Brian Freeman - Spilled Blood

It was just as Marco Piva had told him: there were no secrets here.

‘I didn’t expect to find metal detectors,’ he told the principal.

Valma nodded. ‘Sad, isn’t it? I resisted for months, but the weapons problem was getting out of hand. We had knife fights. Students were bringing guns. I can’t keep the feud out of the school, but I can try to keep them safe while they’re here.’ She pointed at the freshly painted lockers. ‘We keep running to stay ahead of the graffiti. We no longer assign individual lockers, because too many were being vandalized.’

‘Hannah says it’s like gang violence.’

‘She’s right. Gangs give kids who have no future a sense of purpose, and that’s what the feud does here. It’s not about the cancer cluster or the litigation anymore. It’s about hatred, which has become the defining theme for the children in both towns.’

‘So how do you stop it?’

‘If I knew, we would have done it months ago.’ The principal shook her head. ‘I thought that Ashlynn’s death would be a shock to everyone’s senses. I hoped the kids would see that it’s gone too far. That doesn’t seem to be true. If anything, passions are even more inflamed.’

She led him into the school cafeteria, which was mostly empty in advance of the lunch crowd. White-uniformed workers cooked over hot grills behind the counters. The smell of burnt oil was pungent. He saw another security guard near the door.

‘Coffee?’ Valma asked.

‘Please.’

The principal poured two cups from a silver urn, and they sat across from each other at one of the long cafeteria tables. Her strong fingers curled around the foam cup, and her nails were painted red.

‘Have you been principal here for long?’ Chris asked.

Valma waited as steam curled out of her coffee. She blew on it, making an “o” with her lips. ‘Two years.’

‘Are you a native to the area?’

‘Do I look like a native?’ she asked.

‘Not really.’

‘No,’ she agreed. ‘My husband got a job here, and I came with him. I’ve been in education my whole career, but I never imagined my experiences in the St. Louis schools would be quite as useful as they’ve turned out to be.’

‘What does your husband do?’

The principal hesitated. ‘George is a research scientist at Mondamin.’

‘What does he research?’

‘I could tell you,’ she said with a smile.

‘But then you’d have to kill me?’

‘Right.’ She added, ‘Seriously, Mr. Hawk, the employees all sign nondisclosure agreements. They don’t talk to anyone.’

‘It sounds like the company has something to hide.’

‘They do. It’s called intellectual property.’

Like anyone with a spouse in a secretive profession, Maxine Valma had mastered the art of politely saying nothing. ‘Does it cause problems for you at school, having a husband who works at Mondamin?’ he asked. ‘Students from St. Croix must see you as the enemy.’

‘Your daughter certainly did.’

‘Olivia?’

‘Yes, I worked hard to convince her that I was scrupulously neutral, but I’m not sure she believed me.’

‘This is an odd question,’ he said, ‘but what can you tell me about Olivia? We talk a lot, but it’s not the same when you don’t see each other every day. She’s changed. I need to get to know her all over again.’

Valma smiled with sincere warmth. ‘Olivia is smart. She’s booksmart, yes, but she’s people-smart, too, which is relatively rare for teenagers. She’s a natural leader. Outspoken. Passionate. Sometimes reckless.’

‘That’s her mother,’ he said.

‘I know. Hannah and I are good friends, despite what my husband does. The women’s center she runs is invaluable in this region. It’s a resource for children and adults who face some truly desperate situations. She is an angel, Mr. Hawk, or at least that’s how we feel about her.’

Chris said nothing. Hannah was an angel, but she’d flown away from him, leaving a hole in his heart. ‘What else can you tell me about my daughter?’

‘I’m afraid you can be smart and still be naïve. Olivia is young. It’s easy to take all that passion and have it misdirected.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning she’s been one of the loudest voices against Barron and Mondamin. She’s convinced that a grievous injustice was committed, and she refuses to remain silent. That’s fine – commendable even – but Olivia doesn’t always understand the effect she has on others. She can be an instigator with her words, deliberately or not. Other kids look to her. They follow her. Sometimes they go too far.’

‘Like who?’

‘I’m not comfortable naming names, Mr. Hawk.’

‘Tanya Swenson?’

Valma sipped her coffee and considered her response. ‘Tanya looks up to Olivia. I think she’d do just about anything for her. They’re both children of divorce, although Tanya was left alone with Rollie at a young age.’

‘Tanya and her father live in Barron, don’t they?’

‘Yes, but the Barron teenagers have largely shunned her because of the lawsuit.’

‘Does she bear a grudge about that?’ he asked.

The principal’s brow knitted in annoyance. She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. ‘I know where you’re going, Mr. Hawk. In order to create reasonable doubt that Olivia shot Ashlynn, you need to create a cloud of suspicion around Tanya. That may be an unpleasant necessity of being a lawyer, but please don’t try to make me your co-conspirator.’

‘Olivia says she’s innocent.’

‘I’d like to believe that’s true, but it seems unlikely, doesn’t it?’

‘I think she’s telling the truth. That means someone else killed Ashlynn.’

‘Tanya? I don’t believe it.’

‘Anyone who can’t be ruled out has to be ruled in.’

‘I’ve said all I can say about Tanya,’ Valma replied. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Okay. Talk to me about Ashlynn.’

‘What about her?’

‘I’d like to know what was going on in her life.’

The principal held the coffee cup near her lips, and he saw the smear of her lipstick on the rim. She stared at him without saying anything. She was obviously deciding what information she could safely share.

‘Florian doesn’t need to know you’ve told me anything,’ Chris added. ‘I realize it’s awkward because of your husband’s job.’

‘Florian doesn’t scare me.’ She smiled. ‘If I were to be afraid of anyone, it’s Julia.’

‘Oh?’

‘She and Ashlynn were extremely close. If Julia thinks that Olivia is responsible for Ashlynn’s death, she’s likely to be a pit bull who wants to see her destroyed.’

‘Thank you for the warning.’

‘As for Ashlynn, there are certain young women who are obviously destined for great things. That was her. She was beautiful, confident, graceful, spiritual. It’s a tragedy to lose her.’

‘Was Ashlynn part of the Barron clique?’

Valma shook her head. ‘No, Ashlynn was disgusted with the feud. She avoided the other students from Barron.’

‘Who did she hang out with?’

‘She kept to herself a lot, particularly in the last few months. She seemed different, actually.’

‘How so?’

The principal tapped the table with her long fingernails. Like a lawyer, she picked her words carefully. ‘She was troubled. Upset. Her moods swung between highs and lows. That’s not uncommon with teenage girls, but Ashlynn had a seriousness about life that made it more worrisome. On some level, I suppose she took the guilt for the violence onto herself, simply because of her father. That’s nonsense, but try telling it to a teenage girl.’

‘Did she share any of her feelings with you?’ Chris asked.