?” My voice wouldn’t go above a whisper.
Brynn shrugged. “She drove away.”
There were lots of upsetting things about Brynn’s story. Not the least of which was that when I’d looked through Jessie’s wallet, she hadn’t had a driver’s license, only an ID card. Why would Barnaby Charon make her drive?
Instead I asked, “Why didn’t you guys get Miss Andersen? Why didn’t you get her when Jessie stopped talking?”
“I did tell Miss Andersen.” Nora rubbed her fingertips together. She’d been twisting those screws in so hard she’d given herself blisters. “When she came to our room for ten o’clock check-in. She saw what Jessie looked like — it’s not like I could hide it. I told her everything. When that man showed up later … I figured Miss Andersen had sent him. Or like Brynn said — it was her dad or something. Somebody who was supposed to be there.”
I slumped down to the floor. “What does it mean?”
Brynn said in a quavering voice, “That man knew when Jessie was ready to go. The room’s bugged.”
“That’s totally paranoid,” Nora said. The skin around her eyes was blanched white, she looked so stressed.
“Tell her what happened to you after!” Brynn demanded. “Tell her what you told me!”
Nora went back to her work, despite the blisters. When she finally spoke, it was the quietest I had ever heard her. “After Jessie and the man were gone, I decided to get Miss Andersen. She sat me in her living room, made me tea, told me everything was OK, and went back to her bedroom to make a few phone calls.
“At around five in the morning, she took me up to the headmistress’s office. Dr. Falzone and Mrs. Sibley werewaiting for us. They made me tell them everything that happened. When I was done, they told me to wait there, and they left.
“They left me there the whole day. Mrs. Sibley’s secretary brought me breakfast. Then lunch. I asked her what was going on. She didn’t tell me anything,” Nora whispered.
I thought back over the day. By lunch, Dr. Falzone had already told me about Jessie going home to her parents.
Nora started up again. “Around two o’clock, Dr. Falzone, Mrs. Sibley, Miss Andersen, and two other men came in and I told my story again. When they left, I told Sibley’s secretary I had to get out of there or I was going to go nuts. She went away and came back with a note. It said I had been in crisis counseling all day, and it was signed by the headmistress. She told me to show it to the teachers whose classes I’d missed.”
Nora stepped back. The door was neatly secured to the tunnel’s entrance. She sucked her thumb and looked at the huge blister there. Then she gave us a crooked smile. “What a joke, right? Not one teacher actually read it — they already knew the story.”
Nora took out a padlock and three keys, making sure each key popped the lock open. Then she handed one of the keys to me and one to Brynn.
“What do you think was going on?” Brynn asked her.
Nora shrugged. “Maybe it’s just like Dr. Falzone said.” She ticked off each point on her fingers.
Index: “I told Miss Andersen that Jessie was having problems.”
Middle: “Miss Andersen told the faculty.”
Ring: “Jessie knew they were coming to get her at a certain time, and she got up to meet her dad or her sponsor or whoever.”
Nora looked satisfied,
Similar Books
