Murder Most Studious Page 8

  I raise my eyebrows at Freya. “Did you guys start the party without me?”

  “Sam started a little before the rest of us. It’s been quite a week for her,” Freya says. “We’ll all soon catch up.”

  “Cheers to that,” Samantha says, clinking glasses with Cat.

  Freya brings me a very tall glass of wine, and we clink glasses. I take a big sip. I wasn’t planning on doing a lot of drinking tonight, but I’m not against relaxing a little. Maybe it will improve my poster-making skills.

  “So you see before you everything you need to make beautiful posters to hang around campus,” Freya says. “Because it’s autumn-themed, we need colorful leaves, pumpkins, gourds, etc.”

  “Wait. I thought we aren’t allowed to put up posters,” I say.

  “They’re not allowed in our classrooms, but we can put them around campus for special events,” Cat explains.

  “What do you want the posters to say?” I ask.

  “Just the usual, ‘Happy Family Fall Weekend’, ‘Welcome’. Stuff like that,” Cat says.

  “Are other teachers helping with this? Do we need to coordinate it?” I ask.

  “I have a confession to make. I always volunteer to make the posters,” Freya says.

  “And she always ropes us in to helping her,” Samantha says.

  “But why do you volunteer for this?” I ask.

  “Because I enjoy being in charge and I don’t want the posters to be rubbish. But also because I think it’s fun, and it’s a pretty simple way to help Ms. Bowerton out,” Freya says. “She might not be literally writing down who does extra and who doesn’t, but she’s certainly remembering it.”

  “I don’t see the point,” Samantha says, swirling her glass of wine and then downing it. “She’s not going to help you out if you need her to. She didn’t help me out with Brigg the prig.”

  “How could she help you out if you never told her?” Freya asks, frowning. “She’s not a mind-reader.”

  “This is a big secret,” Samantha says, putting her finger to her lips. “But I did tell her.”

  “Wait. What?” Cat asks, shocked.

  “I scheduled a meeting with her and told her all the disgusting details. It was humiliating.”

  “What did she do?” I ask.

  “Oh, she patted my hand and told me to be strong. She said she was working on a solution, but he was never fired. Or punished or anything,” Samantha says, tearing up. “I was terrified to leave my apartment, and she did nothing.”

  “It’s all over now, love,” Cat says, putting her arm around Samantha. “You don’t have to be afraid any longer.”

  “The bastard got what he deserved,” Freya says.

  “I just want to go to bed,” Samantha says, wiping her eyes with her hands. “I’m sorry about the posters, Freya.”

  “No worries,” Freya says, hugging Samantha goodbye.

  Cat leaves with Samantha to make sure she gets to her apartment okay, arm tight around her shoulders.

  “I hope she’ll be okay,” I say.

  “She will be. All of this has been a lot to handle, but she’s strong. And she has us, so she’ll get through it. Now, how is your hand-writing?”

  “It’s fine,” I say, startled by the abrupt change of subject.

  “Perfect. You can write the words and I’ll do all the decorations on the posters.”

  I write everything Freya tells me to while she draws leaves, pumpkins, and vines swirling around the outsides of the posters. Cat comes back a little while later and tells us that Samantha is asleep. We work for another hour until Freya tells us we’ve done enough.

  I tell Cat and Freya goodbye and walk down the hall to my apartment. I really like the three of them, but being the new girl means I don’t know everyone’s history. Not that they’re trying to hide anything from me. There are just a lot of things they’ve shared and know about each other that I don’t. And I don’t want to be annoying by constantly asking them to explain things to me. I feel like I’ll never catch up.

  I’m glad they’ve been so welcoming though. They could just act like mean girls and box me out. I’ve experienced that in the past. Of course, you would think by our age all of that ridiculousness would be over. I’m happy to have found a place where I feel so welcomed.

  * * * * *

  The Friday morning of Fall Family Weekend dawns crisp and sunny. Everyone is pleased there is no rain in the forecast for the entire weekend. All the staff seem to be flapping around like geese with a million things to do, while all the students have turned into excited canaries flitting around and chattering loudly in the halls, excited to see their families.

  Classes are finished by noon to give everyone enough time to get ready for all the weekend’s events. The weekend officially starts with a tea this afternoon, along with a brief speech by Ms. Bowerton to welcome the families. Tomorrow, all the teachers are required to spend the morning hours in our classrooms so that parents can come in to speak with us if needed.

  There will be campus tours going on, a formal dinner tomorrow night, and a chapel service Sunday morning. I offered to help Freya decorate for the tea, so as soon as I finish teaching my last class, I walk to her classroom to see what she needs me to do.

  “Thank goodness you’re here,” Freya says as soon as I walk into the room. “We have so much to do. Would you mind finding Frank and seeing if he can bring a ladder to the hall, so we can hang some fairy lights.”

  “Sure,” I say. “Do you have any idea where he might be right now?”

  “He was pruning some shrubbery around the chapel earlier, but if he’s not there, you can try his cottage. Do you know where it is?”

  I nod yes and head out to find Frank. I’m concerned it might take a while to find the grounds keeper of over two hundred acres. He could be anywhere. I head to the chapel, but Frank is not around, so I walk towards his cottage. I catch up with him right as he’s opening his gate.

  “Good afternoon, Frank,” I say loudly, so he hears me before he goes inside.

  He doesn’t say anything but waits for me to walk over to him. He’s not smiling, but he’s not frowning either, so I take this as a good sign.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you have a ladder I could use to hang some decorations in the hall for the family tea this afternoon.” I try to be as polite as possible. I’m still intimidated by the man.

  “Do you know what time it is?” he asks.

  I look at my sports watch. “Yes, it’s 12:10.”

  “That is my lunch time. I go home to eat lunch and take a brief rest every day at this time.”

  “Um, okay. Do you want me to come back later?” I ask, uncertain what he wants from me.

  “No, young lady. I’m just telling you. As soon as I have had my lunch and my rest, I will bring a ladder for you to the hall.”

  “Thank you very much, Frank. I was afraid I was going to have to disappoint Freya.”

  “Tell Freya that Frank will take care of it for her soon enough.”

  I tell him goodbye and race to the hall, happy I could take care of that. Hopefully, we can accomplish a lot before Frank drops off the ladder.

  No worries there. As soon as I walk into the hall, I tell Freya that Frank is bringing the ladder as soon as he finishes his lunch.

  “Of course. I should have thought to ask him earlier,” she says. “We have plenty to do without the ladder. Right now everyone is moving tables and chairs around. Once they’re set, could you put table cloths on? Then we will start decorating the tables.”

  Cat and Samantha are setting up chairs, so I come by and place cloths on all the tables. Really, I just do whatever Freya tells me to. I don’t mind not being in charge. I usually prefer it, then I don’t have to decide anything.

  After a couple of hours, we finish everything except hanging the lights. Frank still hasn’t shown up with the ladder, so Freya asks me to go to his cottage because he probably just forgot. Or is still napping.
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br />   I don’t see Frank while I’m walking to his house or in his front yard. If he forgot and is on the grounds somewhere working, I don’t know how long it will take me to find him. Freya may not have time to hang the lights.

  I knock on the door, but no one answers, so I walk around to the back. He’s not outside, but the back door is ajar, which seems strange. Frank doesn’t seem like the type of person to leave his door open. Now I’m concerned that something might be wrong, but I hesitate before going inside. I don’t want to walk into someone’s home without being invited, but what if Frank needs help?

  I slowly push open the door, calling Frank’s name softly. I enter a small kitchen with just the bare minimum of appliances. I can see what must have been Frank’s lunch plate beside the sink and a tea tin. I look around and then walk towards a doorway that leads to the living room.

  And that’s when I see Frank’s boots on the floor. I rush into the room and see Frank sprawled on the floor beside a recliner. There’s a broken tea cup beside him and tea has leaked onto the rug.

  I hurry to him and shake him, calling his name. There’s no response, so I try to find his pulse, but I can’t. There’s nothing. I watch his chest, but there’s no movement. He’s not breathing, and he doesn’t have a pulse. I pull out my cell phone and dial 999.

  “Wake up, Frank,” I say, gently shaking him, but I know in my heart that there’s no point in this. Frank feels cold to my hands, and I wonder how long he’s been lying here.

  As I sit beside the body, waiting for the ambulance, I look around Frank’s cozy living room. He has a small sofa and a recliner. There is a little television in one corner. The windows have dark blue curtains covering them, and there’s a blanket with an interesting pattern on the back of the sofa. It has wavy blue and white stripes and dotted throughout are what look like white ghosts. I stare at it for a few minutes, pondering the idea of Frank haunting the school.

  He would be a gruff ghost, but would ultimately help people. I imagine a student walking down a hallway, reading a book and Frank scaring them before they trip and fall down the stairs. This thought makes me laugh a little and I realize maybe I’m not handling this so well.

  I take some deep breaths and then force myself to continue looking around Frank’s living room, imagining what his life was like. There’s only one picture hanging on the wall and it looks like a landscape painting. There are a couple of books and framed photos on a side table.

  Directly in front of me is a coffee table with a plate of cookies on it, and I also notice another tea cup. I move over to look inside the cup and see there’s still tea in it. Someone else must have been here with Frank, having tea.

  I look at the half full teacup on the table and the broken teacup beside Frank. I suppose whoever was here having tea needed to rush off before finishing all of their tea, but it seems like whoever was having tea might have been here when Frank collapsed. Why would they leave him like this?

  My phone beeps and I see I have a text from Freya asking where I am. I text her backing telling her I’m at Frank’s cottage and that something terrible has happened. She texts back with ten question marks. But I can hear the ambulance siren, so I don’t answer her.

  I go out Frank’s front door and down the path, so I can wave them over to the cottage. I’m sure all the buildings on campus are numbered, but I don’t know any of them. I just told the 999 operator to come to the college, turn right and head towards the back.

  The ambulance driver sees me waving and drives in my direction. I can see students and staff coming out of buildings in the main part of campus. The ambulance pulls up beside Frank’s walk and four paramedics in green uniforms jump out.

  “Are you the 999 caller?” a woman with long, red hair pulled into a ponytail asks.

  “Yes. He’s right through there in the living room,” I say, pointing towards the door. Now that the paramedics are here, I would rather stay outside, away from the body. The other three paramedics move inside, while the red-haired woman waits with me.

  “Was there any response from him when you arrived,” the woman asks.

  “No. I shook him a little, but he wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. I didn’t attempt CPR because there didn’t, uh, seem to be any point.”

  “That’s alright,” she says, patting me on the shoulder. “How do you know the gentleman?”

  At first I wonder why she’s asking me this, but then I realize she’s probably just trying to keep me talking so I don’t go into shock.

  “He’s the caretaker at the school. I came to borrow a ladder, but he didn’t answer the door so I went to the back door and it was open, so I went in and that’s when I saw him,” I stop because I realize I’m rambling a bit.

  “We’ll do all we can to help him,” she says.

  A few minutes later, two of the paramedics come out of the cottage. One of them shakes his head at the redhead and then they walk to the ambulance and get out a gurney. I shudder a bit as they walk past me.

  “Are you okay?” the paramedic beside me asks, looking closely at my face.

  “Yes, just it’s awful for someone to die. I mean, I didn’t know him that well, but he seemed like a nice, older man. It must have been a heart attack, right? At his age…” I stop talking because I’m rambling again.

  “I’m not sure. A stroke or a heart attack are the most likely in the elderly.”

  We stand quietly, waiting. People are drifting closer to Frank’s cottage from the main school area. I see Freya and she walks over to me and squeezes my arm.

  “What’s happened? Are you okay?” she asks.

  “I’m fine. Frank’s not. He’s dead, I think,” I say, and then I’m crying. “I knocked on the door and he didn’t answer, but then his back door was open, so I went inside and he was just lying there.”

  “Come here, love,” Freya says, wrapping me in a big hug.

  I sob onto her shoulder while the paramedics bring Frank’s body out and they load the gurney into the ambulance.

  “Freya, what is happening?” Ms. Bowerton says, making her way through the growing crowd towards us.

  “It’s Frank, head mistress. Alice found him collapsed and called 999. He seems to be gone,” Freya explains.

  “Oh, that’s terrible. Alice, what happened? Did he fall? I always worry about him falling,” Ms. Bowerton asks, turning to me.

  “I’m not exactly sure what happened,” I answer. “I found him collapsed on the floor. I assume it was a heart attack.”

  “Oh dear. Freya, take Alice to the dining hall and sit her down with some tea,” she says, patting my arm and then turning behind her. “I need to do some crowd control. All the families will arrive soon.”

  She walks off towards the crowd of students and staff, telling them to move away so that the ambulance can leave. She continues giving instructions as she leads the crowd away.

  Freya stays beside me, holding my shoulder until the ambulance pulls away.

  “Okay, let’s get you some tea and find out how Ms. Bowerton is going to gloss over this latest tragedy,” she says, leading me to the dining hall.

  Cat and Samantha rush over to us. Cat has already poured me a cup of tea and puts it in my hands while Freya pushes me down into a chair.

  “Poor Frank. Are you doing okay?” Cat asks me.

  “Of course she’s not,” Freya says. “Look at how pale she is.”

  “It’s terrible the way this keeps happening to you,” Samantha says.

  “I’m really beginning to wonder about your luck,” Freya says.

  I laugh a bit at this, then take a sip of tea. It helps. I start to thaw out a bit.

  “I’m okay,” I say. “Just in a bit of shock, I think.”

  “Of course you are,” Cat says. “We should get you a blanket. Don’t people get cold when they’re in shock?”

  “That isn’t necessary. The tea is warming me up. Thanks Cat,” I say, taking another sip.

  They sit with me and I tell them everyt
hing I can about what happened. They’re considerate and just listen. It makes me feel better to talk to them, because despite laughing about my bad luck, I’m wondering why this keeps happening.

  Soon Ms. Bowerton walks into the dining hall and over to the table we’re sitting at.

  “Ladies, I know we are all upset about this tragedy that has befallen us, but we must buck up and carry on with the weekend activities. It is too late for me to inform all the families in time to stop anyone’s travel plans, so we have to keep going. I’ve just come from a short assembly with the students letting them know what has happened, and I will inform parents as they arrive. Please continue finishing up preparing for the tea,” Ms. Bowerton says, then she looks at me. “Alice, perhaps you should retire for the rest of the day. You have experienced the worst of it, I believe.”

  I start to protest, but then notice how much my hands are shaking and decide it’s probably for the best if I go home.

  “I’ll pop in and check on you after the tea, if that’s okay,” Freya says, walking me to the door.

  “Of course. Thank you,” I say, waving a small goodbye.

  I walk back to my apartment, trying to keep my mind from wandering to Frank’s body. There are students running about all over the lawn, and I can see cars pulling into the parking area. Families must already be arriving. I hurry along, not feeling up to chatting with anyone.

  I let myself into my apartment and lock the door, my hand still shaking. I sit down in a chair and have a good cry. It has just been one thing after another since I arrived here. I miss my parents and brother, and I feel sad about Frank. I didn’t really know him, but I had hoped to befriend him while I was here and get to know him better. Now that will never happen.

  I wipe my eyes and draw myself a bath. Once the bathroom is all steamy, I climb in with the book I’m currently reading. I hope it will help me escape everything that’s been going on until the water gets too cold and I have to get out.

  The bath helps. I feel better after I get out and put on some cozy pajamas. I’m just trying to decide if I feel like eating something when there’s a knock on the door.

  I open the door to Freya, loaded down with bowls and plates. She sets everything down on my minuscule kitchen counter.