Study Guide for Murder by Lori Robbins

Author:Lori Robbins [Lori Robbins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Level Best Books
Published: 2024-08-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

The past is always tense, the future perfect.

―Zadie Smith

At the end of the school day, Emily stopped by my classroom to bemoan the results of her performance review. She pointed to the “Needs Improvement” section where Timmy accused her, among other crimes, of acting like “a sage on the stage instead of a guide by the side.” Despite the catchy rhyme, which formed the centerpiece of a recent workshop, the comment cemented my belief that Timmy was the educational equivalent of a stegosaurus: big body, small brain, and ultimately doomed to extinction. It was equally possible, however, that he represented the future of education, and I was the one who wouldn’t survive.

Emily was uninterested in my metaphor. “This is so unfair,” she wailed.

On any other day, I would have continued to console her, but Ben Sorkin and Tom Harriman were due to arrive within minutes. There was one sure method to get Emily to leave without hurting her feelings. With every appearance of interest, I asked, “What’s Mavis doing this afternoon?”

Emily snapped to attention at the mention of her teenage daughter. “I almost forgot about her test tomorrow! Sorry, Liz, I have to go home and help her study. We got an A- in chem, and we need to pull that grade up before the end of the marking period.”

In the few minutes left before the detectives arrived, I reapplied lipstick and neatened my desk. Compared to my clothes closet, which was badly in need of a professional organizer, my workspace was relatively tidy. No teacher wanted the nightmare of looking for a misplaced assignment.

The more elusive things I was trying to find—answers to the mystery surrounding my mother’s death, the identity of the country club killer, the key to a happy marriage—they all remained out of reach. But at least I wouldn’t have to waste time sifting through a stack of essays on A Midsummer Night’s Dream to locate Jack’s (late, as usual) essay on 1984. Yes, I still hadn’t finished those.

I did a last-minute check of my school email, where I found messages from Jack’s mother, Kevin’s mother, and Timmy. Unusually, the first was the mildest. In it, Melinda congratulated me on obeying her order to cast Jack as the lead for our production of Grease. I gnashed my teeth over that one. Jack could neither sing nor act, and he was a terrible dancer. However, he was the only available kid whose voice could reach the back of the theater. Also, his father had been murdered. Melinda assumed my decision was in deference to her heavy-handed threats, and there was a smug and insulting tone to her email: I knew even you would realize what I’ve told you all along…

Ms. Sugarman’s email was far sterner. It said, in part: You violated the HIB school policy regarding harassment, intimidation, and bullying. I have spoken to my good friend Melinda Tumbleson, and she is bringing this matter to the board for a disciplinary review.

Telling Kevin Sugarman his next assignment would be The Cat in the Hat instead of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner had been foolish.

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