Page 72 of They Never Tell


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He made a note to call the DA in the morning. Ms. Beardon seemed like a woman who was used to getting her way.

She wasn’t getting her way this time.

AmandaBeardonwalkedrightinto Dr. Hill’s office in a huff. She’d received her summons that morning. and she knew what it was about. She was pissed, but she caught herself and remembered that she needed to sound calm and breezy. Nothing was wrong. This was just an ordinary day.

“Hi, Dr. Hill! How was your weekend?”

“Amanda, we need to talk about something serious.” The principal pressed a button to buzz her admin. “Stacy? Go ahead and send them in.”

Amanda turned around and found herself face-to-face with Murray Gibson, the head of the school board, and Melanie Williams, the president of the PTO. Amanda didn’t bother to say hello.

“Before we start, let me just say this,” she said instead. “I happen to know that there’s other stuff going on at this school.”

Dr. Hill raised her eyebrows. “Other stuff like what?”

Amanda smiled and sat back in her chair. “I don’t mind giving you information, but I want something in return.”

When Dr. Gibson spoke up, he sounded deeply unimpressed. “I don’t think you’re in the position to demand anything at this point, Ms. Beardon.”

“Oh, but I am. Because I have knowledge of other teachers who have been involved with students. And if you get rid of me, I’ll have no choice but to go to the media, and I don’t think you want that, especially not when one of your students was just arrested for murdering another student. Think of the publicity. Is that really what you want?”

Dr. Hill took a deep breath and sighed, her eyes drifting to the wall beside her. Mrs. Beardon followed her gaze to the achievement wall and imagined how frustrated the principal must be at the possibility of having her school thrust into the spotlight once again.

Good. That was their problem. Her problem was easy to solve if they were willing to negotiate.

“Whatever we decide to do,” Dr. Gibson said through gritted teeth, “we have to go through the proper channels. For now, you’re suspended pending the results of the police investigation. As it relates to your future employment status, I can’t make any promises. However, the goal here is the safety of our students. And to that end, we may decide to question you about what you know.”

Amanda shrugged. “Fine. As long as you understand that I will only be forthcoming if there’s a deal worked out. A transfer is preferable to a firing, obviously—”

“Obviously.”

She faked a smile. “Once we’ve worked something out, I will help in any way I can. I will even provide you with evidence.”

No one spoke, and she knew she had them.

“You are going to want to work with me on this. Trust me.”

“Why?”

“Because some of what I know has to do with that dead girl.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Thenewshitthecommunity like a hurricane, passing through swiftly and without regard. Jace Gordon had raped and murdered his friend, a beautiful young girl with her whole life ahead of her. That was it, the end. The police said so, the media agreed (”Local Musical Prodigy Arrested for Murder!”), and the community was left with more questions than answers.

Demetrius had been out of jail for a couple of days before he called Mike. The two young men talked around it for a while until Mike finally apologized for getting him mixed up in this mess. Meat said he understood, and Mike swore he had no involvement in the plot, but he could tell there was some distance between them that hadn’t been there before. But Mike didn’t have the wherewithal to deal with that just yet, because he was still processing the fact that his other good friend had just been arrested.

Bria and Danielle both took it hard. The girls spent hours on the phone crying and trying to reassure each other. But there was no reassurance, and there was no comfort. Bakari was more shocked than upset, and Avianna seemed to be unmoved. It’s possible she was in denial, but it was more likely that she simply didn’t care. She had never been close to Jace.

Everyone else was content to gossip, and the rumors were swirling and snowballing out of control. Tangie Mitchell called and told Ladonna that Jace had drugged Nyleah with some illicit substance he’d procured from Demetrius Branch. Derrika Smith called after Tangie, wanting to know if it was true that Demetrius and Jace both raped Nyleah, and asking why the police released Demetrius if that was the case. And then Makayla Charles texted her the news that it was actually a gang rape, and she thinks all of the boys at the party were in on it.

Ladonna’s head was spinning by the time Marcus came down for breakfast.

“Did I miss Bria?” he asked.

“Yeah, by a few minutes.”

He nearly collapsed onto his chair, as if the weight of the day’s news was resting solely on his shoulders. “This is a nightmare.”

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