Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Philip—as he asked me to call him—led me into the principal’s office. “We haven’t touched it since the cops were here. We wanted to allow Letty’s sister to go through it first.” He certainly sounded sad enough about Letty’s death.

“How did Letty get along with the children? And with the other teachers?” I asked, looking around. The window had been boarded over, and the glass cleaned up, but otherwise, the room looked to be untouched. Papers were still on the desk, Letty’s purse and coat were hanging on the coatrack.

“Everybody liked her, including the students. She was strict, but fair. Oh, over the years she had her share of run-ins, mostly with troublemakers that we eventually expelled, but the past year or so? We haven’t had much in the way of issues.” Philip walked over to the boarded-up window. “I can’t believe she threw herself through the window. Of all the ways to go…”

“That’s one of the problems. For one thing, few suicides are committed in this manner. For another, women tend to use pills, or they cut their wrists, or hang themselves. They seldom jump to their deaths. According to Angela, Letty showed none of the usual signs of suicide and she didn’t suffer from depression.” I looked around for signs that the cops had proceeded with a thorough investigation.

“Letty was a bright spot in the day. Regardless of whether she was scolding a student, or making difficult decisions, she always tried to find a positive spin on the issue,” Philip said.

“Did the cops take fingerprints?”

“I don’t think so. They said that with so many students coming in and out, as well as teachers, it wouldn’t be useful. Plus, there’s one thing that I don’t know if Angela told you,” he said. “The room was locked from the inside.”

I froze. “Locked from the inside ?”

“Yes, when she fell, we immediately called for help, them came up to find the door locked from the inside.”

“Couldn’t somebody have locked it from the outside to make you think that she’s the one who did it?” I asked.

“Possibly, but there’s a deadbolt on the inside and it was closed. The master key was in the office, with Ms. Jessel, where it belongs. The only other key was in Letty’s possession.”

“Did you check to see if she still had it?” I glanced over at her handbag.

“I assume the police did,” he said.

Some things about this case were not adding up. I walked over to the coat rack and picked up the purse and coat, then sat at the desk and opened the purse. I shook everything out. There was a ring of keys, among a number of other items. As I began to inventory them, I handed the keys to Philip.

“Please check to see if her deadbolt key was there.”

He crossed to the door and began trying to fit the keys to the lock. Meanwhile, I had my list, and so returned everything to the purse except her wallet. I then flipped it open and began to sort through that. There was a hundred dollars and some change, several credit cards, a AAA card, and a health insurance card.

As I examined her desk some more, I noticed something over in the corner—it was palm sized and brown. I knelt and reached for it, and immediately got a jolt. As I picked it up, I knew exactly what it was, though I hadn’t seen one before. It was Letty’s mandrake root. Once again, it zapped me and I dropped it on the desk.

“What the hell…” I gingerly placed my hand on the root again, and once again, felt a shock. “Philip, can you come over here?”

He joined me at the desk. “What is it? A mandrake root?”

“Letty’s was missing from her house. Can you pick this up? It keeps shocking me.”

He cautiously reached for it, then gasped. “It’s been tainted. The energy is all gnarled up. Whatever happened, it tainted the mandrake. I’ve never seen this happen before.” He shook his head. “It must be destroyed.”

“I’ll take it back to the office and we’ll study it, then destroy it.”

He frowned. “As long as you do destroy it. Do you know a witch? Although I suppose Angela could do it for you.”

“My best friend is a witch,” I said. I began to go through her drawers. “So, did you find the key to the deadbolt?”

He nodded. “Right here.” He held up the key.

“That makes it difficult. And you said there’s only one other key?”

“Yes, the master key. And Ms. Jessel verified that she has the master key and it’s properly locked in storage.”

“Unless someone was in her office with her, and managed to escape other than through the door, then…it does look like she took a nosedive out the window. There must be something we’re missing but right now, I don’t know what it could be.” I paused, looking around. “I don’t know what else to look for.”

I looked up at him. “Now, for real talk. What do you think happened to her?” I stood, wandering over to the boarded-up window where I leaned against the wall, my arms crossed.

Philip paused, then glanced around. “Personal opinion? I think somebody had it in for Letty and that they tossed her through the window, but I have no idea of who did it, why they did it, or how they did it. As I said, Letty was an honest but fair person, toward both the staff and the students.”

I nodded. “I’m taking these personal effects—her purse and a few other things. I’ll leave Angela to go through the books and decide what she wants to do. I assume a lot of the folders and binders belong to the school and the next principal will need them?”

He nodded, looking grim. “I appreciate you coming out.”

He ushered me out of the office, then walked me to the hallway. Once there, he looked around again, leaned in, and whispered, “The cops insisted it was suicide, since they couldn’t find anything to contradict the thought. But I really do think Letty was murdered, and I’d love to see someone really investigate her death. I will say this, however: be cautious.”

The warning in his voice was obvious. I worried my lip. “Walk me to the front door, please.”

Philip nodded, not asking why.

A bell rang and students flooded the hallway, heading toward their next class. As we threaded through the hall, I asked, “I thought this was the admin building?”

“Yes, but we also hold school wide meetings here, and study hall is always conducted in classes near the library, which is housed in McCarver Hall.” He opened the front door for me and stepped out beneath the eves sheltering a few students from the rain, which was still sleeting down. “You have a question, I assume?”

“I noticed you whispering. Do you think that her office is bugged?”

He paused, thinking over my question. After a moment, he nodded. “I don’t, not really. But I don’t like talking around the other teachers or staff members about this. You never know who might be listening in.”

“All right. Second question. Why did you tell me to be cautious?”

He shrugged. “Same reason. You never know who might be listening. If somebody did kill Letty, they did so in a gruesome fashion. They weren’t playing around. They might not take it kindly if they think somebody is on the look out for them. Right now, Letty’s death is officially listed as a suicide. If she was killed, it behooves the killer to keep that belief intact.”

“Right,” I said. “Common sense. All right, I’ll be in touch. If you think of anything else, let me know.” I didn’t want to talk to him about the other deaths or missing students. Right now, he seemed to be as suspicious as Angela and I were. But that could be an act, and it didn’t make sense to let him know everything we knew—not until we were positive he was safe.

Back at the office, I called everyone into the conference room and I brought out the mandrake root. “I think this was Letty’s mandrake. Philip, at the school, said it’s been tainted and twisted. I wish I could find out what happened to it.”

Sophia took it from me again, and she sat down, holding it between her hands. We all knew well enough by now to quiet down and let her do her thing.

“I see something,” she said.

We waited until Sophia suddenly jumped up and threw the root on the table.

“Are you all right?” Dante asked.

“Yes,” Sophia said, her eyes wide.

“What happened?” I asked.

“It’s been touched by demonic energy. That warped Letty’s connection with it.”

“ Demonic? ” I asked, my eyes wide. “But, I’m half demon?—”

“Yes, you’re part demon. This though, this is bad. Big and bad.” She set the root down. “I don’t know what happened to it, but I don’t recommend anybody play around with it. There’s no telling what repeated exposure would do to you.”

I turned to Carson. “Can you do some research on mandrakes and demons? See if there’s any connection?”

“Sure, I’ll see what I can dig up,” he said. “Give it to me so I can take some pictures.”

I handed it to him. “With pleasure.” I turned back to the others. “All right, where are we at with everything else?”

“Not much progress, but tomorrow we should be able to dig up more on some of these cases,” Orik said. “Meanwhile, while you were over at the school, I contacted Destiny about Rowan. She’s coming over tomorrow to take a report.”

“Sounds good,” I said, glancing at the clock. It was almost five and it felt like the day had been one headache after another. “Let’s knock off early,” I said. “We can pick up the research tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Sophia said. “I’ve got a dinner date, so that gives me time to go home and dress.”

“Ooo, a date? With who?” Dante asked, grinning at her.

“You don’t want to know,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “Let’s say he’s got wealth, health, and a good sense of humor.”

Dante whistled, then walked me back to my office.

“What are you doing tonight?” I asked.

“I’m going over to Aunt Tilly’s for dinner,” he said.

“Oh, that’s right! Give her my love.”

Dante’s great aunt was a firecracker. She was old, even for a shifter, but she never let that stand in the way of anything. Unfortunately, she was also too na?ve for her own good, and Dante had hinted that he was worried about her, given she was wealthy and single.

“I will. What about you?” he asked, stopping at his office door.

“I think I’ll see if Penn wants to meet me for dinner. I don’t feel like being alone tonight.”

“You’re welcome to come with me,” Dante said. “You know my aunt loves you.”

I laughed. “Your aunt loves everybody. She’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Thanks, but I don’t think I’m quite up to a night at Aunt Tilly’s.”

He winked. “Oh, come on…All right. I’ll give her your love and I’ll save you a few of her world-famous dinner rolls.”

My mouth watered. “Please do. I love her baking.” As I entered my office, I pulled out my phone and texted Penn. you want to meet for a drink tonight or something? i’m tired and it’s been a long day.

She texted back in seconds. i’d rather buy a pizza and hang in front of the tv. you good with that?

as good as gold, I texted. i’ll pick up pizza on the way home. when do you close?

it’s dead right now. i’ll close up and meet you at your place…well…soon to be our place, in about half an hour. i’ll bring dessert.

Relieved, I pocketed my phone and tidied up my desk. I was the last one out, so I set the alarm and turned off the lights. As I drove home, I thought about the mandrake. Why was there demonic energy on it? Granted, Letty specialized in demonology, but that didn’t explain what had happened to the root.

With those questions rolling around in my mind, I tried to turn my mind off as I navigated through the rain. It was pouring, with puddles already clogging the storm drains. If it didn’t let up, we’d be in the middle of an urban flooding situation. Luckily both my house and the office were on hills, higher up. But still, I was grateful I didn’t have a basement—basements in the Seattle area were flood-prone.

I finally pulled into my driveway and jumped out, bringing up my pizza app as I jogged up to the door and unlocked it. I ordered three pizzas—we might as well have variety—and some bread sticks and salad from Goldy Bear Pizza.

As I entered the house, Murdoch and Jangles looked up from where they were cuddled on the sofa, grooming each other. I punched in the security code. I was so relieved to be home. Penn was coming over, food was on the way, and I didn’t have to leave the house until morning. The day had been stressful, but at least tonight would end on a good note.