blow over.”
Mark thought of the way the cop who’d left his dad’s office had stared at him, and he swallowed hard. “The police don’t think I have something to do with her disappearing?”
When his dad didn’t answer, Mark shook his head.
“No way, that’s crazy!”
Even as he said it—even though he believed it himself—something inside his gut twisted. Because he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, could he? The more he tried to remember, the more that night became a big, fat blank.
“Just lie low for a while,” his father said. “Go to classes and to practice, then straight home. No more fights. No girls. You got it?”
“Yeah,” Mark replied.
“It’ll be all right, you’ll see.”
“Sure,” Mark said without much conviction. He had areally bad feeling about this whole thing. It wasn’t like his mom leaving or his dad changing jobs; it was much, much worse and it scared him shitless.
The phone rang again. This time, his father picked it up.
And Mark took the opportunity to bail.
W ithin ten minutes of Katie opening the box and finding the hand, Amelia House was swarming with campus cops. Tessa wondered who’d show up next. The police chief from Barnard? Dr. Arnold from the cadaver lab? That tired-looking actor from
CSI: New York
?
Her chin jerked up as the French doors to the den opened, and she realized she’d left someone off her list: the school shrink.
“Dr. Capello, thanks for coming so quickly. The headmaster thought it would be a good idea for you to chat with the girls,” Mrs. Gabbert said as she ushered the psychiatrist into the room where Tessa and Katie had been stashed after the security chief had finished grilling them. For some reason, he hadn’t seemed at all happy with Tessa’s replies.
Do you have any idea who sent the package?
Isn’t it
your
job to find out?
Do you know why someone would target Miss Barton?
Because she dates that jerk Mark Summers?
Are you aware if Miss Barton has recently received any harassing emails or texts?
Does that include hurl-inducing love notes?
Tessa heard the security chief mumble “Smart-ass” under his breath.
“Can I get you anything, Lisa? Coffee, tea, water?” Mrs. Gabbert rambled on. Her face was red and she kept kneading her hands. She looked on the verge of a heart attack.
“Thanks, Estelle, but I’m good.” Dr. Capello smiled thinly. “I’ll take it from here if you don’t mind.”
“Certainly.” Mrs. Gabbert nodded and left the room.
“How’re you both doing?” Dr. Capello asked, and pulled a chair nearer the sofa where Tessa and Katie sat.
“I’m all right,” Tessa said. “But then I’m not the one with the secret admirer.” She glanced at Katie’s pale face and the tissue she was pulverizing in her lap.
“How about you, Katie?” the doctor asked, sitting down and crossing her legs. Her dark hair was pulled off her face in a ponytail, and she had bangs that made her look more like a Whitney student than a grown-up. She was even wearing a burgundy jacket that was a dead ringer for their school blazers. All that was missing was the crest.
Katie turned teary eyes on the doctor. “I’m pretty freaked out. Who’d do something so twisted?”
“I don’t know,” Dr. Capello answered. “Someone who needs help.”
“Someone who needs a padded cell, you mean,” Katie said. Her fingers shook as she shredded the tissue. “What I don’t get is why they’d send something like that to
me
? The security chief acted like I’d done something to bring it on.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Dr. Capello told her. “You can’t control what other people do. It’s not your fault this happened.”
Katie bit her lip, nodding.
Tessa watched the exchange, keeping quiet. Every time she sat in a room with Dr. Capello she had to remind herself that no matter how caring and nice the shrink seemed, she worked for the headmaster. Everything that anyone told her wound up in a file, property of
Mark thought of the way the cop who’d left his dad’s office had stared at him, and he swallowed hard. “The police don’t think I have something to do with her disappearing?”
When his dad didn’t answer, Mark shook his head.
“No way, that’s crazy!”
Even as he said it—even though he believed it himself—something inside his gut twisted. Because he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, could he? The more he tried to remember, the more that night became a big, fat blank.
“Just lie low for a while,” his father said. “Go to classes and to practice, then straight home. No more fights. No girls. You got it?”
“Yeah,” Mark replied.
“It’ll be all right, you’ll see.”
“Sure,” Mark said without much conviction. He had areally bad feeling about this whole thing. It wasn’t like his mom leaving or his dad changing jobs; it was much, much worse and it scared him shitless.
The phone rang again. This time, his father picked it up.
And Mark took the opportunity to bail.
W ithin ten minutes of Katie opening the box and finding the hand, Amelia House was swarming with campus cops. Tessa wondered who’d show up next. The police chief from Barnard? Dr. Arnold from the cadaver lab? That tired-looking actor from
CSI: New York
?
Her chin jerked up as the French doors to the den opened, and she realized she’d left someone off her list: the school shrink.
“Dr. Capello, thanks for coming so quickly. The headmaster thought it would be a good idea for you to chat with the girls,” Mrs. Gabbert said as she ushered the psychiatrist into the room where Tessa and Katie had been stashed after the security chief had finished grilling them. For some reason, he hadn’t seemed at all happy with Tessa’s replies.
Do you have any idea who sent the package?
Isn’t it
your
job to find out?
Do you know why someone would target Miss Barton?
Because she dates that jerk Mark Summers?
Are you aware if Miss Barton has recently received any harassing emails or texts?
Does that include hurl-inducing love notes?
Tessa heard the security chief mumble “Smart-ass” under his breath.
“Can I get you anything, Lisa? Coffee, tea, water?” Mrs. Gabbert rambled on. Her face was red and she kept kneading her hands. She looked on the verge of a heart attack.
“Thanks, Estelle, but I’m good.” Dr. Capello smiled thinly. “I’ll take it from here if you don’t mind.”
“Certainly.” Mrs. Gabbert nodded and left the room.
“How’re you both doing?” Dr. Capello asked, and pulled a chair nearer the sofa where Tessa and Katie sat.
“I’m all right,” Tessa said. “But then I’m not the one with the secret admirer.” She glanced at Katie’s pale face and the tissue she was pulverizing in her lap.
“How about you, Katie?” the doctor asked, sitting down and crossing her legs. Her dark hair was pulled off her face in a ponytail, and she had bangs that made her look more like a Whitney student than a grown-up. She was even wearing a burgundy jacket that was a dead ringer for their school blazers. All that was missing was the crest.
Katie turned teary eyes on the doctor. “I’m pretty freaked out. Who’d do something so twisted?”
“I don’t know,” Dr. Capello answered. “Someone who needs help.”
“Someone who needs a padded cell, you mean,” Katie said. Her fingers shook as she shredded the tissue. “What I don’t get is why they’d send something like that to
me
? The security chief acted like I’d done something to bring it on.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Dr. Capello told her. “You can’t control what other people do. It’s not your fault this happened.”
Katie bit her lip, nodding.
Tessa watched the exchange, keeping quiet. Every time she sat in a room with Dr. Capello she had to remind herself that no matter how caring and nice the shrink seemed, she worked for the headmaster. Everything that anyone told her wound up in a file, property of
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