Page 26 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Road Kill

We headed back to town. “Labelle,” I entreated, loudly enough to
be heard in the front seat over Fassner’s grinding gears and gnashing
teeth. “Do you understand now how it was that poor Mr. Ewidge
died, and that there was nothing you could have done to prevent it?”
She smiled—aalmost grinned, in fact. “I think so, Mr. Holloman.
Thank you both very much.”
Well, that was certainly music to my ears. I breathed out slowly to
avoid having my exhalation sound like a sigh of relief. As soon as we
got back to West Valley High I reported to Principal Kerr that
Labelle’s fixation was cured, and normalcy had been restored to the
campus. Events were to prove me very much mistaken.

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If I need to counsel students outside of school hours, I usually
arrange to meet them at their parents’ home or in some public place
like a park or playground, depending on their need for privacy. I
certainly do not ask students to my apartment, nor is my phone
number listed. One gets enough random crank calls from adolescents
without presenting oneself as a target in the phone book.
But Labelle Gramercy somehow found my home number. It must
have been a simple matter for anyone as persistent and inquisitive as
her. I had just finished dusting my bibelots on Saturday morning, as
is my custom, when the phone rang. Not expecting any calls, much
less one from a student, I was quite taken aback.
“Mr. Holloman?”
“Yes. Who’s calling, please?”
“Listen carefully, sir. I’m in a phone booth and I can’t talk long.
I’ve got Sherrie Cook with me and we’re going up to the nature
preserve. I thought she might break down if I kept after her, and I
was right. Now I’m going to find out the truth about what happened
up there. Well, goodbye, got to run. Just thought I should tell
somebody in authority.”
“What? What? Wait—” But she had already disconnected.
My heart started racing. Taking Sherrie Cook back to that place? I
had been keeping one eye on the other witness, as well, checking with
the school nurse only few days earlier. Sherrie had not totally
recovered from the experience, but at least she wasn’t reacting like

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