Part 23 (1/2)

”Yeah. That's why she gave me the candy. She said she'd give it back, but I didn't believe her. It's Mildred's zebra, and she'd be really mad if I lost it!”

”She be even madder if we lost you,” I said. ”Is that why you came back here, to return the zebra?”

”Uh-huh. I wanted to, but I didn't know the way. And that lady with the big car kept driving by real slow. I was so afraid she'd see me, Minda! I hid behind a wall once, then got under a tree. I wanted to go home, but she kept going past, and I didn't know how to get there. I cried.”

I drew her close and kissed her. ”Oh, baby, I'm so sorry! But she's not going to find you now. How did did you get here?” you get here?”

Faye sat up straighter and bounced in my lap. ”Why, the pretty lady brought me here.”

”What pretty lady?” I asked.

”I don't know her name, but I was sitting under this tree crying, and oh, I wanted my mama-but I wanted to get Mildred's zebra back first. The lady smelled nice, made me feel good-warmlike, you know. She showed me a shortcut here through people's backyards. I crawled under the desk so the bad people couldn't find me, and she covered me up real warm and cozy and told me to wait for you.”

”The man who was working here didn't see you?”

”I was real quiet. I tiptoed. He didn't see the lady, either. Guess he was too busy.”

Still holding her close, I reached for the phone. ”Everything's going to be all right now, and your mama and daddy are going to be so glad to hear you're safe and sound!”

”Will Mildred be mad, do you think?”

”Mildred will be so happy to see you, I'll bet she'll forget all about that silly zebra,” I said.

”But I haven't.”

I looked up to see Gertrude Whitmire standing in the office doorway, and she had a revolver in her hand. ”I'll take that now,” she said.

”No!” Faye clutched the animal closer and grabbed me with a choking hold. ”It's not yours, it's Mildred's.”

”Mrs. Whitmire, I don't think you realize what you're doing,” I said. ”You're not well, and you're frightening this child.” And scaring the h.e.l.l out of me! And scaring the h.e.l.l out of me! Cautiously, I reached again for the phone. ”We can get you some help.” I spoke as softly, as evenly as I could to rea.s.sure Faye and to keep Gert from completely freaking out. Somebody had to be calm-or pretend to be calm. I wanted to throw up. Cautiously, I reached again for the phone. ”We can get you some help.” I spoke as softly, as evenly as I could to rea.s.sure Faye and to keep Gert from completely freaking out. Somebody had to be calm-or pretend to be calm. I wanted to throw up.

”I wouldn't touch that telephone.” Gertrude stepped closer. Her eyes were abnormally bright. Scary bright. She wasn't Gertrude Whitmire, the longtime teacher students joked about but always respected. She was someone else, someone- something-cruel and loathsome, and I didn't know how to deal with her.

Then, although I couldn't see her, I knew Augusta was there. Her essence was all around me, and I took a deep breath, feeling her presence, sensing her goodness.

”Give her the zebra, Faye,” I said. And the child silently put the stuffed animal into Gertrude's outstretched hand.

Did Gert mean to kill us now that she had what she wanted? I couldn't let that happen. Slowly I eased Faye off my lap, meaning to shove her under the desk while I tried to disarm this madwoman. She was bigger, taller than I was, but I had youth on my side. And I had Augusta.

I watched as she s.n.a.t.c.hed up the zebra, clawed at the threadbare fabric, and the sleeve that had been concealing part of her weapon became dislodged. Gertrude's revolver was a hairbrus.h.!.+

Gertrude Whitmire was so intent on ripping apart the zebra, I had telephoned 911 before she knew what I was doing. The hairbrush slipped unnoticed to the floor. Putting Faye behind me, I braced myself for what this woman might do when she realized what had happened. I knew now it must have been Gertrude who attacked me on the bicycle and at the academy. This person was definitely out to get me, but what could she do now? Shoot me with a hairbrush?

She picked it up and threw it at me instead, missing my head by inches.

Faye peered from behind me. ”Minda, what's wrong with that woman?” she asked, crying.

”She's sick, Faye; she's not going to hurt us.” I gave her a little shove. ”But I want you to crawl under the desk again- just for a little while, okay?”

”You've caused me more trouble than you're worth!” Gertrude Whitmire's words clattered like ice cubes dropped one at a time, and I watched Faye roll under the desk and out of her reach as the woman lunged at me, her hands at my throat.

Instinctively, I threw up my arms in a defensive maneuver I'd learned years before on the grammar school playground, and kicked herin the stomach. Kicked her hard hard.

The breath went out of her with a whoosh whoos.h.i.+ng sound, and she sank to the floor and moaned. Maybe she would be out of commission for a while.

I held out my hand to Faye and pulled her into my lap, then grabbed tissues from Mildred's desk and wiped away her tears. ”I'm going to call your mama now. Don't you want to talk to her? Tell her you're all right?”

”Mrs. Whitmire, would you like me to call your brother?” I asked after Faye had spoken to both parents, who were on their way, she said. Faye had curled up in the armchair, and I wrapped the throw around her. Now I stood between the child and the woman who had threatened us-but not too closely. I didn't know what she might do.

Gertrude had quieted now, but still sat on the floor, tugging persistently at the stuffed animal's puckered seams.

”Would it help if your brother were here?” I asked again.

”That Hugh? What for? He's already botched things up. If you and your family had stayed out of this, everything would've been all right.”

”You mean Otto would still be alive?”

”He was going to tell everything. Everything! Everything! It would've ruined us! Otto left that message for Hugh, but I heard it first. Hugh wanted to take the easy way out-” It would've ruined us! Otto left that message for Hugh, but I heard it first. Hugh wanted to take the easy way out-”

”Like search the bookshop until he found what he was looking for?” I said.

”That wasn't the way! I knew it wasn't the way, so I just took care of things myself. What Hugh didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Everybody thought I was at that church movie thing, but I sat near the back and left well before it was over.”

Gertrude laughed. ”Otto had so much to drink, he didn't even know what was happening.”

”But I thought Otto had quit drinking.”

”Otto thought he had, too, until I put vodka in his orange juice. By the time he realized it, it was too late. He kept the juice in a little refrigerator off the library up there. Came in early that night and fiddled around some, had a few gla.s.ses while waiting for Hugh to come.” Gert smiled and gave the zebra a punch. ”But Hugh didn't come. I came. By that time he was drunk as a skunk. It doesn't take much, you know, if you haven't imbibed in a while.”

”And he didn't suspect?”

”Not at first, and then he tried to hide. He joked about it, you know. Made light of my grandfather. Why, he said awful things! Guess he thought I wouldn't look for him in the ladies' room, or maybe he was so drunk and confused he wandered in the wrong room. Oh, it was so easy! The fool didn't even fasten the door of his stall!”

Poor Otto! ”But the door was fastened when-”

”Oh, I did that afterward. Stood on a chair. Took a little stretching, but walking keeps me fit, you know.”

This woman had absolutely no conscience, no regret.

”And then you came! As soon as I got rid of one nuisance, here came another! You and that Mildred dredging up old lies. You just couldn't let it go, could you?”

”But why Sylvie Smith? What has she ever done?” I took a step away from her and reached for Faye's hand. The woman had long arms and a s.h.i.+fty look.

”Sylvia happened along at an unfortunate time,” she said, watching me.

”What were you looking for there?” I asked.

”You know.” The look she gave me could split a redwood tree. ”You know very well.”

But I didn't.