I squirmed. “I think Harris really thought I was guilty. You know, ’cause you guys came to the school to interrogate me in his office, and then you arrested my best friend, and the news said that Stubby might’ve had a female accomplice.”
Faraday sighed and made a note. “Do you know what kind of car Harris drives?”
“A black SUV,” I said. “I also saw him drive by my house last week.”
Donny’s face turned crimson. “Please be kidding,” he said.
I shook my head. I was certain I’d seen him that same night I went out on the front porch to think and get the mail.
“Are Chavez and Harris friends?” Faraday asked.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly.
“Do either of them smoke?” Wallace asked.
I recalled the smell of nicotine on Mr. Chavez’s breath as he walked me to class. “I think Mr. Chavez does.”
Faraday made a few more notes before flipping the page. “Anyone else giving you trouble, Maddie? Or just these two?”
“There’s Mario Rossi and Eric Anderson,” Donny suggested before I had a chance to answer.
“Who’re they?” Faraday asked as he scribbled fast.
“Two kids at Maddie’s school who roughed her up in a stairwell. They’ve been suspended.”
Faraday’s hand paused when Donny said the words roughed up. He then pressed his lips together and without looking up he asked, “Any idea what kind of car they drive?”
I thought back. “Mario sometimes drives his mom’s Jeep to school. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Eric driving a car.”
“Anyone else?” Faraday said, his hand once again skipping across the page.
I thought about Cathy and Mike. They were always giving me a hard time, but I seriously doubted either of them was capable of murder. And then someone else came to mind. “Well, there was Mr. Kelly’s son,” I said, recalling an angry phone call Ma had taken after I’d met with Mr. Kelly, the man with pancreatic cancer. “Ma got a call from him and he said that he was super mad at me for convincing his dad that there was no hope.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this, Maddie?” Donny barked. I could tell he was getting really upset that he knew only half of what’d been going on with me.
“He called before any of this started,” I said, feeling my cheeks redden. “And mostly he yelled at Ma and hung up. He thought I’d talked his dad out of getting treatment to help fight the cancer.”
“Did you?” Wallace asked.
That took me by surprise and put me on the defensive. “No!”
Wallace shrugged, like he didn’t care if he’d offended me or not. “Okay, if you say so.”
I glared at him and turned away. “Is there anybody else?” Faraday asked, when the room fell into uncomfortable silence.
I briefly entertained the idea of mentioning the creepy furniture delivery guy, Wes, but discarded it. He might’ve rattled me with his leers, but I didn’t think he was especially interested in me. He probably looked at most women like that. Plus, Wallace had really put me off with his comment and his attitude, so I shook my head.
Faraday made a final note and said, “Thanks, Maddie. We’ll check all this out and be in touch.”
NATHAN MURPHY WAS FOUND AT TWO A.M. I couldn’t sleep and heard Donny’s phone go off. Tiptoeing to the doorway of my bedroom, I listened to Donny on the phone with someone, and then I heard the floorboards creak when he got out of bed. “Did I wake you?” he asked, seeing me in the doorway.
“I heard your phone.”
Donny still had it in his hand. “Sorry,” he said. “They found Nathan in the woods.”
I stiffened. How had I been wrong? His deathdate had been right on his forehead like everyone else’s. How had I misread it?
Donny yawned and rubbed his face. “He’s alive, but he was hit hard enough over the head to fracture his skull. He was disoriented and fighting off hypothermia when somebody in one of the nearby houses heard him crying for help. They’ve got him at the hospital, but his brain is starting to swell and they had to put him into a medically induced coma. That was Faraday on the phone. He thought we should know.”
I realized I’d been holding my breath, and I let the air out of my lungs in a rush. “He’ll make it,” I assured Donny, who grinned sideways at me.
“Yeah, that’s what Faraday’s been telling Nathan’s parents. He says he thinks his confidence is helping to calm them down.”
I leaned against the door frame. “I want this to be over, Donny.”
“We all do, kiddo. I’m heading downstairs for some of Mrs. Duncan’s pumpkin cheesecake. You want to join me or go back to bed?”
I followed Donny down the stairs, and we sat up most of the rest of the night eating cheesecake and talking about my dad. Donny told me all the best stories of him that I’d already heard before, but it was still nice to listen to them anyway.
At six thirty Donny eyed the clock over the mantel and said, “I’ve kept you up all night, and now you’ve got to get to school and I’ve got lots to wrap up today starting with getting Stubby out of jail.”
I frowned. “Can’t you call me off school again?”
Donny cocked his head at me. “What’s going on with you? Are they still giving you trouble down there?”
I shrugged. “Not outright, but Principal Harris getting fired didn’t exactly win me any votes for prom queen.”
Donny chuckled. “Maddie, this’ll all be over soon. Faraday and Wallace will catch this sick bastard, and then you and Stubs will be exonerated and it’ll all go back to normal.”
“What am I supposed to do until then?”
Donny put a hand on the side of my head. “Until then, you hold your head high, ’cause you’re a Fynn, and that’s what your dad would’ve told you to do.” I looked doubtfully at him, and he added, “And I’ll make a call to the superintendent and tell her that you’re still having a hard time. Maybe she can talk to your teachers again.”