The Hand on the Wall(81)

“That’s not for us to worry about,” Larry said. “There will be an investigation. The district attorney will be involved. It’s your job to present the case, remember. The DA takes it from there.”

Larry was addressing Stevie like she was an actual detective, someone who could go to the DA. Stevie hid her smile by turning toward the door to the morning room. It was partway open. She could see Germaine hunched over her computer, typing feverishly. Hunter was asleep on the sofa. Nate was draped over the nearby chairs. They had all made it through the storm together.

“What’s your guess, though?” Stevie asked.

“I think you’ve made a compelling case,” Larry said. “You located a body. And I’m going to help make sure every single thing you said is fully explored. I’m coming out of retirement for this.”

“You are?”

“It’s not every day that you get handed a solve on a triple murder and find a body that’s been missing in the case of the century,” he said. “Now that Alice is known to be deceased, her case has to be looked into. No statute on murder.”

“I have some thoughts on that too,” she said. “But—”

They both heard it at once. The approaching helicopter.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go and bring them in.”

The winter sun felt good on Stevie’s face as she stood under the portico. She had to hold up her hand to shield her eyes from the glare as it bounced off the snow. It was too difficult for the helicopter to land. It hovered above the lawn and got quite low; four people in uniform jumped out into the snow. Two looked to be police, and the others were EMTs with large red medical bags. The sound roused the others. Vi and Janelle reappeared, hand in hand. Nate, Hunter, and Germaine came out of the morning room. David emerged last, pushing open the door of the ballroom and pulling a sweater over his head. The group clustered by the door as the EMTs and police conferred with Larry on the drive.

The large door was left open as the visitors brought their things inside, sending a brisk arctic breeze into the hall. They were back in the world now. Things were moving. David came and stood alongside Stevie. He dropped a casual arm over her shoulders, and she leaned in against him and tucked her head into the crook of his arm.

“Guess we’re going home,” Nate said.

“We’ll always have this weekend,” David replied, stretching out his free arm to pull Nate into the embrace. Nate sidestepped quickly.

Stevie’s attention was drawn to the balcony above, where something appeared to be going on. Mark came out of the Peacock Room and hustled down the hall. Someone was pounding on a door, demanding to be let in.

“Charles!” Dr. Quinn yelled. “Charles, open this door.”

“What’s happening?” Janelle asked, coming over.

Larry and the police began hurrying up the grand stairs, taking them two at a time. There was a cracking noise, followed by something that sounded like a heavy sack being dropped down a chute. Whatever it was, it went past the back of the murderer’s fireplace. Larry ran into the Peacock Room, then ran out to the balcony to shout to the EMTs, who were still downstairs.

“Basement!” he yelled, rushing to the stairs again. “Basement, follow me, now! Now!”

The group of students watched this mutely.

“I don’t think Charles is going to jail,” Stevie said quietly.





27


“WHAT A STUPID THING TO DO,” DR. QUINN SAID. “WHAT A STUPID thing.” For the first time, Dr. Quinn looked rattled.

The EMTs had gone down into the basement, because that was where Charles was, behind a wall. Pix had gone to help them because she was the closest thing to a medical professional from the remaining faculty, and because she had experience getting things out from difficult places. Everyone else from Ellingham was gathered in the morning room, because it was still the warmest room in the building.

“That passage was sealed,” she said.

“He was going in and out of the bathroom all night,” Mark said. “I assumed he was nervous. He must have been loosening the nails with a penknife or something.”

“But we all know about that passage and why it’s nailed shut. The stairs it connects to have been unstable for years. The ones below them are gone completely. What did he even think he was doing? That if he made it down the first flight he could jump to the basement? A whole floor? Get out that way?”

“He decided to take a chance,” Stevie said.

Larry, who was leaning against the wall, nodded at Stevie. It was Larry, after all, who had said from the very beginning that people had accidents when they went into the passages.

Pix came back up from the basement and stood in the doorway. Before, there would have been a conference away from the students. They were well beyond that now.

“How is he?” Dr. Quinn asked.

Pix shook her head.

“It was a very bad fall,” she said simply.

Stevie couldn’t help but hear the echo of Truly Devious: A broken head, a nasty fall . . .

Over the next few hours, more people turned up as more vehicles were able to access the school. There was a steady flow of uniforms. Things were photographed and recorded and bagged and sealed. Everyone in the group was interviewed, but not for long. Then two individuals in dark suits with large winter coats over them appeared. They did not fit in with the other officials.