Spilled Blood (9 page)

Florian acquiesced with a glance at his wife. ‘Three o’clock at Mondamin.’

‘I’ll be there.’

Florian tugged on his wife’s hand to pull her with him, but Julia Steele remained rooted in place. She and Olivia stared at each other. Her expression was inscrutable. When she spoke, her voice had a dark, sad music to it, which was the first hint of her emotions. ‘Is there anything you want to say to me, Olivia Hawk?’ Julia asked.

Chris held up his hands immediately. ‘Olivia, don’t say a word. Mrs. Steele, I’m sorry, but my daughter can’t talk to you.’

Julia Steele didn’t acknowledge him. She held Olivia’s eyes like a magnet as the silence dragged out between them. He was afraid his daughter wouldn’t be able to control herself and that she would blurt out whatever she was feeling or thinking, but Olivia finally pushed the hair out of her face and turned her eyes down to the floor. Florian’s wife treated it like a victory, shaming Olivia into looking away. She allowed her husband to lead her toward the exit from the courthouse. Neither of them looked back.

Chris watched them go. He realized that Florian and Julia Steele looked as out of place in the town of Barron as he did. They were like royalty, elevated above the crowd. The King with his Queen. That was a title that Chris had never wanted. There were people
who bowed to the king, but there were plenty of others who wanted to cut off his head.

It had to be lonely. Florian had his work to fill the void, and he wondered what Julia Steele had for herself. Arts groups. Hospital board meetings. Fundraisers. He didn’t think that was enough for a woman like her, and the answer jumped to his mind immediately.

She’d had a daughter. A child to bring meaning to her life.

But not anymore.

Chris dropped Olivia at Hannah’s house in St. Croix, and his daughter retreated to her room to sleep. He let her go without asking more questions. She wasn’t in any condition to talk, and he wanted to know more about Ashlynn and the feud before he confronted her again. Hannah promised to stay with her during the day. She also offered to make dinner for the three of them that evening. He was surprised, but he said yes. It was a tiny glimmer of what his life had been like in the old days, when they were a family in Minneapolis.

With that thought in his head, Chris drove back to Barron. He stopped at a shop on the main street to buy new clothes to replace what he had lost at the motel, and then he set out to find the local high school, which stood on a bluff above the river valley. The school drew students from the entire region, including St. Croix. The sprawling, one-story brick building was surrounded by acres of athletic fields that butted up against rutted rows of corn fields to the west and the tree-lined residential streets of Barron on the east. During the warmer months, the fields would be lush green, but the grass was brown and yellow now, flattened by snow and soggy from the early storms.

He parked in the crowded lot and went through the glass doors into the school lobby. Inside, he was surprised to find metal detectors and a uniformed security guard screening visitors. He gave his name, showed identification, and asked to see the school principal. He waited, smelling fried food in the cafeteria and hearing the thunder of basketballs in the gymnasium. Five minutes later,
a middle-aged black woman arrived past the rows of red school lockers to greet him.

‘Mr. Hawk? I’m Maxine Valma. How can I help you?’

She was slender and tall, with graying hair cut in a short, practical bob and a dark ebony complexion to her skin. She wore a burgundy pants suit and heels, making her look even taller than she was.

‘I assume you know why I’m in town,’ Chris said.

‘I’m Olivia’s father.’

‘Of course.’

‘I’d like some information about the young people around here.’

Valma’s lips pursed with concern. ‘I’m not sure what I can tell you, Mr. Hawk. School records are private unless you get a court order, and I can’t let you talk to any of the students on campus unless you have parental permission.’

‘I understand. I’m not asking you to violate any privacy laws. I was just hoping to find out what’s going on in this town.’

‘I see. Well, I’ll share what I can. I feel terrible, not just for Ashlynn and her family, but for Olivia, too.’

She gestured for him to join her, and Chris accompanied her down the school corridor. Two teenagers passed them going the opposite direction, and he saw their eyes lock on his face and heard them whispering as they passed him. He heard Olivia’s name.

It was just as Marco Piva had told him: there were no secrets here.

‘I didn’t expect to find metal detectors,’ he told the principal.

Valma nodded. ‘Sad, isn’t it? I resisted for months, but the weapons problem was getting out of hand. We had knife fights. Students were bringing guns. I can’t keep the feud out of the school, but I can try to keep them safe while they’re here.’ She pointed at the freshly painted lockers. ‘We keep running to stay ahead of the graffiti. We no longer assign individual lockers, because too many were being vandalized.’

‘Hannah says it’s like gang violence.’

‘She’s right. Gangs give kids who have no future a sense of purpose, and that’s what the feud does here. It’s not about the cancer cluster or the litigation anymore. It’s about hatred, which has become the defining theme for the children in both towns.’

‘So how do you stop it?’

‘If I knew, we would have done it months ago.’ The principal shook her head. ‘I thought that Ashlynn’s death would be a shock to everyone’s senses. I hoped the kids would see that it’s gone too far. That doesn’t seem to be true. If anything, passions are even more inflamed.’

She led him into the school cafeteria, which was mostly empty in advance of the lunch crowd. White-uniformed workers cooked over hot grills behind the counters. The smell of burnt oil was pungent. He saw another security guard near the door.

‘Coffee?’ Valma asked.

‘Please.’

The principal poured two cups from a silver urn, and they sat across from each other at one of the long cafeteria tables. Her strong fingers curled around the foam cup, and her nails were painted red.

‘Have you been principal here for long?’ Chris asked.

Valma waited as steam curled out of her coffee. She blew on it, making an “o” with her lips. ‘Two years.’

‘Are you a native to the area?’

‘Do I look like a native?’ she asked.

‘Not really.’

‘No,’ she agreed. ‘My husband got a job here, and I came with him. I’ve been in education my whole career, but I never imagined my experiences in the St. Louis schools would be quite as useful as they’ve turned out to be.’

‘What does your husband do?’

The principal hesitated. ‘George is a research scientist at Mondamin.’

‘What does he research?’

‘I could tell you,’ she said with a smile.

‘But then you’d have to kill me?’

‘Right.’ She added, ‘Seriously, Mr. Hawk, the employees all sign nondisclosure agreements. They don’t talk to anyone.’

‘It sounds like the company has something to hide.’

‘They do. It’s called intellectual property.’

Like anyone with a spouse in a secretive profession, Maxine Valma had mastered the art of politely saying nothing. ‘Does it cause problems for you at school, having a husband who works at Mondamin?’ he asked. ‘Students from St. Croix must see you as the enemy.’

‘Your daughter certainly did.’

‘Olivia?’

‘Yes, I worked hard to convince her that I was scrupulously neutral, but I’m not sure she believed me.’

‘This is an odd question,’ he said, ‘but what can you tell me about Olivia? We talk a lot, but it’s not the same when you don’t see each other every day. She’s changed. I need to get to know her all over again.’

Valma smiled with sincere warmth. ‘Olivia is smart. She’s booksmart, yes, but she’s people-smart, too, which is relatively rare for teenagers. She’s a natural leader. Outspoken. Passionate. Sometimes reckless.’

‘That’s her mother,’ he said.

‘I know. Hannah and I are good friends, despite what my husband does. The women’s center she runs is invaluable in this region. It’s a resource for children and adults who face some truly desperate situations. She is an angel, Mr. Hawk, or at least that’s how we feel about her.’

Chris said nothing. Hannah was an angel, but she’d flown away from him, leaving a hole in his heart. ‘What else can you tell me about my daughter?’

‘I’m afraid you can be smart and still be naïve. Olivia is young. It’s easy to take all that passion and have it misdirected.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning she’s been one of the loudest voices against Barron and Mondamin. She’s convinced that a grievous injustice was committed, and she refuses to remain silent. That’s fine – commendable even – but Olivia doesn’t always understand the effect she has on others. She can be an instigator with her words, deliberately or not. Other kids look to her. They follow her. Sometimes they go too far.’

‘Like who?’

‘I’m not comfortable naming names, Mr. Hawk.’

‘Tanya Swenson?’

Valma sipped her coffee and considered her response. ‘Tanya looks up to Olivia. I think she’d do just about anything for her. They’re both children of divorce, although Tanya was left alone with Rollie at a young age.’

‘Tanya and her father live in Barron, don’t they?’

‘Yes, but the Barron teenagers have largely shunned her because of the lawsuit.’

‘Does she bear a grudge about that?’ he asked.

The principal’s brow knitted in annoyance. She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. ‘I know where you’re going, Mr. Hawk. In order to create reasonable doubt that Olivia shot Ashlynn, you need to create a cloud of suspicion around Tanya. That may be an unpleasant necessity of being a lawyer, but please don’t try to make me your co-conspirator.’

‘Olivia says she’s innocent.’

‘I’d like to believe that’s true, but it seems unlikely, doesn’t it?’

‘I think she’s telling the truth. That means someone else killed Ashlynn.’

‘Tanya? I don’t believe it.’

‘Anyone who can’t be ruled
out
has to be ruled in.’

‘I’ve said all I can say about Tanya,’ Valma replied. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Okay. Talk to me about Ashlynn.’

‘What about her?’

‘I’d like to know what was going on in her life.’

The principal held the coffee cup near her lips, and he saw the smear of her lipstick on the rim. She stared at him without saying anything. She was obviously deciding what information she could safely share.

‘Florian doesn’t need to know you’ve told me anything,’ Chris added. ‘I realize it’s awkward because of your husband’s job.’

‘Florian doesn’t scare me.’ She smiled. ‘If I were to be afraid of anyone, it’s Julia.’

‘Oh?’

‘She and Ashlynn were extremely close. If Julia thinks that Olivia is responsible for Ashlynn’s death, she’s likely to be a pit bull who wants to see her destroyed.’

‘Thank you for the warning.’

‘As for Ashlynn, there are certain young women who are obviously destined for great things. That was her. She was beautiful, confident, graceful, spiritual. It’s a tragedy to lose her.’

‘Was Ashlynn part of the Barron clique?’

Valma shook her head. ‘No, Ashlynn was disgusted with the feud. She avoided the other students from Barron.’

‘Who did she hang out with?’

‘She kept to herself a lot, particularly in the last few months. She seemed different, actually.’

‘How so?’

The principal tapped the table with her long fingernails. Like a lawyer, she picked her words carefully. ‘She was troubled. Upset. Her moods swung between highs and lows. That’s not uncommon with teenage girls, but Ashlynn had a seriousness about life that made it more worrisome. On some level, I suppose she took the guilt for the violence onto herself, simply because of
her father. That’s nonsense, but try telling it to a teenage girl.’

‘Did she share any of her feelings with you?’ Chris asked.

‘No, I’m not sure she felt free to share her feelings with anyone. I felt bad, because it seemed to be getting worse.’

‘Worse?’

‘Yes, for the last month, she was very depressed. She looked like she was carrying the entire world on her shoulders. I saw her crying several times. I asked her about it, but she shrugged it off. I was concerned. Honestly, if you told me she’d committed suicide, I wouldn’t have been completely surprised, but I gather that’s not the case.’

‘No, that’s not what happened. You don’t know what was causing any of this?’

‘I’m sorry, no.’

‘Did you see her on Friday? The day she died?’

‘No, Ashlynn was out of school for most of the week. She wasn’t in classes after Tuesday.’

‘She’d been gone for three days? Do you know why?’

‘Well, she gave me a note from her mother saying that she was volunteering on a church project in Nebraska, but to be honest—’ She stopped.

‘What?’

‘To tell you the truth, I thought the note was forged.’

‘Did you talk to Florian or Julia?’

‘No. In retrospect I wish I had, but I didn’t want Ashlynn to feel that I didn’t trust her. For all I knew, the story was perfectly legitimate.’

Ashlynn told Olivia she’d been driving for hours, and she arrived in the ghost town from the south, which was the route she would have taken back from Nebraska. So maybe it was true.

Or maybe, like Olivia, Ashlynn was keeping secrets.

‘Do you know—’ he began, but he couldn’t finish his question.

Footsteps boomed on the cafeteria floor. A gangly teenager sprinted toward them and skidded to a stop, almost falling. He
had a pile of schoolbooks under his arm, and two of them spilled to the ground. The boy struggled to catch his breath. The cafeteria guard, seeing the commotion, jogged in their direction.

Maxine Valma stood up. ‘David,’ she said to the boy. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’

The teenager gestured toward the rear of the school. ‘There’s trouble outside.’

Thirty students gathered in a mean circle in the mud of the football field.