"Oh, my gosh," Ashe stood up and then sat down again.
"What? What is it?" Sali was concerned, now.
"Old Harold. If he's dead, he could have died anytime during spring break, after he cleaned the school the Friday before. Oh, my gosh." Ashe rubbed his forehead. He felt a headache coming on.
"Wait, didn't your dad and Radomir talk to him sometime last week?"
"They may have, but I didn't hear about it," Ashe muttered. There wasn't any way to question any of them until nightfall. Once again, Ashe felt out of his depth, with too many questions and too few answers.
"The autopsy is happening tonight, too," Sali said. "And that ties up the Enforcer and the investigator."
"Yeah. So if anybody goes to check on Old Harold, it'll be Dad and Nathan."
"Dude, won't he just be ash or something, if he is dead? I mean, there won't be a body to look over so we can figure out what happened, will there?" Sali was right, Ashe knew. When a vampire died, their bodies turned to a dusty ash. His father always said it was nature's protective measure, so the humans wouldn't have a vampire to dissect and prove they actually did exist.
"Pat Roberts has disappeared—Marcus can't find him anywhere," Ashe heard Mrs. Rocklin's voice from outside the classroom as clearly as if he'd been standing next to her. He didn't know to whom she spoke, but Ashe was now doubly worried. Pat Roberts certainly thought a vampire killed James. Did he kill Old Harold in retaliation and then run away?
"Dang," Ashe whispered.
"What is it?" Sali hissed.
"Shhh, Mrs. Rocklin's coming," Ashe warned. Most of the class heard and turned away from gossiping with their neighbors.
Class resumed once Mrs. Rocklin took her seat, but Ashe thought she looked pale and wasn't as attentive as usual during the transformations. She didn't call on Ashe, and he was fine with that. He just picked up clothing after the others.
"What are we going to do?" Cori was almost in tears at lunchtime. She'd sat next to Ashe, who noticed that her hands shook as she held her fork. The entire school had done nothing but gossip and speculate all morning about Old Harold.
"Cori, it'll be all right, just don't go out alone, okay?" Ashe was becoming very worried. Cori held secrets that would certainly result in punishment if they were discovered, and Ashe knew that was eating away at her. Radomir hadn't asked her anything about Randy Smith, and the werewolves would be furious if they found out what Cori knew.
"I don't think that's a problem, dude." Sali jerked his head toward the cafeteria door, where Denise DeLuca stood, keys in hand. Spotting Sali, she walked right over.
"I'll be taking you three home this afternoon, with Wynn and Dori," Mrs. DeLuca said.
"Mom, do they know anything yet?" Sali was about to burst from curiosity.
"Not yet. Your father went to Old Harold's house, but the place is still locked up so we won't know anything until sundown. He's tried to call Pat Roberts over and over again, and gets no answer. Micah and Mr. Winkler have gone to Pat's house, but they haven't found anything yet. Your dad is thinking about pulling Marco out of school to go sniff around with some of the others. Ashe, I've talked to your mother, and she says under no circumstances are you to go outside unless an adult is with you, and to call her the minute you get home."
"Okay." Ashe couldn't help it; he gripped Cori's hand under the table. Cori gave his fingers a grateful squeeze.
"I'll be waiting outside in the van when school lets out." Denise DeLuca rose from the bench beside Sali.
"Thank you, Mrs. DeLuca," Cori remembered her manners.
"Sweetie, it's no trouble." Mrs. DeLuca walked out of the cafeteria.
"Where are you going?" Sali asked when Ashe didn't walk directly to history class after finishing lunch. Cori separated from them, heading toward tenth-grade English with Mr. Harris.
"To check something," Ashe replied, heading directly for Mr. Billings' office. Principal Billings was standing outside his doorway, brown eyes watching intently as the students went this way and that, most focused on getting to their classrooms to talk for a while before the bell rang. Ashe ignored the deep frown Principal Billings cast in his direction as he looked over the list of essay contest winners. First, second and third place was listed on each strip of engraved metal, along with the year the students won.
Ashe found the one he wanted. There it was—it hadn't been altered. Seven years earlier, the winner had been Randy Smith, a seventh grader at the time. Barely three months later, Randy had been sent to a human school and shortly after that, he'd been banished for spilling secrets. Ashe wanted more than anything to read that essay—he just didn't know what happened to any of them after they were submitted. He knew he'd never gotten any of his back. Maybe they went into the recycle bin after the judging; he'd never thought to ask.
"What were you looking for?" Sali whispered on the way to history class.
"Just what I found," Ashe replied, making Sali snort.
After school let out, Denise DeLuca waited in the school parking lot as promised, but Ashe was shocked to see the number of other vehicles parked on the wide strip of gravel beside the school. Even Mr. Thompson, in buffalo form, was standing in a field nearby, keeping watch over the students. Every child had a ride, however. Ashe thought it safer, if he were honest, climbing into the third row of seats inside the van. DeLuca's Locksmith Services was painted in red on the outside of the white van and that meant Marcus DeLuca must be driving the Honda so Denise could drive the kids. Sali was already inside and scooting over to give Ashe room.
"Everybody in? Anybody forget anything?" Mrs. DeLuca asked. "Good," she said at the shaking heads. "Let's go. We'll drop Dori and Cori off first." She navigated around two other cars that were pulling closer to the school before going down the dusty dirt and gravel road that ran between fields in Cloud Chief.
"Anything new, Mrs. DeLuca?" Cori asked.
"No, sweetheart. And your mother said she'd be in from the fields early. She drove the tractor out to check on fences but she'll be back before dark," Denise kept her eyes on the gravel road as she answered Cori's question.
"Dad is supposed to do the plowing for the community vegetable garden tonight," Cori sighed.
"I'm sure someone will go out with him," Denise DeLuca reached over to pat Cori's hand. Cori sat in the front passenger seat; Dori had the middle section to herself since Sali didn't want to sit beside his nemesis, and Ashe had elected to sit beside his friend.