get the kids out of the building.”
Across the hallway, I could see into the classroom beyond and out its wide windows. A silvery blue police car was speeding up the long driveway, followed by an ambulance from Greenwich Hospital. Leanne Honeywell, the sixth grade math teacher, was hurrying down the hallway toward her room.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She stopped, glanced around, then whispered, “I’m not really sure, but whatever it is, Mr. Hanover looked like he was going to have a stroke when he heard about it. He told us all to stay calm, go to our classrooms, and keep the kids inside. He was heading down the hill to the caretaker’s cottage.
“All I can think is that something terrible must have happened.”
Six
The faculty lounge emptied faster than you can say Kibbles ‘N Bits.
Ed, Sally, and Rita went straight to their classrooms. Not having students to attend to, Michael and I volunteered to clean up and return the lunch trays to the dining room. When that was done, there was a certain sense of inevitability to the way we found ourselves standing next to the back door.
“We ought to go see what’s happening,” said Michael. My kind of guy.
“Maybe we can help,” I said.
“After the police and an ambulance crew have already arrived? Don’t bet on it.” His steps matched mine as I hurried out the door and down the stairs. “I just want to see what all the fuss is about.”
The caretaker’s cottage was a euphemistic name for an old wooden shed that stood next to the soccer field and housed most of the tools used by Krebbs and the groundskeeping crew. Erected at the same time as the original house, it had obviously suffered periods of neglect and haphazard repair. Two of its windows had broken panes, and the back wall tilted alarmingly. Though I’d passed by the building numerous times on my way to the sports fields, I’d never had occasion to go inside.
From the top of the hill, we could already see a knot of people gathered around the door to the cottage. Police and EMTs were bustling in and out. Russell Hanover was standing off to one side, looking deeply troubled. Michael and I headed his way.
“What is it?” Michael asked. “What’s happened?”
The headmaster wasn’t pleased to see us. “I asked everyone to stay inside. I don’t want the children alarmed in any way. Please go straight back to your classes.”
“We don’t have any classes,” I said. “Michael and I were working on the pageant. Is there anything we can do to help?”
Russell considered his answer for a long moment. This was the first time I’d seen his composure shaken. He looked like a man who had no idea what to do next.
“We seem to have all the help we need,” he said finally. “I’ve been asked to stay out of the way, and I suggest that both of you do the same.”
Michael craned his head around the group, trying to see inside the shed. “What’s going on in there?”
“Apparently there’s been an accident. Mr. Krebbs has suffered an injury, and the authorities are seeing to him now. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Looking at what was happening around us, I didn’t share his confidence. Though I couldn’t see into the building, none of the emergency personnel seemed too concerned about the condition of Eugene Krebbs. He hadn’t been brought out, and nobody was rushing to his aid. Instead another patrol car had arrived, and an officer with a video camera had begun to tape the proceedings.
Having had the misfortune to be present at the scene of several murders over the last few years, I was pretty sure this sort of activity meant that Krebbs was anything but fine. The arrival of a dark blue sedan containing Detective Thomas Shertz, whom I’d met when a member of Aunt Peg’s kennel club had been murdered the year before, only confirmed my suspicions. He parked his car at the edge of the field and climbed out, his topcoat flapping around him in the wind.
If Detective Shertz
Across the hallway, I could see into the classroom beyond and out its wide windows. A silvery blue police car was speeding up the long driveway, followed by an ambulance from Greenwich Hospital. Leanne Honeywell, the sixth grade math teacher, was hurrying down the hallway toward her room.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She stopped, glanced around, then whispered, “I’m not really sure, but whatever it is, Mr. Hanover looked like he was going to have a stroke when he heard about it. He told us all to stay calm, go to our classrooms, and keep the kids inside. He was heading down the hill to the caretaker’s cottage.
“All I can think is that something terrible must have happened.”
Six
The faculty lounge emptied faster than you can say Kibbles ‘N Bits.
Ed, Sally, and Rita went straight to their classrooms. Not having students to attend to, Michael and I volunteered to clean up and return the lunch trays to the dining room. When that was done, there was a certain sense of inevitability to the way we found ourselves standing next to the back door.
“We ought to go see what’s happening,” said Michael. My kind of guy.
“Maybe we can help,” I said.
“After the police and an ambulance crew have already arrived? Don’t bet on it.” His steps matched mine as I hurried out the door and down the stairs. “I just want to see what all the fuss is about.”
The caretaker’s cottage was a euphemistic name for an old wooden shed that stood next to the soccer field and housed most of the tools used by Krebbs and the groundskeeping crew. Erected at the same time as the original house, it had obviously suffered periods of neglect and haphazard repair. Two of its windows had broken panes, and the back wall tilted alarmingly. Though I’d passed by the building numerous times on my way to the sports fields, I’d never had occasion to go inside.
From the top of the hill, we could already see a knot of people gathered around the door to the cottage. Police and EMTs were bustling in and out. Russell Hanover was standing off to one side, looking deeply troubled. Michael and I headed his way.
“What is it?” Michael asked. “What’s happened?”
The headmaster wasn’t pleased to see us. “I asked everyone to stay inside. I don’t want the children alarmed in any way. Please go straight back to your classes.”
“We don’t have any classes,” I said. “Michael and I were working on the pageant. Is there anything we can do to help?”
Russell considered his answer for a long moment. This was the first time I’d seen his composure shaken. He looked like a man who had no idea what to do next.
“We seem to have all the help we need,” he said finally. “I’ve been asked to stay out of the way, and I suggest that both of you do the same.”
Michael craned his head around the group, trying to see inside the shed. “What’s going on in there?”
“Apparently there’s been an accident. Mr. Krebbs has suffered an injury, and the authorities are seeing to him now. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Looking at what was happening around us, I didn’t share his confidence. Though I couldn’t see into the building, none of the emergency personnel seemed too concerned about the condition of Eugene Krebbs. He hadn’t been brought out, and nobody was rushing to his aid. Instead another patrol car had arrived, and an officer with a video camera had begun to tape the proceedings.
Having had the misfortune to be present at the scene of several murders over the last few years, I was pretty sure this sort of activity meant that Krebbs was anything but fine. The arrival of a dark blue sedan containing Detective Thomas Shertz, whom I’d met when a member of Aunt Peg’s kennel club had been murdered the year before, only confirmed my suspicions. He parked his car at the edge of the field and climbed out, his topcoat flapping around him in the wind.
If Detective Shertz
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